Is is worth it for a person like me?

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Hello everyone, I have got a couple of questions that I would like to ask you but let me first explain you my situation. I have recently finished my A levels and am going to University this September to study Information Systems and Business.
My questions are as follows:
1. Would it be of any worth having a A+ certification when you are about to complete a degree. Is it going to look good to a future employer or will they think that it is just overqualifying as probaly the nature of my work will not be technician related?
2. If I pass the exams and get certified as a PC Technician, do you think I will have enough knowledge to start a part time repair computers, just to support myself while at University?
3. How many hours per week shall I spare in order to pass the exams in 6 months? I know it depends depending of experience but can you give me some guadiance for someone like me with some years of experiance with computers but not on a professional level?

Will much appreciate your answers.

 

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Hi Welcome

1. Yes it will be worth it a degree isn't the be all and end all of getting a job, some people dont even get a job because of their degree so don't fall for any of that like I did.

2. That might be difficult, if you have previous experience then possibly.

3. Some people could do the A+ without studying, some people may take a week some people may take a year thats entirely upto you. Read the recommended material intil you understand everything then take the two exams.

 

1) Yes.
2) Can you? Yes. Actually making money is a different story... PC repair is a highly competitive field.
3) As many as you want, for as long as you need. Takes some people less than a day. Takes some people more than a year.

 

thanks for the fast and helpful answers.
Do you guys think that if you pass these 2 exams you will be able to fix most of the common problems that occur.

For the record I don't have a proper experience of fixing pcs. But I do fix a lot of my mates computers. Basically I am the person relatives and friends call when they have got a problem.

 

Yep probably, it'll reinforce the knowledge you have and teach you some new skills too.

 

Greenbruclee,

thanks for the replies. If you can just explain what do you mean by not getting a job because of a degree. Do you mean that people can't get a job because they got a degree from a not reputable institution?
Thanks agai

 

No I mean just because someone gets a degree it doesn't mean you will get a job or a good one because of the degree. That is why I am saying it would be good to get the A+ aswell.

No qualification these days can gaurantee you a job, but some qualifications can make you stand out to employer.

 

ok then. finally understood
well I guess it wouldn't hurt to study for the exam. After all even if not for the qualification itself it would give me some skills that I will be able to use in future.
thanks

 

Rightly put, go for it and best wishes too

 

Certification doesn't enable you to fix things... knowledge and experience enables you to fix things. If certification enabled you to actually be able to do a task in the real world, an MCSE without experience should be able to administer domain servers. Sadly, they're not, because they lack the real-world experience to do so.

That doesn't mean that you shouldn't pursue certification. In fact, I wholeheartedly advocate certification. But you have to use certification in the manner it was designed: to let customers and employers know that you have a baseline, theoretical understanding with a technology.

 

What he said ^

If you can get an old pc from a recyling centre or somewhere else for cheap then you can break it and try & fix it.

Here is an example of what I did whilst I was doing my A+

I went into the .dll files of windows and deleted some random ones, I also ******* around with various settings. I did this whilst getting pissed then I left it a couple of days.

After a couple of days I came to a machine that booted just, so I had to decided wether to reinstall the missing .dll files once I had remembered I had deleted them or do a repair install.

Try practicing a few things like that and you will know if you could do it as a business.

 

Thats quite a good method GBL, who would have thought alcohol could be so useful

I do have a spare computer even though i do use it occasionally to do things this one cant, except it is running ME so not as much use, am on the look out for something with windows 2000 on or a copy (authentic) of windows 2000.

 

I recommend stella or JD

 

surely you could do all of this with system file checker in xp?
They teach use of the sfc in the A+ .
Deleting dll files is way beyond the scope of the A+ in my view,it's easy enough to actually delete the file,but the A+ isn't the type of course that this subject is focussed on.
For example knowing what every dll does,and why it's there in the first place is information even the most enthusiastic person may struggle with.
A programmer should know though i suppose.

 

I suppose but tis a good way to learn how to do repair install.

 

IMHO............

The only thing certification shows is that you can pass a test. The only thing a degree shows is that you finish what you start.

Now, before the flaming starts, I have both. I have a degree because of a promise I made to someone. I have certifications because they were "heavily" required during the "dot com" days, and by that I mean all that was required was certification. It didn't matter if you knew the material or not. Luckally I've been in network administration since the NT days when you had to actually figure things out to make them work. Personally I feel administration today is a lot easier than it was in those days.......but that's just me.

Anyway, back to my point. As someone who has some input on who we hire, as long as you can do the work, and prove you can do the work, you have a great chance of getting hired. And that's where a lot of the issues are. Most HR people and recruiting companies only go by what's on their call sheet. If you prove to them you can to the job and you still don't get hired, then the company loses out on a quality individual. But once you get there, learn all you can. Absorb knowledge like a dry sponge. Get certified if they want you to. It can't hurt and may even earn you a little more $$$ come evaluation time.

Bottom line is certs and degrees don't get you the job. Your knowledge and experience does.

 

If you had two candidates with similar levels of knowledge and experience and didn’t know which one to hire you would look for something that made one stand out above the other. If one had a few certs the other didn't, you would hire the guy (or gal) with the certs. Given the choice, I would rather have some certifications to backup my experience.

 

Hey all, thanks for all the replies you are been very helpful.
Can I ask you a quick question, it seems that I have trown away my old pc so will have to get one from ebay in order to mess it up .
Can you please advice me on what type of specification should I get, as obviusly all of you have much more experience in practising with old pcs . What are the parameters that are enough to work with, so I wouldn't have to shoot myself in the head?

 

i'd go for an old duron or athlon machine,with sd or ddr memory.In all ways these are modern type computers,and simpler to cope with than a pentium 1 or even pentium 2.
Hurdles that you'd face with the old pentiums would be finding edo ram,slow speed performance,power supply cabling is different to a modern computer.
There was a single question in the 601 exam about pentium 2,the old technology isn't really talked about all that much in the A+ .

 

True....unless your certified choice was a total ahole.