A+ Passed: Click for tips and common threads of the exam.

bluewarlord8

I was pleased to add the A+ to my certifications today.

Anyway.. instead of boasting about the pass of my certificate I thought I'd help the crew by sharing my experience with the A+.

Firstly, I passed the 901 in one go. 902.. 3 attempts.

Study material that massively aided me:

• Udemy; Mr Mike Meyers.
• Professor Messer.
• Professor Messer's PDF pop quiz book & his course notes.

Strategy that worked for me:

• Complete all of the contents of Udemy; Mike Meyers.
• Polish up the knowledge with Professor Messer's quick and informative videos.
• Spend a fat chunk of time going through Prof Messer's Pop Quiz Booklet, so you can increase your confidence and have a taster of what it will be like on exam days.
• Lastly, Use the course notes to go over things you may have in the back of your mind.
• Write your own flashcards - writing down notes helps me memorize them.

Keep this in mind:

If your like me then don't tell a soul about the day you will attempt the exams. I did this and it backfired as I was too nervous and started stressing about people instead of the questions; stress makes your thinking all cloudy. Cloudy Mind = Bad

They say sugar is good for the memory.. so go and grab yourselves your favourite, candy/biscuits/soda.. obviously consume responsibly. I don't want any court cases, lol. #DiabetesIsn'tAJoke

Common Threads I've seen:
Okay. Simulations, Simulations, Simulations, Simulations. No if's, no but's and definitely no maybe's. You must be confident with WLAN config, Mobile Email setup, Windows Recovery Command Prompt tools such as the bootrec.exe commands... Now apart from the sim's there's a healthy selection of the following topics:
(these are from the 902 as I felt it was more complex than the 901)

• Windows Troubleshooting
• Security
• Cloud
• IT Professionalism
• Troubleshooting Theory

In a nutshell:

• Have fun revising.
• I advise 2/3 hours revision a day (this does depend on your schedule and lifestyle i.e. jobs, family, kids, blah blah blah)
• Deep breaths. Being stressed/nervous is the last thing you need.
• Drink 3/4l (roughly) a day so your body and brain is hydrated (again, drink to your bodies need, the figure might be less or more). #Caution
• Exercise is good for the memory.
• Have mini breaks in between study sessions. Don't overheat your brain (unfortunately there's no heatsink/'brain fan' slot for the brain).

I feel as I've missed a few points. I may or may not edit this post in the future.

I wish you good luck and good health. May we all achieve the goals we want.

Peace guys

D20

Congrats!!!

Praying i can say the same on July 2nd!!! I just need to keep studying!

Spiegel

Congratulations!

bluewarlord8

Thanks dudes and yeah totally! Good luck! Prof messer helps

Marie1886

Congrats! Hope I can say the same in July.

bluewarlord8

Marie1886 wrote: »

Congrats! Hope I can say the same in July.

Just make sure you revise and cover all the major topics on the 902 exam objectives.

https://certification.comptia.org/docs/default-source/exam-objectives/comptia-a-220-902-exam-objectives.pdf

ccnpninja

Congrats!

bluewarlord8

ccnpninja wrote: »

Congrats!

Thanks Dude!

asoft

Congrats! What is next?

bluewarlord8

asoft wrote: »

Congrats! What is next?

TY. MS Windows Server is next on the kill list.

PRITBFS

I plan on taking the 901 in 1-2 months or so followed by the 902. What text book or e-book does anyone recommend for either 01, 02 or All In One?

Thanks!

bluewarlord8

If your looking for books/e-books I recommend, Mike Meyers, CompTIA A+ All-in-One book (https://www.amazon.ca/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X?th=1&psc=1&source=googleshopping&locale=en-CA&tag=googcana-20&ref=pd_sl_4waha2tjaf_e).

In addition, I've heard Exam Cram books are decent also (https://www.amazon.ca/CompTIA-220-901-220-902-Exam-Cram/dp/0789756315?th=1&psc=1&source=googleshopping&locale=en-CA&tag=googcana-20&ref=pd_sl_5rdlaaofvb_e).

Good Luck.

PCTechLinc

Just keep in my that YMMV with Exam Cram books. They are all written by different authors. My former instructor wrote the one for MCSE 70-270 Practice Questions Exam Cram 2 Windows XP. Never read it though.

