Using Vidoes Only for Comptia A+ Studies

AkintayooAkintayoo Registered Users Posts: 7 ■■□□□□□□□□
I am pretty new here even though I have been lurking around for few months, reading forum posts and learnimg from the "masters" :)

If anything I have learned so far from members' posts, it is that, a combination of resources are often the ideal way to prepare for certification exams like Comptia A+,for example. I work in an IT company, but not in IT. I use computer most;y for administrative purposes and my interest in IT is growing by the day.

My Plan:

I have begun to watch CBT Nuggets A+ vidoes by Anthony Sequeira and I can say I am really baffled at the rate I am understanding what he teaches- perhaps his deliery style is second to none... :)

I plan to also watch:

(1) Professor Messer's vidoes
(2) Mike Meyer's Total 901 & 902 video courses
(3) David Prowse's 901 & 902 vidoes
(4) Powercert animated vidoe course on YouTube - 3hrs 901 course

So in all, I am learning by watching 5 vidoes including the CBT Nuggets for both the 220-901 &220-902 exams.

After this, I plan to use Professor Messer's Study notes as well as use my old laptop to get farmiliar with the motherboard and some hands on practice experience... I should also try my hands on questions online.

Question:

Do you think I am on the right path? I feel I am already learning a lot via the CBT Nuggets vidoes and I have this strong belief that once am done with Powercert, Messer's, Prowse's, CBT Nuggets' vidoes, and Messer's notes, I would have the solid knowledge (hard to define this) to sit and pass the exams WITHOUT reading the Exam Cram or Meyer's Bulky textbooks.

For Network+, I plan to sit down, read (the Meyer's book for this is almost half the size of A+) and of course take vidoe courses.

Comments

  • duta74duta74 Member Posts: 143 ■■□□□□□□□□
    One of best resource for study CompTIA Trio(A/N/S+) is a Testout labsim:
    https://testoutce.com/
    Try their free 7 day trial
  • AkintayooAkintayoo Registered Users Posts: 7 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Thank you, duta74 for the sugestion. I'll look into this as well. :)
  • yoba222yoba222 Member Posts: 1,237 ■■■■■■■■□□
    I've never attempted to gain a cert without reading at least one textbook. It's probably doable for this exam, but at an absolute minimum you'll need to use practice exams. Getting good at taking the test is something you can't learn by listening and watching someone else.
    A+, Network+, CCNA, LFCS,
    Security+, eJPT, CySA+, PenTest+,
    Cisco CyberOps, GCIH, VHL,
    In progress: OSCP
  • KGlenn1008KGlenn1008 Registered Users Posts: 4 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Videos are a great source of learning. I find that videos help me understand the logical side (how and why things happen) of IT while books/guides help me learn the technical information (Pin count, cable speeds, windows version requirements). Getting hands on is the best way to understand what you need for this test in my honest opinion. Breaking down an old PC and putting it back together and knowing what utilities are available on a windows OS will for sure make this an easier experience than you expect.
  • davec8080davec8080 Member Posts: 53 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Akintayoo wrote: »
    I am pretty new here even though I have been lurking around for few months, reading forum posts and learnimg from the "masters" :)

    If anything I have learned so far from members' posts, it is that, a combination of resources are often the ideal way to prepare for certification exams like Comptia A+,for example. I work in an IT company, but not in IT. I use computer most;y for administrative purposes and my interest in IT is growing by the day.

    My Plan:

    I have begun to watch CBT Nuggets A+ vidoes by Anthony Sequeira and I can say I am really baffled at the rate I am understanding what he teaches- perhaps his deliery style is second to none... :)

    I plan to also watch:

    (1) Professor Messer's vidoes
    (2) Mike Meyer's Total 901 & 902 video courses
    (3) David Prowse's 901 & 902 vidoes
    (4) Powercert animated vidoe course on YouTube - 3hrs 901 course

    So in all, I am learning by watching 5 vidoes including the CBT Nuggets for both the 220-901 &220-902 exams.

    After this, I plan to use Professor Messer's Study notes as well as use my old laptop to get farmiliar with the motherboard and some hands on practice experience... I should also try my hands on questions online.

    Question:

    Do you think I am on the right path? I feel I am already learning a lot via the CBT Nuggets vidoes and I have this strong belief that once am done with Powercert, Messer's, Prowse's, CBT Nuggets' vidoes, and Messer's notes, I would have the solid knowledge (hard to define this) to sit and pass the exams WITHOUT reading the Exam Cram or Meyer's Bulky textbooks.

    For Network+, I plan to sit down, read (the Meyer's book for this is almost half the size of A+) and of course take vidoe courses.


    I don't mean to put Messer down at all. His notes are handy, as far as memorizing fine details go. But you need to be aware of something. The A+ and (Network+) especially, the latest versions of these tests are PRACTICAL knowledge based. Yes, there are a lot of port numbers to memorize and a lot of other fine details to nail down. But knowing those fine details (like port numbers) will not help you pass the test.

    Just one example...
    On network+, you will be given a network wiring diagram, with many servers, many clients, portions allocated to DMZ, etc. You will be asked why workstation 23 can't communicate with Server 3. You have to figure it out by just reading the diagram. There are no port numbers on the diagram. If someone perfectly memorized Messer's notes, they would have NO CLUE how to even guess at a possible answer. Same with reading books. You have to draw on real-world troubleshooting experience to answer many of the CompTIA exam questions, especially the Network+ stuff. If you are extremely intelligent, you MIGHT be able to absorb enough information from book study to figure out ENOUGH of the practical stuff to squeak by.

    What's my point? If you want to pass the test, study Messer's notes, if you wish. But spend most of your study time on book study. Then hope you are quick enough to glean some practical knowledge from that.

    Video study could work just as well as book study, IF you are prepared to pause the video (frequently!) to take hand-written notes. The videos cover the same material, but writing it down is key to remembering it. And unfortunately, most of what the instructors are saying is IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER....

    Good luck...
  • bluewarlord8bluewarlord8 Member Posts: 74 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Hey,

    I am actually prepping for the exam at school, well I was supposed to but my tutor was crap this semester so I had to result to 'teaching myself'.

    I am 70% into completing A+ prep and with the comical use of Mike Meyers videos and text, it is quite helpful. Udemy is a website I recommend to anyone.
    Certs: CompTIA A+, MTA: Server Admin, CCST - Networking & Azure Fundamentals.
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