I will one day be giving back what you give. But first......

wowitfoth

I will spare you the details, but I am 38 and just now growing up. I am hooked on these metal boxes! I am self taught and using a machine I built. I am my family and friends tech support as well! I have a goal set to receive my A+ by the end of the year. All I expect is to get a job repairing and upgrading at places like CompUSA etc., making 10-15 dollars an hour. Is this realistic? I understand my lack of experience and will start from the bottom. I did not grad. H.S. and hated school! But computers and the net have made learning fun. I never read any book prior to 1999 when I started on my love/hate relationship with pc's (Personal Confuser). This X-mas I asked for Scott Mueller's "Upgrading and Repairing PC's 15th Edition! I remain humble because every time I get cocky and think I know what I am doing, the intelligence in these forums put me in my place! That’s some good sucking up huh? LOL! Seriously I appreciate this site and its members.

pandimus

Yeah, were pretty much all in love with metal boxes. (i even like boxes made of other materials). Getting an a+ before xmas is more than a do-able goal. Matter of fact, if you put your heart in it, you could do it in 2 months.. or even sooner.. Once i got to it, it took me about 1 month total. Everyone seems to agree that mike meyers all in one is an excellent book for a+..

Needless to say.. Good luck

janmike

I live in Southern Indiana and PC repair entry level wages run $7-$10 an hour. I don't know what West coast wages are actually like.

After I got A+ I went ahead with Network+. If you want to get into the $10-$15 range, at least around here, that's probably minimim certs. You need some flexibility and diversity in your certs and experience.

Extremely glad to hear that you're growing up! I have a 36 year daughter that's actually starting to do that!

No doubt, if you love/hate the boxes, you're "geekdom" bound. I'm starting a new career--may be that second childhood thing I've always heard about. With your present desire, there is no doubt that you can teach yourself and get A+ and any other certs that you want. Thing is, be patient and don't just study for certs. Study for usefull knowledge and then practice using it. If you have the boxes and the room, stick some ethernet cards in them and network them. Get copies of OSs and practice installing them and upgrading them. A+ exam is so diversified that you can be tested on just about anything you would run into in a PC shop or on a service call.

I also recommend Meyer's All-In-One book--for A+ and Net+ both. But, I never recommend using only one study guide because none of them are complete in themselves. Use at least 2 if at all possible.

Best of luck!