Just got my first certification...

I finished the A+ test today, but I was confused by some of the questions.
Both tests asked me questions about dealing with customers and what to do if I can't lift a large monitor. I even got the same question on each of the tests.

What do these topics have to do with hardware or operating systems?

Anyway, I shouldn't have worried as much as I did about the tests.

What I would like to know is what certifications to pursue next, I'm thinking Network+.
What are some good ones to look into?

Also, what's this "welcome packet"? I am not too patient of a person, and I am really interested to find out what you get for passing a few tests.

Thank you all, and great site, by the way.

EDIT: Are different questions weighted differently as far as the scoring goes?

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bighornsheep

Hey!

Congrats on the pass, and now you're A+ certified!

The welcome kit includes a certificate from CompTIA with your name, your Career ID, and the date of certification. You will also get an ID card that is basically a small paper form of the certificate. There's also a bunch of literature they throw in there, and particularly there's this thing called IT Pro Membership that you can get, it's a membership with CompTIA where if you pay them more money, you will send you another certificate that looks abit nicer, a plastic member's card, and a discount voucher for your next CompTIA exam.

For your next exam, you should consider your current position, what your past experience are, and where you're headed. Typically, Network+, or a Microsoft exam for the MCP is a good choice.

Good luck!

sthomas

Congrats on passing your A+!

Congratulations

Congrats!

Congratulations!

Congratulations. I remember getting my A+ certification; which was my first certification. It was an immense joy knowing I'm finally getting into the certification game and I finally got the ball rolling. Good luck on your quest for future certifications!

Ricka182

congrats!

supertechCETma

Stan27 wrote:

EDIT: Are different questions weighted differently as far as the scoring goes?

CompTIA keeps their scoring methods purposely ambigous. They do this for security reasons. There are supposedly "unscored" questions on each exam. This serves as sort of a running beta exam so that they can revise the exams on the fly.

The questions you encountered on customer relations are a result of CompTIA focusing a little more on "soft skills".

Stan27

Thank you for the information, bighornsheep, I can't wait to go frame my certificate and print new business cards that show I'm certified.

supertechCETma, thank you for your information as well, that's really interesting.
I see what they're trying to do with those questions, but it just seems out of place for a technical certification. Should I expect this on other exams?

EDIT: Thank you all for congratulating me, I guess I'm going to start looking for Network+ literature.

wwpranma

I would go for the network+ if it were me. It just seems like the logical next step, but I am really in the dark seeing as how I haven't even taken my test yet. All I know is that it just feels like a smart thing to get your background in basic repair with hardware / operating systems / networking for almost anything you do with computers. Especially because it's getting to the point that if you're not connected to the internet you can't even learn how to fix a computer.

Slowhand

Congrats on passing the tests. I know some of the questions are a little weird, but they're supposed to be more than just "can you install Windows/a motherboard" types of things. The A+, especially, has a lot to do with the job of being a computer repair technician, not just the technical work, so they want to know if you have the ability to interact with customers and clients, as well as fix their computers.

As for what to do next? You have to figure out what you're interested in. If you want to get into networking technologies, take a look at Network+. If you want to learn about more Microsoft-related technologies, look at something like the 70-270 or the MCDST tests, (70-271 and 70-272). If you have an interest in Linux and Unix, there's Linux+ and LPIC. If you have little experience, my recommendation would be to go for the CompTIA certs first, then figure out where to go next. Once you have some grounding with hardware, the different OS'es, and networking, all kinds of doors open up for you; not the least of which is getting into higher-level Microsoft, Cisco, and Linux/Unix certs, and the really cool stuff, like security.

Stan27

Yeah, I think Net+ will be another good foundational cert. I am more interested in Unix/Linux than MIrcosoft's stuff, so I might do Linux+ after that.

Thank you all for the help.

Slowhand

If you're really looking to round yourself out, I'd say go for the "first four", as my friends like to call them:

1. A+
2. Network+
3. Linux+
4. Security+

After that, you're pretty well-rounded in different areas, and you can look at things like the CCNA, if you're into networking. There's Linux/Unix certs of every flavor, like LPIC, Red Hat's RHCE certification, there's Novell's SuSE certs , or Sun's SCSA.

PCHoldmann

Congrats!

Stan27

Yeah, that seems to be the path I'm going to be following.

Thank you, PCHoldmann.

wwpranma

Slowhand wrote:

If you're really looking to round yourself out, I'd say go for the "first four", as my friends like to call them:

1. A+
2. Network+
3. Linux+
4. Security+

After that, you're pretty well-rounded in different areas, and you can look at things like the CCNA, if you're into networking. There's Linux/Unix certs of every flavor, like LPIC, Red Hat's RHCE certification, there's Novell's SuSE certs , or Sun's SCSA.

I nominate we rename the four to the "The Four Horseman" (j/j)