Is it really this daunting?

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My plan is to go down the self study route for the A+,,,,,, lil video and a couple of good books.
I've spent a while checking out all the different providers, made my mind up who im going with for the video and have 3 recommended books to go with. ( total price approx £155 )

So,,,i'm down Amazon checking out the books, and for the A+ cert. all in 1 by Mike Meyers theres an option to "look inside".

1,111 pages!!!

Jeeeeeees, reading just isn't my thing. All i read are webpages and the T.V guide. I'm the type that waits for the film to come out
I knew i'd have to "study",(something i've not done for 3 decades ) but i dont think ive ever seen a book with that many pages,,,lol
Surely i dont have to remember every dam page,,,,so to speak

So PLEASE, someone re-assure me that it isnt that bad.
How many of you wondered what the hell you'd let yourself in for when you started?

edited: I've just noticed that Mike Meyers is 2003,,,,,,Is there a 2006 version out??

 

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A+ is an entry level cert, after that things just get more and more difficut - if you are serious about getting into IT, well then you need to just bite the bullet and get on with it - nobody said it was going to be easy

 

And yes - there is a 2006 version of the Meyers book.

Harry.

 

Oh well,,, i like a good challenge,,, cheers fella's

 

its too late for you to study for the 2003 objectives they are being retired at the end of June, you can find the 2006 objectives listed in the A+ forum. Most people will tell you MM is the best way to go for self study, also get a few old computers to pull apart, try reinstalling operating systems, new hardware etc. If you are serious enough to do it you will find a great deal of help in these forums. Best of luck Gary

 

Best of luck with your A+ mate, and welcome to CF!

Im also doing A+ 601/602 at the moment using the MM Book, over 1000 pages may look alot but its surprizing how quick you can get through them, and to be honest, if you have a little experience with computers ect, alot of it you'll already know!

 

Break it all down to byte size pieces (excuse the pun) and it will seem a lot easier.

 

Hi there, I bought the Mike Meyer's book a month ago and it's heavy goin! I've just reached the end of Chapter 6 (out of 24 chapters) and I'm just going back to revise some of the bits I might have missed by reviewing the end of chapter questions.

I would akin this to climbing a mountain. If you are overwhelmed by the mountain before you start then you won't succeed but if you break it down, work at your own pace and measure your progress as you go then you can do it!

I'm not preaching because I have good days and bad days like everyone else but overall I have decided I want to do this and will take it one step at a time.

If you decide to go for it and need some moral support then let me know. I will do the same if I'm having a bad week!

 

Spilly’s right, break it down into smaller sections. Then you feel like you have achieved something when you reach a target.

I am also studying from the Mike Meyers book, which contains 24 chapters. So after 6 chapters you are a quarter of the way through, after 8 chapters you are a third of the way through, after 12 chapters you are half of the way through etc.

Hope this helps you.

 

Hi,

echoing what most people hace said really. Don;t get put off by the fact that the meters book is masive. It contains everything they can possibley ask you plus lots of stuff that is good to know and some stuff that just enhances your knowlege but is totally beyond the A+.

My best advice is to just read through it once quickly, don't expect to pick everything up on your first read but some of it will just stick in. Then when you finish go back over each chapter taking notes of the more test specific bits so you have a small "bible" of info you can read when you have 5 minutes. Finish that off with some test prep like the excellent VPN software and you'll be ready to go in no time.

Good luck!!

edit: Also if you work in a company with an established IT dept then ask if you can volunteer some spare time with them or if they have any broken PC's they can't be bothered to try and fix or are getting rid of. You may find some good "projects" that way.

 

i think i can sympathise a bit with u, i'd also say get your hands on loads of kit, old pc's of ebay - get in there mess around break things and fix things and make em work etc... it makes the reading make a bit more sense i find - and a bit more fun

 

Thanks for the reply's..... very re-assuring

I'm not a complete novice ~ i've been "messing around" with computers for 7 years or so and enjoy every minute of it, so it seems kinda natural to take it more seriously and go for the A+ ~ its more a hobby thing than an employment related venture.
I've already learnt a fair bit just checking out all the different providers and watching free sample training videos etc. Funnily enough i didn't even realise these sort of training video's/ courses were "out there" until i did the E.C.D.L back in march. I would have done this years ago if i'd known!

I'm looking at June before i can get all the materials together but i'll be going for it then.

One thing i was wondering........at some stage in the future will it be a good idea for me to install Virtual Pc ,,or VMWare,,,for practising installing OS's ,,or networks,,, whatever it does ? All that virtual stuff baffles me at the moment,,, but is it something i'll need in the future???

Cheers

Andy

 

Virtual installations can help you a lot. You can build a network with just 1 machine. What VMWare and VPC in fact do is create a "box" with some memory, a file which is seen as a disk and some processor power. You can just installyou OS on this virtual computer and you start playing. If you mess up things, just take a new copy of the virual computer and in ten minutes you running again. Works like a charm.

 

It really isnt that daunting, I am using the Meyers book 6th edition and am on my 2nd read through - I complement the reading with practice tests, using this forum (everyone is extremely helpful) messing about with my own pc, laptop and a couple of junk pc's I picked up at the local tip. I also find ebay, maplin, ebuyer sites useful for checking specs of various components.