just passed it .... yuck

Hello all,

Thanks for your input and questions. I spent the last 5 weeks to study for the Network+ exam (6 weeks ago I passed my first cert. Security+ with a score of 825/900 w/min. of 764).

My score on the Network+ was very dissapointing: 584/900 w/min. of 554.

The exam did not seem as hard at first, but I checked a lot of questions for review, and ran out of time before I could finish reviewing all the questions.

Now, I am going over the Exam Score Report and re-reading/studying all the sections that I got marked down on, and also enjoying a glass of wine and some french onion soup ... to reward myself.

Next, I plan on taking the CCENT in early July. Then in late September I plan on taking the SSCP exam, and finish the 2nd module for CCNA by the end of December.

I'm glad that my $174 was not wasted, and I feel that if I had failed I would not have taken it again. At this point I am not sure CompTIA A+ will be beneficial to me in the future (since it is mainly an entry level cert. for anyone with 3-5 year work exp. in the IT world, A+ is pointless, IMHO. DO YOU AGREE??)

Thank you all, again.

ROMGabe

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Comments

dynamik

Congratulations on the pass! This one seems like it has a lot of goofy questions, so don't feel too bad about your score.

P.S. Please don't post specific exam questions.

7255carl

congrats on the pass

jscimeca715

Congrats on the pass, here are my thoughts on the A+. I originally took the Network+ thinking the same thing about the A+, but after I went back and took it here are a few things:

1. The A+ gives someone who passes it such a solid foundation, and being a little bit easier test than most other certs gives them a little motivation to keep going.

2. Job sites like monster.com, dice.com and the like eat that cert up, so someone who has it usually gets tagged by an HR search.

3. The A+ coupled with the Network+ counts as an elective in MCSE or A or whatever, so why not?

You do bring up some good points, I'm currently studying for CCENT as well so good luck!

undomiel

jscimeca715 wrote:

3. The A+ coupled with the Network+ counts as an elective in MCSE or A or whatever, so why not?

Buuu-buuu-buuuuuuuu wrong!

The A+/N+ combo only works for the MCSA. Security+ is the only currently accepted third party certification for the MCSE.

powertower

I also just passed the Network+ exam 2 days ago, and I also felt that there were a lot of goofy question. I have taken 8 networking classes, and ethernet and OSI questions were easy to me, but Novell, IPX, and AppleTalk questions are teh ones that killed me. My score was also much lower than I wanted, but I passed.

jscimeca715

Udomiel: That's why I phrased the statement the way I did, I wasn't sure which one it counted for, but I appreciate the comment.

Slowhand

Congrats on the pass, and good luck with both your A+ and CCENT studies, as you get to them. As mentioned, the A+ certification is widely-recognized. On the one hand, it can feel like you don't 'need' it, and you want to study for higher-level exams. On the other, a lot of hiring managers take the attitude of 'if it's so easy, why haven't you done it?' towards certifications they know about. Again, the decision is up to you whether or not you want to spend the time and effort to get the cert. The best thing that can happen is that it'll give you an edge over other networking professionals, being able to do troubleshooting on PC hardware as well. The worst thing that can happen is. . . well, nothing. Either way, it's not going to hurt you to have it.

ROMGabe

Slowhand,

Thanks for your feedback. That's a great point to consider - what the hiring management viewpoint towards these exams are. I don't know if I will have the budget to take the A+ exams this/next year, but I will definitely finish reading thru the Oreilly's Nutshell combo book on A+/Network+/Securit+ (the reference I used to re-visit Security+ material, and only book I used to study for the Network+ exam).

Thanks all for your feedback and thoughts. Much appreciated.

mikej412

Congratulations!

See ya over in the Cisco Forums!