I did get the Exam Cram for CISSP, and it did have a lot of good information that was to-the-point. I think they're good as supplemental reference material.

Reborn

Congratulations to the OP for passing this certification exam!

Also a huge hello to everyone in this thread!

I am pretty new to the forums and completely new to computers and IT altogether. I have decided to start with A+ as my very first certification even though I have zero knowledge or experience with anything that is covered by this topic lol. I admit that seeing a thread like this one (especially posted so recently) really gives me a giant confidence boost and reassurance that I can also take care of this.

Would you say that only using the ExamCram and the Mike Meyers book will be sufficient enough for passing?

Another foolish question I have but how do I get into simulations and revisions? Download Virtual Box and just run different stuff on there?

Thank you btw everyone!

the_leither

Well done on passing

Ppssibly should have looked in on this thread before starting my own, some great information in here!

bluewarlord8

Reborn wrote: »

Congratulations to the OP for passing this certification exam!

Also a huge hello to everyone in this thread!

I am pretty new to the forums and completely new to computers and IT altogether. I have decided to start with A+ as my very first certification even though I have zero knowledge or experience with anything that is covered by this topic lol. I admit that seeing a thread like this one (especially posted so recently) really gives me a giant confidence boost and reassurance that I can also take care of this.

Would you say that only using the ExamCram and the Mike Meyers book will be sufficient enough for passing?

Another foolish question I have but how do I get into simulations and revisions? Download Virtual Box and just run different stuff on there?

Thank you btw everyone!

Thankyou! I think the Mike Meyers book with Professor Messer Videos on Youtube help phenomenally. As it happens, i'm selling my Mike Meyers A+ All-in-One book.. check it out on the following link: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/CompTIA-A-Certification-All-in-One-Exam-Guide-Ninth-Edition-Exams-220-901/123278336674

Dakinggamer87

Congrats!!!

techbits

Well done mate! Good to see the study paid off. Thanks for all that advice. Professor Messer is a name that keeps on coming up again and again. Good luck for MS Server. Let us know how you go, it will be interesting to see someone compare a CompTIA exam to a Microsoft one.

Oh, and so right about not telling anyone. It does get in your head and adds to your nerves leading up to the exam. Like, what if you fail, and you have to tell them that when they ask you how you went? My advice is not only keep the exam date secret, but keep the whole thing secret until after it is over. Always worked for me.

Once again, congrats on passing a very broad-reaching test.

bluewarlord8

techbits wrote: »

Well done mate! Good to see the study paid off. Thanks for all that advice. Professor Messer is a name that keeps on coming up again and again. Good luck for MS Server. Let us know how you go, it will be interesting to see someone compare a CompTIA exam to a Microsoft one.

Oh, and so right about not telling anyone. It does get in your head and adds to your nerves leading up to the exam. Like, what if you fail, and you have to tell them that when they ask you how you went? My advice is not only keep the exam date secret, but keep the whole thing secret until after it is over. Always worked for me.

Once again, congrats on passing a very broad-reaching test.

Thanks! And I can't wait. the MS Server world is quite interesting. I can't wait to do at least one of the Server exams.. And yes, stay tuned for more reviews on big Vendor exams haha.

bluewarlord8

Dakinggamer87 wrote: »

Congrats!!!

Thanks, Dakinggamer87.

DavidNichols

Nice! Hydration is huge!

Please don't think I'm being weird but I have the hardest time drinking water while studying. I can easily study a couple hours in a bath tub and spend half a day outside of the bath struggling to be focuses. I think it's the lack of distraction from the kids, the hydration, and being in a calm place.

One of my teachers works full-time and finished his masters all while teaching 12 hours a week. Say what!? He never studied more than 2 hours a day or more than 20 minutes at a time. When you do your 20 minutes take a 5 to 10 minutes break. He recently repeated this...I had been doing 25 minutes of study 5 in break, and a longer 20 minute to 30 minute break after 2 25's were done. What can I say. It really worked to keep cloudy mind away.

Touch the information everyday if you can (when I was in school and work that day, getting 25 minutes in my morning and evening commute is all I could do where I passively listened, or if I was focuses, I could more actively listen (Professor Messer)).

Sorry, tried to quote someone who had a link and then the website locked it up. So I deleted the quote and my comment looks like a quote. Oh well, lol.