A+ a prerequisite?

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

Is it a bad idea to do N+ without having to do A+? I know people generally do A+ first and then N+.

I don't claim to know everything on the A+ , but I feel I know quite a fair bit of it already...so I don't really want to waste my money on reading materials and exam fees (and bore myself) on something I more or less know already. However I'm very interested in N+ as I don't know much about networks and obviously would like to get into networks in the future.

 

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

First of all it is a bad idea to underestimate the A+, I have used computers since I was a kid, PCs since I was 16 I am now 30 a lot of it had reaffirmed knowledge I had but I have also learned new things.

 

I agree with GBL, the A+ isn't a walk through the park.
If you feel you can get the A+ easily you should do it. It can’t hurt to add an extra cert to your resume.

The Network+ doesn’t have any prerequisites. However, the Comptia N+ website does state
“Although not a prerequisite, it is recommended that CompTIA Network+ candidates have at least nine months of experience in network support or administration or adequate academic training, along with a CompTIA A+ certification.”

So if you have the experience you might be fine.

 

Funnily enough I was discussing this via email with someone last night.

I can even give a very recent personal experience reason for having done that 'boring' study...

I am currently studying for a new exam, and just happened to take a pig of a test exam yesterday. I was thinking I have no chance on this... until a set of questions popped up, right at the end, on a number of topics I had studied when going for my CompTIA exams. If they hadn't been there (why on earth were they there again? ), I wouldn't have brushed past the magic pass mark.

I would add that, when I decided to study for my CompTIAs, I personally thought I knew a bit about PCs and networking (I had previously worked on NT4 domains, building, installing and fixing PCs, setting up DHCP scopes, knowing where to look if an installed card or other peripheral wasn't working); however, when I actually sat down and studied for the CompTIAs, I realised just how little I really knew. If I had not studied for both lots of CompTIAs, then I definitely wouldn't have known those answers.

Also bear in mind that, when studying for something like the A+, you're not just studying for the exam... you're gaining knowledge over and above what you need for that... you're gaining knowledge that will help you in the real world.

I mean this in the nicest possible way by the way... if you decide you know enough about the stuff covered in the A+, then don't fork out for the books... just take the exams.

If you decide to move straight onto the Network+, then go for it... and I really do wish you well; however, the reason we tell people who come to the site to take it one step at a time... A+, Net+, MCDST and so on... is because of the experience (sometimes 'painful') of the people who have gone down the various paths on the certification route in the past.

All the very best.

Giddy

 

All the advice above is quite sound.

Also, remember, you're not getting certifications to show yourself that you know the material... you're getting certifications to show potential employers that you know the material. Are employers supposed to take your word for it that you can troubleshoot and fix hardware-related problems?

If you think you know the material, just take the exam. If you don't know the material, then that's all the more reason to study for it, right?

 

Well as far as I know, the A+ covers network foundamentals and teaches you a fair amount of network troubleshooting. The A+ does this from both a hardware and software point of view and its a great starter. Network+ on the other hand brushes you up on some of the basics you learnt from A+ and then takes you deeper. However, the knowledge of networking that you acquired from A+ will greatly aid you in Net+ and make studying alot easier. And in the long run, having both A+ & Net+ will exempt you from one exam in the MCSA!

So don't look at it as being "unnecessary" from the present, because it'll come in VERY handy in the long term!