A+

well guys i know i dont post here that often anymore, thats because i got unbanned from the forums that banned me which caused me to come here in the first place but that does not matter. the reason why i come back for maybe my last topic on these forums is because you guys are ALOT smarter about computers than all the people on the other forums are put together. but anyways back to the point im 16 and im taking the A+ Certification test this coming friday and i was wondering if you guys had any helpfull tips or advice that might help me in any way. thanks alot.

wtw: if you remember i was the one with the RD RAM problem a while back, but good news i made myself a totally new pc WITHOUT rdram lol(but i still have the same keyboard ftw?)
[http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h123/_erik/IMG_0798.jpg]

Get some books. They are really helpful for A+ prep.

One of the best books out there is Mike Meyer's A+ Certification Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs. I am currently reading it right now, and even though I know most of the information in the book, some of the history and detailed stuff is quite interesting. It also comes with a CD with a bunch of practice tests that are very similar to the actual test.

Last edited by Yoober on Thu Jun 22, 2006 2:05 am; edited 1 time in total

i have read pretty much all of the mike myers book (HUGE butt book) and iv been using the cd that came with it like crazy. hope i do good

edit: haha...sensor

Are you taking the Core Hardware or the OS Tech A+?

I'm certified in both. If you read the book once (and are a good student ... get A's in classes pretty easily) you will probably pass the exam. Take your time and look for trick questions.

I'm not certified in anything. As much as I'd like to be, I've found from professional experience and through other professionals that certifications will only take you so far. I do think they're good to get in the door, but after that its all dependent on technical experience and plain know-how.

I was also told this from a regional manager of a very large broadband ISP. Take it worth a grain of salt? Who knows. Bosses are very different in what they like to see. Some think certs are the end-all and some want to see your work firsthand, certs or not.

A+ might be good to have anyway though, its not that expensive (as opposed to the now almost defunct MCSE certification).

I know, I spin in circles in alot of my posts, but I've got to play The Devil's Advocate on many arguable issues.

What Chris said is very true. Since in a couple years I will be going to collage (Probably Oregon State University or Oregon Institute of Technology), I've been talking to a lot of people about college, and what will get you the best scholarships and acceptence into college. For the same major courses, different people have said that your SAT scores matter most, or your GPA, or even the highest math class you have taken in high school (no matter what your grade was), among other things. Happily, I can report that I have a 4.0 GPA (and it will probably be higher, as I will be taking several AP classes), I will be taking the SATs next year, and I have taken several practice tests and have recieved high scores, and I will be taking AP Statistics next year and Calculus as a senior.

Oh, and my teacher said that he is going to pay for me to go take the A+ tests, so that is pretty cool!

Last edited by ChrisMG on Mon Jul 10, 2006 5:49 am; edited 1 time in total

Bump.

Apparently my boss wants me A+ certified with further certs on the way. So he's paying for all supplies (Mike's book) and for the tests themselves. Hey, can't beat that. I took some 80 question 'practice' test for A+ and I passed with a 95%. Funky.

One thing that I found strange though...do they really ask that many questions about printers? There were no less than 15 questions out of 80 about printers.

And is this the book you guys are talking about?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/007226355...glance&n=283155

Last edited by Greg M. on Mon Jul 10, 2006 6:11 pm; edited 1 time in total

Yes, lots of retarded printer questions.

After looking for Mike Meyers' Certification Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs, I found several copies...but from 2003. The 2nd Edition isn't going to be released until December of this year. Nuts. I'd hate to get the 2003 edition and it not have up to date information in it.