They dissed A+

I dunno if anyone else watches the TechTV show "The Screen Savers", but i was watching it today and patrick norton/kevin rose (the hosts) totally dissed A+ certifications and "low end" certifications in general. They said that its not worth getting certifications like A+ because they're too easy and that employers would rather see some experience.

Whats your take?

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Comments

Ten9t6

You know what they say about opinions....To make a blanket statement like just shows their ignorance. A+ certifications have their place. There are jobs out there that require the A+. Yes, employers want to see experience, but a lot of them want to see certs also.

And for guys that sit around all day and discuss technical issues and have a tech show.....I would hope the test was easy to them. Which brings up another point...If they say people should not take the exam, then how do they know it is too easy..Unless, they did not follow their own advice.

I wouldn’t worry about what people think. You will find that there are people out their that will talk crap about any cert out there.

STexams

TechTV is out of touch with reality. Most employers that I deal with want at least the A+ and some experience to go with it. The cert gives people confidence that the tech knows what they are doing.

garv221

TechTV---key word "TV" you can't believe anything on TV...Them guys are a joke anyways...

Transatlantic

The best way to check how valid the screensavers claims are, is to look at the job listings. Now in my experience of them you'll find that as a requirement, people will often list A+ as a requirement for you to even get an interview, so I guess they got it wrong on the show. Besides can you really take a man who calls himself the "dark tipper" seriously...

antonio banderas

sir_creamy_ wrote:

I dunno if anyone else watches the TechTV show "The Screen Savers", but i was watching it today and patrick norton/kevin rose (the hosts) totally dissed A+ certifications and "low end" certifications in general. They said that its not worth getting certifications like A+ because they're too easy and that employers would rather see some experience.

Whats your take?

Dude, A+ is a worth while certification to get. Many jobs look for this certification. Especially, if you want a contracting position. In fact, some jobs prefer A+ Certified Professionals over IT experience.... "SOME"

2lazybutsmart

garv221 wrote:

TechTV---key word "TV" you can't believe anything on TV...Them guys are a joke anyways...

lool. I used to despsie TV even when I was a little kid. I still remember the line from roald dahl's book : "TV rots the senses in the head, it kills imagination dead... it clogs and clutters up the mind, it leaves a child so dull and blind.... he can no longer understand, a fantasy a fairyland". haha

Anybody who wants to know what TV is really doing to us, read: Amusing Ourselves to Death by Postman. You won't have that box in your house for long!

2lbs.

janmike

I saw a job listing recently for a PC support person in the IT department of University. The requirements were for an Associate Degree and A+ certification. You don't apply without both!

Seems these California surfers and Baja buggy jocks have gotten too much sand, mudd, and seawater up their noses!! IMHO

KatanaSam

sir_creamy_ wrote:

I dunno if anyone else watches the TechTV show "The Screen Savers", but i was watching it today and patrick norton/kevin rose (the hosts) totally dissed A+ certifications and "low end" certifications in general. They said that its not worth getting certifications like A+ because they're too easy and that employers would rather see some experience.

Whats your take?

You know what it tells me when I hear someone diss the A+ exam? They don't have one. And it tells me something else as well...

It also tells me that they don't fully understand that A+ is an entry level certification and isn't meant to represent experience in the field. It simply means the A+ holder has demonstrated a broad knowledge of computer hardware and operating system technologies. It doesn't in any way imply expertise or experience.

A friend of mine who works as a computer tech told me that the outfit he works for has hired A+ certified people for work experience positions but that they were shocked by how much they didn't know about computers. What's wrong with this picture?

1) When you hire people for entry level positions, especially 'work experience' positions then you'd be out of line expecting them to be anything else but on the green side.

2) Computer knowledge learned from a book and knowledge gained from experience can be very different. A lot of what you learn studying for the A+ you may never actually use. And a lot of what you learn on the job you will never find in a book. On the other hand I know many techs who know how to fix a problem but haven't a clue why it was a problem in the first place. They just know that doing this and this makes the problem go away. Fixing something and understanding why it broke are two entirely different things, and a lot of tech with experience do not have a very good understanding of the problems they fix.

Talk to a tech sometime who hasn't studied for the A+ or had any formal book-based education in computers and see if they have ever tried a practice exam. I'll bet you they didn't score very well despite all their experience.

