Comptia A+

WingZero30 · 7 Dec 2010 at 18:08

Hi guys

How useful is it to obtain such qualification if I want to run my own computer repair business from home? Is it better to work as a volunteer in a computer repair shop gaining hands on experience? I ask this question if some customers demand some kind of certification and I don't possess any.
I was reading somewhere that small businesses usually want evidence of some sort of cetification.

Armitage Shanks · 7 Dec 2010 at 18:13

Experience always beats certification. I think the ideal would be to work somewhere where you could get certification with them paying for some/all of the training cost.

Mr-White · 7 Dec 2010 at 18:23

Should be pretty easy to get this cert your self, just buy the book & pay for the exam. If you've built your own computer before then most of it will be straight forward.

MW

Michael Myers · 7 Dec 2010 at 18:24

Armitage Shanks said:
Experience always beats certification. I think the ideal would be to work somewhere where you could get certification with them paying for some/all of the training cost.

I can see the OP's point though, im starting up the same sort of thing here but i have some microsoft and cisco certifications behind me if required.

Mr-White · 7 Dec 2010 at 18:31

People always put certs down but I think they're extremely valuable for someone with equal experience. One company I dealt with gave a £500 pay rise for each exam they passed, up to 3 a year.

MW

Armitage Shanks · 7 Dec 2010 at 18:36

Mr-White said:
People always put certs down but I think they're extremely valuable for someone with equal experience. One company I dealt with gave a £500 pay rise for each exam they passed, up to 3 a year.

MW

For sure, it just sounds like the OP has no commercial experience. I'd say getting some kind of hands-on experience is more important than any certification but ideally he should do both.

WingZero30 · 7 Dec 2010 at 19:48

I built my first PC few months ago and did a lot of research for it aswell. Afterwards I got hooked onto the Ocuk forums as my brother is also a member. Since then I feel I have learnt quite a lot by reading the forums and still continuing to learn more as the forums have proved to be an excellent platform for learning and sharing knowledge; something which I couldn't have gained by reading computer books.

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My weakness at the moment is in networking/security/firewall etc

. It's just I have become tired and heavily bored from job hunting and thinking of pursuing my passion for computers. Funny enough before I built my first PC I didn't even have a clue on how to put ram in the slots lol

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My only concern is that repair shops may not be willing to take me on as a volunteer. I tried similar thing with accountancy and architect firms for CAD but gained no response. That's why I feel that ComptiaA+ should help me more as it involves practical element of fixing problems.

With that I should be more confident of repairing hardware and software issues myself. However onething I would like to ask is that if a customer's mobo is found to be faulty what is the best course of action to take? I only did little bit of soldering back in school lol.

xJcBx · 7 Dec 2010 at 20:03

WingZero30 said:
if a customer's mobo is found to be faulty what is the best course of action to take? I only did little bit of soldering back in school lol.

New one.

J.B · 7 Dec 2010 at 20:09

Personally I dont think Comptia is worth sweet FA, but that's just my opinion. A better course maybe a City and Guild in Computer Maintenance (I used to teach this) it can do a module which is in association with A+ and N+.

It's probably worth applying for some first line support roles as this is how most people get in to the industry.

Im not sure running a repair business from home is really a worth wild endeavour nowadays as its a flooded market but thats not to say you wont be able to do it, it will just be hard work. To be honest I wouldnt want someone who only a few months ago didnt know how to fit RAM working on machines.

The best way forward would be to just apply at repair shops and for first line support and see what you get. Depending on your situation you might want to look at an evening course at a local college.

jmhduck · 7 Dec 2010 at 20:40

I think it depends what experience/qualifications you have. I worked for two years on technical support and have a computer science degree I think that'd do for my qualifications if I wanted to run a computer repair business. Then again additional qualifications are never a bad thing.

WingZero30 · 7 Dec 2010 at 20:43

J.B said:
Personally I dont think Comptia is worth sweet FA, but that's just my opinion. A better course maybe a City and Guild in Computer Maintenance (I used to teach this) it can do a module which is in association with A+ and N+.

It's probably worth applying for some first line support roles as this is how most people get in to the industry.

Im not sure running a repair business from home is really a worth wild endeavour nowadays as its a flooded market but thats not to say you wont be able to do it, it will just be hard work. To be honest I wouldnt want someone who only a few months ago didnt know how to fit RAM working on machines.

The best way forward would be to just apply at repair shops and for first line support and see what you get. Depending on your situation you might want to look at an evening course at a local college.

Thanks J.B for insight.
Actually before building my first pc I did a motherboard POST test on my brother's mobo as I wanted to use his one for my pc. For this my local repair shop was charging £30. However after learning about it I found out that mobo was faulty. Also I recently installed Thermalright IFX-14 cooler which involves slightly tricky installation process and the cooler itself is big.

So I have been experimenting with pc hardware. It's just I need a bigger exposure to pc repair

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Bassmansam · 7 Dec 2010 at 20:43

J.B said:
Personally I dont think Comptia is worth sweet FA, but that's just my opinion. A better course maybe a City and Guild in Computer Maintenance (I used to teach this) it can do a module which is in association with A+ and N+.

It's probably worth applying for some first line support roles as this is how most people get in to the industry.

Im not sure running a repair business from home is really a worth wild endeavour nowadays as its a flooded market but thats not to say you wont be able to do it, it will just be hard work. To be honest I wouldnt want someone who only a few months ago didnt know how to fit RAM working on machines.

The best way forward would be to just apply at repair shops and for first line support and see what you get. Depending on your situation you might want to look at an evening course at a local college.

IWhat qualifications do you need for 1st line support? I've got a degree in CompSci i know its not very similar but would i be in a good position for this type of job?

WingZero30 · 7 Dec 2010 at 20:48

jmhduck said:
I think it depends what experience/qualifications you have. I worked for two years on technical support and have a computer science degree I think that'd do for my qualifications if I wanted to run a computer repair business. Then again additional qualifications are never a bad thing.

I did AS Level in Computing although I have an engineering degree. During my engineering degree I was part of a group project which involved designing, manufacturing and testing a water turbine which was about 1.50m in height. So I am hoping with some exposure already gained from engineering I hope I can get into pc repairs.

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PeterNem · 7 Dec 2010 at 22:35

WingZero30 said:
Thanks J.B for insight.
Actually before building my first pc I did a motherboard POST test on my brother's mobo as I wanted to use his one for my pc. For this my local repair shop was charging £30. However after learning about it I found out that mobo was faulty. Also I recently installed Thermalright IFX-14 cooler which involves slightly tricky installation process and the cooler itself is big.

So I have been experimenting with pc hardware. It's just I need a bigger exposure to pc repair .

You claim to be a uni graduate and yet you genuinely see that installing a heat sink and fan or doing basic diagnosis is a big deal? I'd be surprised if you can make any worthwhile money in doing this yourself.

Average consumers hate spending money on this stuff and probably run £300 PCs from chain stores until they break, curse a bit, then replace them with similar.

Power users will be able to do this work themselves.

Business users will always buy commodity systems and generally not custom build or see any value in these types of services as they'll run things in warranty then replace after a few years.

Get a job in first line support, learn about supporting IT in a commercial environment, and hopefully if you're any good work your way up from here.

Mr-White · 7 Dec 2010 at 22:55

If you're not up to a level to at least study the A+ at home and need to go to college for a city and guilds, then you have a long way ahead of you to get an IT job.

Employers still ask for A+ but it's a very basic requirement for 1st line positions. What did you do at uni ?

MW