A+ help please

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Hi guys I'm hoping someone here can help me, I have been talking to my local college about doing the A+.

They told me that I need to start with CompTIA A+ Essentials PC Maintenance & Troubleshooting which takes 32 weeks and at the end of this the qualification is useless to get my into a computer job unless I follow it up with CompTIA 220-602 IT Technician.

Can anyone here shed some light onto this for me cause Ive now been told two different stories from the college. One person said the CompTIA A+ Essentials PC Maintenance & Troubleshooting will get me an A+ qualification which I can they go on to study N+ but now Ive been told that CompTIA A+ Essentials PC Maintenance & Troubleshooting is useless.

Hopefully someone here can help please.

 

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you need to pass 2 exams to be A+ certified. 220-601 Essentials is mandatory and then you either choose 220-602 IT Technican, 220-603 Hep Desk Technician or 220-604 Depot Technican.

Most people do 220-602 IT Technician. Whoever told you that just passing essentials gets you A+ certified is wrong.

Passing any of the exams isn't usless but it is not a a full qualification unless you have passed 2 exams

 

Appreciate your help greenbrucelee, Will do the essentials for 32 weeks (night course) then follow it up with IT Technician which is another 32 weeks.

64 weeks of studying begins in September

 

why not consider self study? you do not need to do a course to take the exams.

 

Looked into that option but the only place that I can find that is offering the exam here in Northern Ireland is our Night college and you have to go through the entire course there.

And your not permitted to study the Essentials and IT Tech at the same time. You must pass the Essentials before they will permit you to enroll into the other

 

What I mean by slef study is that you buy the books needed for the A+ read them till you understand the concepts and then take the exams.

There will be a pearsonvue or prometric test centre that will allow you to take the exams without a course.

 

Thanks greenbrucelee will have a further look into that option cause im sure doing self study would be alot quicker than a 64 week night course.

 

Check the CompTIA site for places to take the exams. I see that there is one in Belfast, and there are probably others.

Harry.

 

and cheaper

register with www.pearsonvue.co.uk and they will tell you were your nearest test centre is. The 2 A+ exams cost £111 + VAT each but you can buy discount vouchers from www.gracetechsolutions.com make sure you buy international vouchers.

With these vouchers you get a small discount plus you do not pay VAT So they cost £107 each.

 

Thanks greenbrucelee, I noticed there is a test centre very close to where I live, Any chance you could recommend Self study quides or books that would help me prepare for the essentials 2007 exam and the IT tech qualification?.

 

yes

The best two books to get are:compTIA A+ all in one exam guide 6th edition by Mike Meyers and PC Technician Street Smarts by James Pyles. Make sure you buy the 6th edition of the Meyers book as its the most current.

The Meyers book covers everything for all exams (read the whole book not sections), it is a big book 1136 pages but it is very comprehensive and not boring.

The Technician street smarts book has lots of exercises you can practice in it, so if you can get an old PC or don't mind messing about with yours then this book is a must.

 

Perfect thanks alot will look into getting them as I have a 2nd pc upstairs which I never use which I can play around with.

Going to phone prometric now to enquire about test as personvue said they dont take on external applicants who are self studying.

 

not sure what you mean, prometric and pearson vue don't do courses they provide test centres. If you are talking to someone who is saying you need to do a course you are not talking to pearsonvue or prometric.

All you need to do is visit pearsonvue/prometric as I said above and find a test centre.Some places only provide exams for people doing a course with them but most don't so you may have to travel.

 

Sorry didn't explain that correctly lee. I rang pearson vue just to check that I would be able to book the essentials test not a course and the women said they dont take on external applicants. She would explain any more for some reason.

 

like I said some places are pearson vue test centres within colleges but only allow their students to take exams with them, there will be other test centres near you that allows anyone to take exams with them.

When you register with pearsonvue on their website (link above) you can select for the site to show your nearest 5 test centres if some of the dates ate blanked out at a test centre then they are unavailable if all dates are blanked out then that means its for people doing courses with that test centre.

Also if you are phoning the local college that is a pearsonvue centre its also most likely a prometric centre too, just use the website. Act as if you are book the exam to find your test centre then log out.

 

if you didn't want to go the self study route,look for a college that does this course in a much shorter time,if you are unemployed the A+ college course is free of charge now.
The length of time you are quoting there doesn't make sense to me.
My colege course was about 17 weeks,there are only 16 subjects in the whole course,2 weeks to do each section [total 32 weeks] is a bit over the top,some sections there is very little to.
This whole course can be done in 40 to 60 hours,if you have a good background in computers,and know how to repair them 50 hours would be fine,that's my view anyway.
And yes you do need two passes in the exams as was mentioned earlier,i've passed my 601 but i don't get any certificate until i pass the next one.

 

I found that strange too, it was maybe a course that included things that had no relation to the A+.

There was a post a while ago where some guy said he was doing a course that included A+ studies and he believed he was A+ certified but he wasn't.

 

I know the time they quoted is very strange. But I assure you the A+ essentials is 32 weeks. The course starts in the 1st week of September and finishes in June. Ive decided to go the way you suggested greenbrucelee. I'm going to get the two books you mentioned earlier in the thread and after practicing booking the test via prometric I think it will be alot easier, quicker and cheaper for me to go that root.

Plus there seems to be a good few A+ people on here so if I get stuck anywhere I'm sure someone here will give me a helping hand ( I hope)

 

yep, you can get free advice on here if you get stuck or don't understand something, and you never know you may end up finding a potential employer or work collegue on here. CF has many advantages

 

Exactly what I was thinking Greenbrucelee. Its one thing to go do the exams etc but not knowing where to look after you gotten them is a problem. Least their are people here that can help if I get stuck and once I would pass the exams then people can possibly give me a helping hand in where to look for work etc.