A+ Certification exam

[ckay87]

Anyone ever take the A+ Certification exam? I'm just curious about what it is, how difficult it is, what the benefits are, etc.

My son, a high school Jr., is in the IT networking program at our Career Center. He's among a few students who were given the opportunity to take this exam (the real thing) tomorrow. Sounds like a pretty cool opportunity. I know that we have several IT folks on here, so I'm just curious about what this exam/certification really is, if anything.

 

[dawson5]

My son will be taking it here soon. I know I paid for two tests. I thought it was like a first step into the IT profession. He's not here for me to ask him, so I went to wikipedia and this is what I found:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A+_certification#CompTIA_A.2B

(as always, take wikipedia with an open mind. I assume the explanation is right as it sounds close to what I thought it was.)

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

I tell people that it is sort of like boot camp for the IT world. It gives you the basic information on how to use hardware and software and how the different componets work and interact with others.

it is a good stepping stone to move on to other things.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

I've known people who are A+ certified that can barely work a computer, I'm talking about not even being able to figure out how to establish basic network connections, basic printer and scanner installations, etc. There are a lot of "boot camp" type of programs out there that basically teach to pass the test, the more or less promise you will pass the test, the don't promise you will actually learn anything Like most certifications it's only worth as much as the paper its printed on. Real, true working knowledge is difficult to test.

I'm not trying to be a total downer, this stuff is just very frustrating to me lately, I had a bad experience with a certain employee

 

[Cindy B]

The boot camp type training is very intense and well "assume" a lot. MY DH did one back in either 1999-2000 for the MCSE certification. The instruction tend to assume a lot and in some cases, the "lab" work wasn't very applicable. Looking back on it, it was somewhat applicable but very costly for a short amount of time. There really wasnt very much time to go over concepts or ask questions.

I know that some local community colleges in my area offer the certification classes as part of an IT certification. It is probably better to go that way that you can spend longer time, ask questions, get some extra lab time, practice more, etc. And if you take the courses at an accredited college, that credit may transfer to another school or course of study.


As for the A+ , the test itself is pretty self explanatory. THere are some pretty tricky hardware questions. (I would say some older legacy questions-- like what does the MODEM mean, what does the word SCSI mean) .

There are some study guides available, but if he is taking the test tomorrow it may not help.

A+ may be helpful. DH has some people in his group that have it and some don't. It isn't bad to have.