What is the best way to guarantee passing the exam?

I would feel ridiculous failing an exam that I have a very long time to prepare for and many resources to help me prepare for it. What is the best way to pass? I am guessing watching the Messer YouTube series would help me a lot, but I know that I am also good with remembering things when I use flash cards and would also like to have many practice exams so where can I obtain these two things? I am willing to pay if it is not too much money. Also, is there anything else I should consider using? Thanks!

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Comments

Plantwiz

The exams are geared toward a candidate WITH experience, so I would gain as much as possible.

The next step would be to download the objectives and review what is required to pass each exam, research the areas you are unfamiliar with, if any, and go over the definitions they list.

I would also recommend a reputable text like Meyers or Sybex if you need a lot of time to prepare, or a CramBook or Passport book if you only need light review.

There is no guaranteed way to pass. You need to study, you need some experience, and you need to be able to take two lengthy exams and pass them. These are the lowest passing score exams in your IT trek, so they are not terribly difficult if you have a thorough understanding of the content.

Best wishes.

virtualizationG

Reading the book and actually doing the work afterwards. I am someone that learns from doing, tell me the routers commands and then put me on the console and let me try the command and some of the additional options. Of it breaks, reboot and try again.

AndersonSmith

Your study habits will determine if you pass or fail. Buy a good book, do some of your own research (Google), and buy a good set of practice exams from Transcender, MeasureUp, or Total Seminars. You may even want to consider getting a couple different books to study rather than just one. The exams are geared towards people with experience but it's completely possible to pass them if you study hard enough. For the A+, since it's 2 separate exams, study the objectives for the first exam and then take it and then study the objectives for the 2nd and take it. Study at least 5 days a week and take at least 1 day off a week to let your brain rest. If there are topics you don't understand go over them again and/or find some other material that explains it in a better way for you to understand. You should be focused just as much on understanding the material as passing the test because an employer is going to expect you to know and understand the things you were tested on with the A+ test if you put that on your resume. Be sure to get plenty of rest during your studying and especially the night before you take the test(s). Hope that helps and good luck!

Benj94

I have four years experience on a Service Desk and I have studied the Exam Cram book and gone through the practice test CD you get with the book. Feeling pretty confident I booked the exams. About a week ago I went on ExamCompass and started to do their practice exams. The questions are worded different and to be honest, they expect you to know a lot more than the questions posed on the Exam Cram CD.

I'm sitting both exams tomorrow and don't feel half as confident about it as I did last week and this is all because I stuck to one source rather than studying from multiple sources. Hopefully I'll still pass but lets just see how that goes.

I cannot stress enough, study from multiple sources.

AndersonSmith

Good luck with your exams Benj94! The practice tests included with those Exam Crams tend to be a little too easy imo but your experience working at a service desk for 4 years will certainly help! I took the A+ 10 years ago and only used 1 source and passed both exams on the same day but I'm sure the tests have changed since then.

Benj94

AndersonSmith wrote: »

Good luck with your exams Benj94! The practice tests included with those Exam Crams tend to be a little too easy imo but your experience working at a service desk for 4 years will certainly help! I took the A+ 10 years ago and only used 1 source and passed both exams on the same day but I'm sure the tests have changed since then.

Passed them both this morning with a score of 820 on the 801 and 787 on the 802. My experience is definitely what got me through the second exam.

To re-iterate my point, use multiple sources. The exam cram test is too easy.

ThomasITguy

With any CompTia test you have to study and use different materials....