Best way to prepare for A+---Does one need a class?

Hi all. It's hard to get accurate information out there if one is starting out in the IT world. I'd like to embark on a career as a Network Analyst, recognizing that it will take a combination of experience and certifications to probably do well. I tried a course at Chubb Institute that seemed like an awful lot of padding without any guarantee to getting certified. Does one really need a class to prepare for A+ certification? Is that needed for an analyst position or should I go straight for something like MCSE? Some of the preparation for A+ can be as high as $7,000 odd. Thanks.

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janmike

A good class on A+ should include lab time working with "live" PCs so that you can get a taste of working with hardware and Operating system.

I took classes for A+ at a local state college. We had a good instructor who actually wanted to teach you something. We had the experience with the live PCs and on the school's LAN. No, a class for A+ is not necessary, but if you can get one that gives you some actual experience along with supporting the required knowledge then it will help a lot, and you will get certified and be much more confident in your own abilities.

Any job in IT is going to require that a person have a broad range of knowledge. A+ study and practice will help get you that. You will have to "do your time" at the help desk and probably at the service bench and crawling around under desks and tables finding cables to reattach or replace.

And, if you want to deal with LANs, go for Network+ after A+ certification.

The next step could be MCSA or MCSE. But, don't forget security, Anyone who wants to deal with networks is going to have to be familiar with security.

There is sort of a natural migration with these certs, but you have to sort of custom design the migration to suite your own goals. But, whatever the path, you need to get yourself some sort of home lab to practice with along with any courses you take or manuals that you study.

Take a look at this site's job description and you will see what one company requires of the Analyst.

http://www.charlton.com/careers/network_analyst.html

Best of luck on your decisions.

Meiraleah

This was such a great response. Thank you so much. What you said has that air of common sense about it. I almost paid $17,000 for a "Chubb Diploma" that I think would have been useless to me. Do you have any ideas how one goes about building a network at home to practise on?

bellboy

personally, i think classes for a+ are unnecessary. the certificate reflects knowledge gained in two years or something of working as a technician.

i always suggest that those studying for the exam with little or no prior experience (just like i had), have a good examspecific book and atleast one computer they can take apart and put together again.

for the networking sections, i built myself a small lab but networking two computers together (dualbooting each computer also had the advantage of getting to know not only the networking in each of those operating systems, but other aspects of how they worked and what the differences are.

2nd user computers and early versions of windows 95, in particular with isa cards, also have the advantage of not having irq-steering, forcing the student to learn about irq and i/o resources. if you can't find 2nd user computers or components, try ebay.

Ghent

I agree that an A+ class is a little overkill. Just buy a good book on the subject, get a screw driver, and dive in. Most people seem to agree that Mike Meyer's "All-In-One" is probably your best bet for a book.

carbunkle

meyers all in one, some internet sites, and my computer are all I used