A+ advice Please

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Im currently studying for the a+ certification, and whilst a the moment i have only the 5th edition book, will probably take the new a+ exams for what its worth.

I just wonder a couple of things, has the cost of the exams gone up?

Also i see the exam is now structured similar to many academic course, as in you have to take one module, then basically select the second module from a group. I just wonder, if choosing one module over another would cause me to lose out on any infomation which may hamper any potential job application.

And one last small query.

Taking notes.

Im terrible about stripping infomation down to its bare essential bones, i usually retain tons of crap which includes info about stuff that isnt relevant to any exam Are there any decent books out there that i can use to just refresh my mind over infomation i have obtained from mr meyers without getting information overload.

Thankyou

 

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The goal isn't to simply pass the exam... it's to make you a better tech through the learning process. The stuff you learn that may not be relevant to the exam WILL be relevant to what you do on a daily basis.

Personally, I can't see why CompTIA would create different A+ tracks, especially since doing so will confuse most people who are new to IT. From what I've heard, most people are just taking the IT Technician exam. For what it's worth, most employers don't even know there are different A+ tracks, so I wouldn't think your choice of A+ "elective" would hurt your employment chances.

Best of luck!

 

It's always worth checking with Getcertifiedfless for a last minute voucher. I got the A+ OS exam for £63 which had to be used in a fortnight. This was fine for me - i was ready to take it.

As for note taking, I would only make key points in your own words that you need to commit to memory or having problems with.

I bought a pack of postcards and put key points on there. It is amazing what sinks in whilst waiting for the kettle. Every little helps!

 

Good Advice

If you can't postcards, there's always Post It Notes, you can get them from the post office or staples, they come in all sort of colours. I use these for area's that I am weak on. It helps me remind my self of subjects I need to revise more in depth.

 

Cheers all


I suppose its all common sense really with note taking, shame i miss common sense

Brainbeacon - I reread what i said and i did come across as just wanting to get the exam passed, but i do want to be a better tech overall. I have experience of computers, dating back to taking my commodore 16 + 4 apart when i was younger which was a mistake at the time and didnt impress my mam & dad


Im fine, if someone says to me. Lee come and install this or that, away i go and ive set it up in no time without thinking about it. However when it comes to the tests, or someone asks me how to install this or that, i suppose anxiety creeps in and i end up questioning my answers, even though i know the answer ...........i hope that makes sense. Also i think i spend too much time worrying about when intel brought the pentium back and less time on stuff i will actually use in day to day tech work.

Seems cleare to myself now ive written it down......odd


I miss my c16 + 4 actually, fire ant, treasure island.............

 

I passed the OS portion of the exam by drawing diagrams (DOS memory space can be such a bother).

I'm a very visual learner and diagrams, drawings, and pictures really "seal the deal" for me.

 

Making notes is my number one piece of advice.For my network+ studies and to hopefully help others in the process I am 'writing' my notes on my N+ blog,in the N+ forum.90% of those notes are from memory and what I'm unsure of is researched briefly,as a reminder,and put into text on the various posts.This works a treat (at least for me anyway) as I not only have my notes to re-read and learn from but also have the entire CF community to consult when-WHEN-I get it wrong.I'm not suggesting you do the same,or indeed that everyone does the same but my point is simple-making structured notes works and works well.

Did I mention making notes?

 

This might be slightly off topic, but can I offer a piece of advice that's helped me with studying for A+?

Go onto some computer supplier website (such as Novatechs, or Scan) and literally just browse through things like hard drives, CPUs, RAM etc and see if you can actually understand the specifications of the piece of equipment (they normally give very detailed breakdowns). Some of the more complicated things like MOBOs are a great test as you are looking at motherboard, CPUs and RAM all in one go

This gets you in the frame of mind of what to look out for when looking at hardware (form factor, Bus speed, connectors, etc etc) and in the long run makes it easier for you to identify specs. I've found this very handy as obviously hardware installation and upgrading is quite an integral part of A+

Example, can you identify exactly what every piece of:

Motherboard Bundle - Intel Celeron 2.8GHz 336 LGA 775Soc 512MB DDR Heatsink And Fan

actually means? I know I couldn't a few months ago. They also normally come with the components photgraphed so it does help with visual recognition to

Hope that helps

 

I didn't mean to imply that you are only focused on passing... just wanted to be sure that you remember the big picture.

You make perfect sense. It is not uncommon to experience exam anxiety. Best thing you can do is to increase your confidence level by practicing. If you truly understand something to the point where you KNOW you know it, the uncertainty will go away. All that's left is for you to take a couple of exams, pass them, and realize that it's not that bad if you truly understand the concepts.

I miss my Commodore 64 and Amiga 500. I don't miss my Vic-20 as much, since the C64 was what really got me started into gaming.

 

Random post

Amiga 500 = Supercars

http://www.lemonamiga.com/?mainurl=http://www.lemonamiga.com/games/details.php?id=1018

lol- still looking for the PC version

 

I don't remember that one... looks quite fun!

 

Again thanks for the advice all, done the unthinkable this week and really thrown myself into studying. Best thing bout working at my shitty place. I get at least an hour to 2 hours worths of studying done and im reminded each day why im doing this, (to be in a job i actually want to do as opposed to stacking beer which i cant drink, all day)

Only problem is people keep bothering me wth comments about the size of my book

cockles - the advice about looking at hardware online is an excellent piece of advice thankyou

One more question - I will be doing the 2006 exams probably in late july (due to wedding), however at the moment i only have the 5th edition Meyers book. Will this complicate matters for me? or am i fine using this till i get the 6th edition?


Off topic

Amiga 500 - supercars, one and two were classic. Who coul forget the responses to police questions in the game like this

Police : do you have a police record
Possible answer: Yes, walking on the moon


cheeesey

 

If you have the 2003 objective book, then the main differences i know about is that you learn from 2000 OS onwards. Also alot of it is customer care, which isnt in the old exams.