I'm (almost) CompTIA A+ certified!

mistersprinkles · 22 Jul 2017 at 02:30

I took the A+ 220-901 exam today and passed. Now I just have to take the 220-902 and I can make $13.50 an hour as a real life computer technician!

Hooray!

Anyways, once I'm A+ certified you guys will have to take me super super serial on the forums.

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jsmoke · 22 Jul 2017 at 02:58

I did this years ago(also the N+ and the course work for the CCNA) and worked as a PC tech for a year, still quite a lot to learn, all fiddly stuff, settings and virus removal, backups, networking, componebts, laptops etc. I think the company I worked for charged £60 per hour. Seemed like a total rip off.

mistersprinkles · 22 Jul 2017 at 03:23

jsmoke said:
I did this years ago(also the N+ and the course work for the CCNA) and worked as a PC tech for a year, still quite a lot to learn, all fiddly stuff, settings and virus removal, backups, networking, componebts, laptops etc. I think the company I worked for charged £60 per hour. Seemed like a total rip off.

It is totally a rip off. Still, it's something I like to do, so I'm going to try to make a carreer of it.

Will be doing Network+ soon as well and from there who knows?

Delvis · 22 Jul 2017 at 08:38

mistersprinkles said:
It is totally a rip off. Still, it's something I like to do, so I'm going to try to make a carreer of it.

Will be doing Network+ soon as well and from there who knows?

If I knew what I do now having worked for God knows how long I'd Defo do the N+, then maybe security+ or whatever it is. Being a general techy won't get you anywhere aparently.

Minibiker · 22 Jul 2017 at 09:05

Congrats bud... i'm currently studying for my Comptia A+ exam... been watching videos and reading books, taking notes as I go... Fingers Crossed I pass these exams then i will head up the route of Network and Security and sit those exams....

Maundie · 22 Jul 2017 at 09:16

Congrats but A+ is only Basic level and there isn't any money in general deskside support anymore (Computacenter me contract work in Central London covering all the Tube Stations and TfL offices for £14 an hour!!).

I passed the A+ in 1998 I think it was and I've checked the sample questions and one is "What is the most common type of power connector in a PC?" I got that wrong as apparently the answer is molex, opened the PC I was currently working on and it didn't have a single molex connector, opened the one I was taking out (3 years old HP machine) and it only had one molex connector for the DVD drive.

firstborn · 22 Jul 2017 at 09:36

Maundie said:
Congrats but A+ is only Basic level and there isn't any money in general deskside support anymore (Computacenter me contract work in Central London covering all the Tube Stations and TfL offices for £14 an hour!!).

I passed the A+ in 1998 I think it was and I've checked the sample questions and one is "What is the most common type of power connector in a PC?" I got that wrong as apparently the answer is molex, opened the PC I was currently working on and it didn't have a single molex connector, opened the one I was taking out (3 years old HP machine) and it only had one molex connector for the DVD drive.

There is ore than one type of molex connector you know...

jsmoke · 22 Jul 2017 at 10:14

Ended up in a banks server room once, being guided on a teleconference call from some guy in the USA, felt like a total clueless prat, had really no idea about servers at the time so just winged it and hoped for the best, turns out all I had to do was swap out a couple of a servers PSU's - certain organisations like banks have to contract outsiders even for the easiest job on their equipment. Just as well it was an easy job or could have easily borked a very expensive server.

wordy · 22 Jul 2017 at 10:18

Get into Telephony, that's what all the cool kids are doing.

dowie · 22 Jul 2017 at 10:19

Delvis said:
If I knew what I do now having worked for God knows how long I'd Defo do the N+, then maybe security+ or whatever it is. Being a general techy won't get you anywhere aparently.

dunno about that, you can progress beyond that sort of level and still be a general techie

Deleted User 234324 · 22 Jul 2017 at 10:37

If you want to get anywhere, concentrate on networks and security. Installing software and fixing printers is for mugs

glenimp617 · 22 Jul 2017 at 10:39

ah congrats mate

I'm really happy when I see something like this on a CV. Yes, you can learn everything and more just through experience but it tells me the candidate in question actually has an interest in IT and the character to actually be bothered enough to put themselves through study and exams. The majority of CVs dropped on my desk are appalling. I've done interviews where people haven't a clue about IT.....makes me wonder why they even turn up sometimes.

dowie · 22 Jul 2017 at 10:42

MadMossy said:
If you want to get anywhere, concentrate on networks and security. Installing software and fixing printers is for mugs

depends on the software... some people get close to a grand a day for configuring and installing software

Minibiker · 22 Jul 2017 at 10:47

Quick question guys... is it best to pass the CompTIA A+ courses first then move onto Network and Security

Ayahuasca · 22 Jul 2017 at 10:51

Minibiker said:
Quick question guys... is it best to pass the CompTIA A+ courses first then move onto Network and Security

Doesn't really matter as they're all different areas, Network+ and Security+ are a fair bit more difficult than A+ though.

It's important to actually learn the material and understand it rather than just doing enough to pass the test, there's so many people with qualifications who don't have a clue once they start a role.

jsmoke · 22 Jul 2017 at 11:34

Also a cloud+ so I see and 'cyber security' is pretty big at the moment, can't remember the names but there are a couple of fairly well thought of CS certs, I would actually advise having a look into these, problem is these tests take time to properly learn.

Ok, I see Cisco are doing a CS cert, 'Cybersecurity Specialist', have a look into this(obvioulsy if your interested).

Gypo · 22 Jul 2017 at 13:11

For entry level jobs around 20k employers now want experience and knowledge in Server 2012+, SCCM, Citrix, GPO, backup and anti virus platforms and a hell of a lot more.

Market is flooded with IT techs and wannabe IT techs who think they know something.

FoxEye · 22 Jul 2017 at 13:27

Minibiker said:
Quick question guys... is it best to pass the CompTIA A+ courses first then move onto Network and Security

I did the N+ without the other two (because it was free

).

It's not hard. In fact you might reasonably say it's a bit of a joke.

Minibiker · 22 Jul 2017 at 16:43

a lot of job descriptions ive read lately are always looking for people with IT experience. How can i gain experience if no employer wants to take me on :confused:

TallPaul_S · 22 Jul 2017 at 19:18

Minibiker said:
a lot of job descriptions ive read lately are always looking for people with IT experience. How can i gain experience if no employer wants to take me on

You need to find somewhere to get in at the very bottom level - I moved into IT in 2014, found a great company with excellent pay who weren't looking for loads of IT knowledge, just a decent understanding and good customer service skills. They are about... I had loads of years in financial services and customer services and had a decent home PC knowledge but zero server knowledge.

3 years on I've done my A+ (funded by them) which isn't really much of a certification but it ticks a box

Should be starting the MSCA probably late this year or next as well as moving up to 'proper' desktop support from being a service desk guy, along with the (approximately) 25% pay rise (+ ovetime and on-call money on top).