Besides... I think employers would rather see both experience and the A+. I know I would.

henkk

I've actually been in a position where I had to recruit some techies for the workshop I was managing at large computer retailer.

Although some techies did have workshop experience, I got extremely frustrated when working with people who didn't know what I was talking about when I said words such as LPT port, RS-232 cable, PS/2, USB etc. I don't care how many years experience you've got fixing PCs, if you're still talking about the little round plug, and the flat plug, etc. you're gonna be wasting my time in the workshop.

Time is money, A+ is probably one of the most worthwhile qualifications there is. You can learn all the stuff from a book, without taking the exam, but please don't apply for a job if you don't know the difference between a PS/2 port and an S-Video port. "Round thingy" just doesn't suffice!

mobri09

I hope everyone gets to read this.......I wasn't hired at a computer company because they required the A+ cert. At the time I only had NET+. So the cert is important.

lazyart

A+ has it's place... you're fooling yourself if you think you will land a $50k position with it just alone, but for someone trying to get into the field (as I was last year) it's the best place to start. Consider this-- I was working fast food when I got my A+ to the tune of $7/hr. It got me a one week contract at $11/hr. Later a three-day position at $17.50/hr, followed by a 3 month stint at $15/hr. When that ended I hung around now making $25/hr and have picked up many other side jobs from the same recruiters.

Get the A+ and parlay it into something bigger. Considering the $275 I paid for vouchers and materials, it has certainly paid itself off. Now with nearly a year at the same place and working on MCSE, I am looking to cash this in for a full time position at about $30k sometime in the next 6 months.

As long as you look at it as a starting point-- a springboard -- you shouldnt be disappointed.

crc32

sir_creamy_ wrote:

I dunno if anyone else watches the TechTV show "The Screen Savers", but i was watching it today and patrick norton/kevin rose (the hosts) totally dissed A+ certifications and "low end" certifications in general. They said that its not worth getting certifications like A+ because they're too easy and that employers would rather see some experience.

Whats your take?

I've been seeing alot of Egos around the IT community. Granted tha A+ certification is often a stepping stone for higher certification I think most people would be suprised by the level of detail
that is in this cert. For example I never would have dreamed I would need to memorize IRQs, and
IO ports, most sane people look it up in a table. Of course employers would rather see some experience but when a canidate has no experience then certifications are the only thing he has to validate he knows the material to an employer. In job openings I do often see A+ in addition to some other certifications as a requirment for employment. The IT job market is so tuff right now unless a friend got you hired you have no way to gain experience. Its a nasty circle that you can't break unless your resume shows certificates.

I just graduated with a degree in computer science at a bad time. The techbubble burst a few years ago so a lot of refugees from that crash are also moving around looking for work so your forced to compete with them as well. Don't be discouraged by some pinheads on a tech show or the Egos of experienced people that often try to discredit certificates as they know it will open the door for people that have just graduated from college and are entering the field. The people that went to work during the IP boom got lucky that demand was so hire companies were forced to higer anyone that looked smart, when the economy begins to recover these people will be forced to compete with people who gained higher levels of education. IT is still the future for this nation, the only trouble is it grow way to fast in the late 90s that it kinda collapsed under its heavy pressure. Your now going to a new generation of people enter the field. The abusive pattern of 4 IT guys running the network and routers and page developement for a 12 floor office building is not going to last for much longer.

crc32

antonio banderas wrote:

sir_creamy_ wrote:

I dunno if anyone else watches the TechTV show "The Screen Savers", but i was watching it today and patrick norton/kevin rose (the hosts) totally dissed A+ certifications and "low end" certifications in general. They said that its not worth getting certifications like A+ because they're too easy and that employers would rather see some experience.

Whats your take?

Dude, A+ is a worth while certification to get. Many jobs look for this certification. Especially, if you want a contracting position. In fact, some jobs prefer A+ Certified Professionals over IT experience.... "SOME"

Right now its a tuff call. The ideal canidate will have both experience and A+ certification, but education and certification look kinda tempting now that The IT industry is at a point where they must blance the notion that people in the field right now don't have much education as most left college to go to work and testing how fast new comers can pick up experience and be productive in the work place. You still see a lot of "Experience may be substituted for education", but you don't see to much "Education may be considered in place of experience" yet. "