Study buddy in MN?

I'm in the Minneapolis area and studying for the A+ exam. Anyone else? Be nice to have a study buddy

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bloodshotbetty wrote: »

I'm in the Minneapolis area and studying for the A+ exam. Anyone else? Be nice to have a study buddy

Hey bloodshotbetty,

A couple of questions for you. How long have you been studying for the A+? Do you have any prior experience in building, repairing, and maintaining PC's? The reason for the questions is to see where are you at in terms of experience and knowledge. I am currently studying for the 802 exam. I recently passed the 801 exam. In short, I do not mind a study buddy. Please let me know as soon as you can. Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks.

bloodshotbetty

I am a total noob. I started studying about 3 weeks ago after deciding to leave the social work field and go into IT. I have minimal experience so this is all very new to me

Armitron77

bloodshotbetty wrote: »

I am a total noob. I started studying about 3 weeks ago after deciding to leave the social work field and go into IT. I have minimal experience so this is all very new to me

Wow. So you are a rookie. Okay. Sorry to hear you left the social work field. I heard its a very good field but has a high drop out rate. Anyway, what materials are you currently using to study? Since your a noob, I would highly recommend you get a hold of an old desktop computer so that you may get hands on experience. Taking it apart and learning what each component does such as the Northbridge, Southbridge chipsets, etc. Trust me, it will help you with your studies. The book that I am recommending for you is the All-In-One CompTIA A+ Certification Exam Guide 8th Edition book by Mike Meyers. You can buy it from amazon.com for a good price. The ISBN is: 978-0-07-179512-8. There are other books that you can use such as ExamCram, but that book is geared towards more experience techs. Not to say you cannot buy the book and study from it. Furthermore, take a lot of practice tests. There are websites that have them such as examcompass.com. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to answer them as best I can.

bloodshotbetty

I found an old desktop computer in my parents basement which I tore apart. It's very helpful! My brother is giving me a newer desktop that my husband and I are going to tear apart and then rebuild. Currently, I am using the Mike Meyers book and purchased the full Professor Messer training. I am backing it up with CBT Nuggets- so I'm pretty well covered! My husband is a Sys Admin and my good friend is a network engineer and they have been very helpful.

Thanks for the tips on the practice exams! I need those.

Iristheangel

You look familiar, Bloodshotbetty

bloodshotbetty

Hi katherine.

Iristheangel

Less posting, more studying. *cracks whip*

jking.

Glad you made it to this little piece of the interwebs. Lots of great support and motivation to go around here.

Armitron77

bloodshotbetty wrote: »

I found an old desktop computer in my parents basement which I tore apart. It's very helpful! My brother is giving me a newer desktop that my husband and I are going to tear apart and then rebuild. Currently, I am using the Mike Meyers book and purchased the full Professor Messer training. I am backing it up with CBT Nuggets- so I'm pretty well covered! My husband is a Sys Admin and my good friend is a network engineer and they have been very helpful.

Thanks for the tips on the practice exams! I need those.

Ok. Well, it looks like you are ready to go. You pretty much have all the help near you. Professor Messer videos are a good thing to study and take notes from. That's what I am doing to prep for my 802 exam coming up on the 20th of this month. Anyway, good luck on studying the A+.

techfiend

Living with a sys admin will help immensely, along with tearing down computers. Another thing that might help in more than just the A+ is volunteering at some hardware shops, here's a few in the area:

Volunteer
Minnesota Computers for Schools - Technology Transformed

I just found mncfs but freegeek I was strongly considering volunteering after college football season but I already had a sys admin job by then. Also cold calling the numerous mom-n-pop computer shops around the cities gave me 2 opportunities within a month, I took neither due to obtaining another position.

I had a lot of luck with ExamCram but Armitron77 is correct about it being more for people with familiarity. Testout\labsim has become my new favorite study source, it's kind of expensive though.

The IT field is really hot in the area, at least for entry-level and I think A+ will be plenty to find a decent support position that could turn into something more, good luck!