A+ How long to study?

pearlyred

Hey all,

Am thinking of taking the A+ exams as I've recently moved into a tech support role and think this would be a good start on the road of certification. I dont wanna spend 3k on a course so will probably just study and take exams.

How long do people recommend studying for before the exams? How do you know when you know enough?

cheers
Lee

Ricka182

First, get a couple good books. I used the Mike Myers books, which are good. Just make sure you get the latest edition of whatever you buy. As for how long, it realistically depends on how much you already know, and any experience you may have. I would at least a good month of solid study for each exam. Once you start scoring high on practice exams on a regular basis, there's an indication. Also, make sure not to just take the same practice tests over and over.....

bighornsheep

it took me YEARS to get my A+...lol

no worries, not because it was hard, because I kept on delaying it (2 versions updated, price went up like crazy).
If you're serious about it, you should get it QUICK, there's a new edition coming out soon, and it costs about 50% more.

I used Sybex A+ Complete, plus 2 years hands-on experience.
studied about 2 weeks for hardware core, a month for OS.

Cheers, Good luck!

jojopramos

I studied my A+ HW and OS for 2.5 mos only. I used Mike Myers and had my 8 yrs of tech support experience.....

Megadeth4168

I studied for each A+ exam for 2 weeks. I already had a couple years experience in the field at that time though.

Slowhand

I had been doing PC repair type of work for a few years, and I'd been working at a tech shop for about a year when I came in on a Tuesday, only to be told "You're going in for your A+ tests on Friday. The hardware's at 9am, the software's at noon." They gave me the crappiest study material ever, as put forth by the company policy. I passed, but it was a little. . . eh. . . abrupt.

Danman32

Slowhand wrote:

I had been doing PC repair type of work for a few years, and I'd been working at a tech shop for about a year when I came in on a Tuesday, only to be told "You're going in for your A+ tests on Friday. The hardware's at 9am, the software's at noon." They gave me the crappiest study material ever, as put forth by the company policy. I passed, but it was a little. . . eh. . . abrupt.

That's just wrong, unless they felt you should have gotten that cert by now in the first place. Glad you passed though.