How long to do A+?

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How long has it taken people to do the A+ qualification and how long should it take? I've been doing it for nearly a year now..

 

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This will depend on your prior knowledge, how much time you devote to it, and your ability to learn things easily or not.

I did it in 2 months, which I suspect is on the short end of the possible scale!

Harry.

 

Wow, Harry. That's pretty quick for a noob such as yourself....

 

Making sure you really understand what you're doing is far more important than how long it takes you to complete any certification.... Quality wins over speed every time.

 

It took me 12 months. This was the start of IT for me.

Si

 

took me 2 months, 1 for hardware and 1 for OS

 

fully agree with freddy over there

 

Until you're ready. I know that sounds flip but it's the truth. Each person grasps the concepts and tasks at their own rate. Some people accomplish this quickly while others take longer.

As good way to gauge your readiness is to practice taking mock exams. Not the "fly-by-night" braindumps and freebies on the Internet. It's a bit pricy but Transcender has a good reputation. Also, often just reviewing the material and practicing with your lab machine will tell you if you are comfortable with the role or are still struggling to understand.

Some people put off these sorts of test forever because they lack self-confidence...even when they know the material forwards and backwards. No matter how much you study, you still have to face the "moment-of-truth" when you have to face the exams. You are the only person who can tell when you're ready. Trust yourself.

 

rwilmot are you doing A+ through a learning provider or self study?

Have you booked your exam?

Myself I started back in May 2006 and have booked the exam in October! There's nothing quite like a deadline to get you motivated and get on with studying!

Have you tried the A+ quiz here on CF?

 

I got my exams soon, i started college for A+ in March (PT) and started studying in May.

Like mentioned above, it depends on how much you know already and how quicly it sinks in... i spent most of my earlier time trying to figure out the best way to revise...

Good luck anyway.

 

have a look at measureUp and transcender for practicing and analysin your weak areas, this will also show how much more time u need to put in...

 

it took me about 4 months getting the A+

 

Im busy doing A+ at the moment, been studying for 2months now and im taking my hardware test on thursday. Im using the transcender to practice and im normally getting upwards of 80% now. Its an excellent piece of software.

Mick

 

I'm hoping I can do both my exams in four months because I understand they're changing it in March! v.v
I've got plenty of time on my hands so I study at least five hours a day.

 

There's a great feeling of achievment when you pass these exams and a HUGE boost in the individuals confidence in the field of IT.Passing the A+ is only one goal,learning all the necessary material to really say you KNOW the subject matter is the other.When I took the A+ exams I gave myself a target of 800 points in each of the tests and studied rigourously for 5 months.This high target meant not just knowing the right answer,but understanding the wrong ones too!As daft as that may sound,it is something that CompTia can and very likely will test you on,in the way some questions are presented.

If you feel ready,you probably ARE ready.

 

2 months to get A+;
he had some hands on experience prior to that.

i have been building PCs for years...
but i would say an avid person who loves building PCs
and trying all kinds of technology like multiboot with boot.ini
arc paths, and such and the inner workings of a PC.
i would say expericne plus studying 6 months per exam
that is experience plus studying so 12 months for both exams
and experience.

yeah, i could have studied 2 months and then passed the exams
but i would like to see a brand new person to IT build PCs and study for A+ (both)in 2 months only and pass..yeah right!
i am a smart guy and there is way too many topics they can cover on A+ you have to make sure you cover most if not all of them.. this is my 2cents

but 12 months to get A+ is not unreasonably;
unless you are a great mimiker (some call the paper MCSEs, and Paper A+) i have met them at our local college. smart can pass exams, but get them on the IT floor and they dont really understand what is going on!