Looking to try to get my A+ certification.....

pomp · 09-20-2007, 11:54 PM

Hello. My local college is offering a course in the Fall for A+ Certification .. I was wondering, what is better, going to a class 2 days a week.. 8 hours total a week ... or just buy a book on like Amazon to study for A+ and then sign up somewhere to take the exam? ... The A+ Certification course at my local college is $1,200 and then the bundle of book material is about $180 ..
What would be the best thing? Hope someone can help! Thanks.

**Cellus** · 09-21-2007, 12:05 AM

This depends on how much hands-on experience you have, as well as whether or not you find you do well in self-study.

Classes give the additional benefit of having an instructor lay it out - to explain and elaborate. It gives you a chance to interact with them, so you can ask questions and be a part of active discussion. Tips and tricks can be given, and things can be clarified. It also gives you the possibility to have hands-on time on test machines for you to safely tinker and troubleshoot in a test lab environment. That is what the extra $1,000 is getting you.

I know people on both sides, who have both successfully and unsuccessfully obtained the certification through self-study. If it was a more advanced certification I would recommend classes, hands-down. However given A+ is an entry-level certification, the possibility of succeeding through self-study alone is realistically attainable. Again though, this is highly dependent on your experience as well as how well you do in self-study.

pomp · 09-26-2007, 03:10 PM

Cellus,

Thank you for your response!

I'm going to do the self-study. Just looking for a book so I can order it and have it shipped soon lol.

Here's search results for them on Amazon. Would a 2006 book be ok? Or definitely need a 2007 one? If you could tell me which book would be the best that would be great! Thank you for your time.

elf · 09-26-2007, 06:23 PM

If I remember correctly they just changed the test up some. The most recent you can find would be the best.

MrNerdy · 09-28-2007, 12:02 PM

I did CISCO IT Essentials 1 as a stepping stone towards doing A+.
Bought a couple of A+ books and took both exams a month apart.
Passed both first time.

A longer course will go into more depth and cover more.

09-20-2007, 11:54 PM	#1 (permalink)
pomp Analyst, Security Team Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: jersey shore Posts: 28 OS: XP	Looking to try to get my A+ certification..... Hello. My local college is offering a course in the Fall for A+ Certification .. I was wondering, what is better, going to a class 2 days a week.. 8 hours total a week ... or just buy a book on like Amazon to study for A+ and then sign up somewhere to take the exam? ... The A+ Certification course at my local college is $1,200 and then the bundle of book material is about $180 .. What would be the best thing? Hope someone can help! Thanks. __________________

09-21-2007, 12:05 AM	#2 (permalink)
Cellus Moderator Networking Team Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 2,633 OS: Windows Vista Business SP1, Windows XP Professional SP3 My System	Re: Looking to try to get my A+ certification..... This depends on how much hands-on experience you have, as well as whether or not you find you do well in self-study. Classes give the additional benefit of having an instructor lay it out - to explain and elaborate. It gives you a chance to interact with them, so you can ask questions and be a part of active discussion. Tips and tricks can be given, and things can be clarified. It also gives you the possibility to have hands-on time on test machines for you to safely tinker and troubleshoot in a test lab environment. That is what the extra $1,000 is getting you. I know people on both sides, who have both successfully and unsuccessfully obtained the certification through self-study. If it was a more advanced certification I would recommend classes, hands-down. However given A+ is an entry-level certification, the possibility of succeeding through self-study alone is realistically attainable. Again though, this is highly dependent on your experience as well as how well you do in self-study. __________________ TSF Networking Team HijackThis 5 Step Process Donate!

09-26-2007, 03:10 PM	#3 (permalink)
pomp Analyst, Security Team Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: jersey shore Posts: 28 OS: XP	Re: Looking to try to get my A+ certification..... Cellus, Thank you for your response! I'm going to do the self-study. Just looking for a book so I can order it and have it shipped soon lol. Here's search results for them on Amazon. Would a 2006 book be ok? Or definitely need a 2007 one? If you could tell me which book would be the best that would be great! Thank you for your time. __________________

09-26-2007, 06:23 PM	#4 (permalink)
elf Assistant Manager, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Knoxville, TN or Austin, TX depending Posts: 6,127 OS: WinXP Pro SP2 and Slackware 10.1 My System	Re: Looking to try to get my A+ certification..... If I remember correctly they just changed the test up some. The most recent you can find would be the best. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! I do not subscribe to threads, so if I stop replying, PM me with a link to your thread so I can find it again.

09-28-2007, 12:02 PM	#5 (permalink)
MrNerdy Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: London UK Posts: 6 OS: XP Home (SP2)	Re: Looking to try to get my A+ certification..... I did CISCO IT Essentials 1 as a stepping stone towards doing A+. Bought a couple of A+ books and took both exams a month apart. Passed both first time. A longer course will go into more depth and cover more.