Any last suggestions?

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Tomorrow I'm going to purchase the 6th edition compTIA A+ guide by Michael Meyers to get me started. Before I buy the book is there anything else I should take into consideration? Any other books I should buy? I'm hoping to be able to pass my exam using that book alone, and perhaps a junk-PC to disassemble/reassemble.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

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I'd advise also getting PC Technician Street Smarts by James Pyles (tripwire45).

 

I'd recommend exam cram, it worked for me alongside the all in one.

 

Hi there. I am new to this, too and have basically the same question. I ordered the 6th ed Meyers today - (thanks for the tip where to get it Matt) and am looking for sth to complement it with. Initial interest & motivation is obviously not the problem. However, same as probably most of us, I find the prospect of ploughing through over eleven hundred pages of techno over the next 6 months or so somewhat off-putting. Has anyone any positive experience with any video material? This here seems to be favoured by some http://www.time4training.com/aplus.html. Can anyone comment on this or any other visual material useful? Cheers.

 

Thanks, BBM (I'm the author of said book).

I think the Meyers book will do quite nicely. It's generally considered "the book" for the A+ exam. I agree with you that one or more lab machines would be helpful. Remember, it's not all about hardware. There's plenty about being A+ certified that happens at the keyboard, too.

As far as the Street Smarts book goes, it's basically a lab manual. That is, it contains a lot of specific scenarios that will help you learn the practical, real world skills of being a PC tech.

Once upon a time, I was a desktop support tech for the IT department of a small city government. I saved all of my trouble tickets from those days and used them as the basis for writing the book. If you want to not only learn what it takes to pass the exams but also the practical skills you'll actually be performing once you get your first job in IT, I blushingly say that the Street Smarts book is just the ticket.

 

I ordered the 6th ed, but from The Register bookshop, and paid about £27 delivered by DHL business delivery... cheaper than WHSmith (and i'm an employee too).

 

Street smarts sounds like a good book but is not essential for passing A+? It sounds like the kind of book that's handy to have as a reference book for when you're in the field, as it were.

Unfortunately money is a real problem for me right now so I want to keep costs to a minimum. However, I read an amazon review of the Michael Meyers book and it said that it doesn't cover all the bases. Apparently much of what's in the exam is not covered by the book... Allegedly.

 

You should be doing those labs while studying for the exam... not just getting a bunch of theoretical book knowledge you haven't applied yet. You don't want to have to be learning how to do things when you're out in the field at a client site...

 

Well I already have one PC so I'm thinking about getting a 2nd-hand one for about £50 ($80) or so. Nothing special, just so long as it runs XP.

I bought the book today and, my, what a surprise! It's much bigger than I thought. I was expecting about 400 pages and instead a got a 1171 page breeze-block!

Even more of a surprise was that the exams contain a whole plethora of psychological questions relating to successful interaction with customers. Looks like Mr Meyers thought of everything!

 

I just ordered a copy of your book from Amazon!

 

Good move

 

Hmmmm :hhhmmm Not sure about CBT?

but I thought Learnkey were a bit basic (although Zimbo did a course with Learnkey) I sure he will disagree. I found the training CD's from Time4training were excellent, clear, concise and highlight topics that would come up in the exam.

 

Its a good book, you wont be dissapointed