Total Beginner needing help.

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hi everyone, this is my first post so please be gentle. im looking at getting into networking so have been looking round at college courses and the only one i can find locally (nottingham) is the CCNA. I got the feeling comptia a+ is better place to start but the only courses i can find for this are day time ones and i work full time so would not be able to manage it. Could i do th ccna then use home study for the comptia a+ cert would the ccna have gained me enough knowledge to then move to comptia using home/online study?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
Jake.

 

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The CCNA is a complex cert designed for professionals who use Cisco kit day to day.
The A+ is a basic cert covering the fundamentals of hardware and peripherals.
I'd advise self-studying the A+ while looking for help-desk/first-line/trainee roles. Once you have a good foundation you can look at the CompTIA Network+ to give you a stronger foundation in networking.

 

many thanks for that soundian. So you recommend not doing the ccna and self studying A+, is there any books or guides you recommend?
many thanks again.

 

The recommended self study materials for A+ are:-

CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Seventh Edition (Exams 220-701 & 220-702)

PC Technician Street Smarts: A Real World Guide to CompTIA A+ Skills

Professor Messer’s Free 220-701 and 220-702 CompTIA A+ Training Course

HTH

NB

 

If you are looking to do a CCNA it might be worth doing the Network + first as this will give you a wide knowledge of networking.

 

Many thanks for that, had a meeting with the tutor at a local college to do the CCNA course, i told him i perhaps needed to do the comptia A+ which they dont offer to which he advised the CCNA cover a fair bit of the basics so i could gain enough knowledge to take the Comptia A+ exam?
Anybody agree or disagree with this please let me know as im struggling to decide on which route is best to take.
Many thanks for all the help.

 

What "basics" does he say they cover? The CCNA has nothing to do with entry-level tech support... nor will it help you with the A+ exam.

A+ is a vendor-neutral exam that covers what entry-level techs need to know to troubleshoot and repair computers and related hardware.

Network+ is a vendor-neutral exam that covers what entry-level techs need to know to help get computers connected together on a network.

CCNA is a Cisco-specific exam that covers what techs need to know to administer Cisco devices... which isn't something that entry-level techs start out doing.

It doesn't matter what your college does or does not offer... you don't need a course for ANY of these. Just grab a few books, some spare gear, and some practice exams from trusted companies and you'll be good to go.

 

I would not advise trying to do the CCNA before the A+ and Network +, The CCNA will not get you an entry level job on it's own, The CCNA enhances your network career once you are in the industry. Learn to walk before you run.

 

cheers guys, ill do just that.

 

Hi Again, what gear is best to get to use while im self studying Comptia A+? got some exam questions and the mike myers book but was not sure on actually hardware/equipment that would help me?
Many thanks again.
Jake

 

I would suggest getting the components to build a computer from scratch. You really don't need much more than that for the A+. Software-wise, I would suggest XP as your primary OS with Vista as a secondary partition or in a VM.

 

many thanks mate

 

Hello, with realising the Comptia A+ and Network + exams will have to be re-done every 3 years after this year, how realistic would it be to pass both before the years out?? many thanks

 

That totally depends on you - everyone is different. Some people need no study at all, and others need many, many months. That said, it is not unrealistic to expect to complete the A+ within the next 4 months.

 

I have recently brought the CompTIA A+ Michael Meyers book. I am attempting to complete the A+ and hopefully the N+ Before this years out. So i don't have to renew the Cert every 3 years. Although training is required no matter what.

I Can't afford a Computer to take apart nor windows vista to upgrade from windows xp etc..

All i have is a book.. I suppose i can break my working computer to fix.. But still stuck on the Vista situation !!

Any ideas ? =]

 

I don't think an extra computer or a copy of Vista is an absolute necessity to pass the exam. You can always have a look around your working computer. of course it would help to have access to some stuff to take completely apart and put back together and it would help to have access to any OS that may be in the objectives but you can do it without it. It's always good to have multiple resources but if money is tight check out the professor messer videos they are free! the link is posted by someone in this thread already.

 

To start you might check with a local PC repair shop or recycling center. If they have to pay someone to take away a machine they might give you one for free . A lot of times people just get rid of older systems because they have newer ones or the one has some repair needed and they'd rather not throw good money after bad. My daughter got me an old system for $25 (it had windows 2000 on it before the HD was removed so that tells you how old it was) from her work. Bless her heart she thought I would learn something by playing with it . If I had wanted I could have thrown in an old HD, put on Linux, etc. and played and learned. A women at my church said she had a laptop that she replaced because she took it to repair shop and they said they couldn't fix it. She had replaced it and only wanted her christmas card list off of it. She thought I might want to "practice" fixing it. She said I could keep it. Well, not only did I get ALL her data off (boot in Linux, copy data to external HD, write to DVD), but I got to keep the laptop (I'm typing on it now) and she "paid' me with a chocolate pie (I can sometimes be bought cheap ). I only needed to repair the HD (which I then replaced). Maybe you could get lucky like that?

Good luck. Don't spend much (if any) on getting something.

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I will pop to the recycling center ( in fact i used to work there LOL ) to see what i can get.

I found the link to proffeser messer a while back.. Randomly typed into google something about a+ and it had youtube video. So thanks for telling aswell though =]

I will just take one of my pc's apart and fix while reading book. It's an investment eh? lol

I'm sorry for stealing this thread, but while i have your attention ( thank you ) I would like the options i have after A+. For example, What other Certs shall i get ? I was told to come to this site by speaking to an advisor from CompTIA. Oh and i'm English btw =]

Thanks to anyone who chooses to reply and give me some much needed advise.

Special Brew!

 

After the A+ you should do network + then MCDST and after the MCDST if you wish the Vista or windows 7 upgrades.

 

Thanks for the very quick reply! I will look into them =] They are good to do, even in UK ? =]
Also, I have absolutly no experience in computers.. Only what i've taught myself and read.
So, the real question is, how can i get a job in Computing ( technician or similar ) without having experience in that field.

I am serious about getting into the computer world.

I'm about to start an Open University ICT Degree. Which is part time home study and will take a long time, like 6 years.. so this is why i am doing a+ cert, and as many other things. But my situation is, no experience in the field.. =\

I was thinking, get a few Certs and apply for a IT job for Charity and earn XP that way.

What would you advise ?

I hope to hear from you !

Special Brew!