PNWDweller Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Has anyone recently taken the A+ Cert test? I just got a job with a company which requires me to get mine within 90 days of hire. I am very confident in computers (Who here isn't right?) and know quite a bit about them, have torn them down, rebuilt them, replaced many a mainboard and have worked the last two years or so in a frontline helpdesk job fixing computers for my county. I have an average understanding of DHCP, DNS, TCIP/IP items as well as have grown up as a kid in the DOS era before Windows 1.0 was released. With all of this though, I know for a fact that this will only get me so far in the test. :) I have downloaded a CCNA practice app for my phone and so far so good, but I am missing some questions and am getting a bit paranoid about the acronym part of things. I talked to a co-worker which took his in 1996 (and grandfathered in), and said it was a progressive test, the more you got right, the less you had to answer? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mls67 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 I know that CCNA is a Cisco cert, not A+. avansledright 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avansledright Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 If you are familiar with computers the A+ test will be a breeze. Just take a practice exam and you will see how simple it is. timster 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skiver Veteran Posted July 14, 2014 Veteran Share Posted July 14, 2014 As MLS67 has said, CCNA and A+ are two very different things. When I did A+ about 9 years ago there was a set amount of questions, I have heard with CCNA that if you get something wrong it will probe you in that area more. I thought the A+ was pretty easy, I helped a friend through his as he was struggling a bit but then I did sit the entire course too. I'm not sure what the course would be like today but the hardest section I remember was around subnetting, but that was just me as my head just couldn't quite keep that stuff in properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odom Member Posted July 14, 2014 Member Share Posted July 14, 2014 I have heard with CCNA that if you get something wrong it will probe you in that area more. Yes and no. There are different kinds of tests and you never really know which one you get. Some have a set amount of questions and you have to go through them all. Another kind of test is the adaptive kind. If you get many questions right in a certain topic it will not ask you that many more. If you get some wrong, it will ask you more questions on it. It is good because if you know your stuff you can finish the exam with much less questions than having to do the whole thing, and it is also good in that if you get some wrong it will simply give you some more chances to answer questions correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duddit2 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 I found the A+ easy but I was well prepared for it, a lot of questions related to legacy tech when I did it that was hard to study for as it was less relevant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+John Teacake MVC Posted July 14, 2014 MVC Share Posted July 14, 2014 I thought the CCNA was more difficult than I perceived it to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brony Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Mileage may vary depending the state: (COMPTIA) a+ = for errand boys. In most cases, is for people that will earn the minimum wages. CISCO CCNA = is a proper certification that could be scalable. Some specialists could earn a lot with the Cisco certification. However, since it is a requisite, just take the A+ and pass it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Eternal Tempest MVC Posted July 14, 2014 MVC Share Posted July 14, 2014 A+ is meant to demonstrate pc tech skills with equivalent of 6 months experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc302 Veteran Posted July 14, 2014 Veteran Share Posted July 14, 2014 Mileage may vary depending the state: (COMPTIA) a+ = for errand boys. In most cases, is for people that will earn the minimum wages. CISCO CCNA = is a proper certification that could be scalable. Some specialists could earn a lot with the Cisco certification. However, since it is a requisite, just take the A+ and pass it. CCNA is the A+ of the cisco world, it is your base exam. CCNE would be the way to go to start a career in cisco, ccna is just a test to get you into a job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PNWDweller Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 I meant in my OP to say Comptia A+ for the certification. I am going to be looking at some of the practice exams online, but know those do not always reflect the actual questions. My weak area is also subnetting and some of the legacy hardware stuff. One practice test I saw asked about socket numbers for chips and I never really paid attention to that stuff back in the day. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skiver Veteran Posted July 15, 2014 Veteran Share Posted July 15, 2014 I meant in my OP to say Comptia A+ for the certification. I am going to be looking at some of the practice exams online, but know those do not always reflect the actual questions. My weak area is also subnetting and some of the legacy hardware stuff. One practice test I saw asked about socket numbers for chips and I never really paid attention to that stuff back in the day. ;) The one question I remember that got me was on fire extinguishers, I remember there being a section on the different types and where they should be used but the exam didn't use the same terms. So instead of foam etc it just had type a, type b etc. I didn't have a clue as my material only ever described them as what actually came out of the thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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