Unfortunately failed

UNBELIEVABLE! I failed the A+ Essentials exams after passing the Security+ and Network+ exams. After all, CompTIA recommends people to get their A+, then Network+, and then Security+. And I nearly received a perfect score on the Security+ exam. I don’t get it.
I have been using the Mike Meyer’s Passport books and TotalSem’s practice exams. Could someone please explain to me what I am doing wrong? I am thinking about spending the money and purchasing another practice exam from another vendor. Can someone recommend me a practice exam vendor that will give me a smooth ride in passing the A+ exams (Essentials and Technician)?

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jamesleecoleman

Have you checked into the Mike Meyer's All in One sixth edition for the A+ exam?
You could try the exam cram books for the A+ as well.

Plantwiz

Ethanp wrote: »

UNBELIEVABLE! I failed the A+ Essentials exams

Sorry to hear this, however you are not the first. Generally, two types of people fail, those who are under-prepared and those who are overly-confident. Maybe that applies to you? Maybe not? However, how well did you know the objectives? AND what was your feedback for weak areas on your exam report?

And I nearly received a perfect score on the Security+ exam. I don’t get it.

The exams are not related, and you maybe are more familiar with server-grade products rather then workstation/home system type products. Frustrating as is may be...knowing Server items 'well', doesn't translate into being a great tech for general hardware stuff. They have similarities, but are completely different creatures.

I have been using the Mike Meyer’s Passport books and TotalSem’s practice exams.

Meyers' puts out great books, however the Passport series is just a slimdown review manual of the objectives. I would recommend this be used along side of his A-I-O book and/or The Sybex A+ Book. I would not recommend the Passport series to be the sole prep guide...and if I dig out my old copy...I believe he even warns of this (and recommends additional sources to 'study' the material as the passports are for review).

Could someone please explain to me what I am doing wrong?

No idea.

Trying too hard?
Underestimating the ease of the A+? Don't know. I have no way to gauge your level of knowledge on this subject. I think A+ stuff is easy, but then I have 30+ years having played with hardware components and various OS. And that time hasn't been as a hobbiest, its been real hands-on troubleshooting with live equipment, not lab stuff. The more crap that falls at you, the more opportunity you have to make it pretty and nice and working...many times it's simple stuff to fix. Point is, if you don't have the hours behind your 'experience' you may find this just isn't your thing.

And understand, this is meant in a good way. I don't see why you'd go backwards on your cert path to an A+ when you already have NET+ and Server+. I'd 'guess' from your previous comment...your experience is in network grade/server grade equipment? SO....skip the A+ and focus on the technologies you work with or will work with.

Not everybody needs an A+

I am thinking about spending the money and purchasing another practice exam from another vendor. Can someone recommend me a practice exam vendor that will give me a smooth ride in passing the A+ exams (Essentials and Technician)?

NO

Practice exams are not the solution. Someone else may recommend them, but I HATE when this is the method people use to prep for exams in lieu of reading texts, white papers, trade journals, and having experience.

IF...and ONLY IF, a practice exam is utilized, it is best as a tool to measure ones knowledge BEFORE series study to flush out weak areas and highlight strenghts so the appropriate time is invested on each area of study. AND just before you are ready to take your real exam (though not immediately prior...maybe a two weeks or so) to evaluate ones progress and readiness for the live exam.

Practice exams should not be the way to 'get used to' an exam. That very thought violates the purpose of a neutral exam and just with sheer repetition one will begin to anticipate the answer rather then understanding the question and selecting the best answer.

SO, if I understand the motivate for practice exams...NOPE, Won't recommend anything as there is nothing that is appropriate for that sort of (lack of a better term) study.

YMMV

PS:
I'd re-evaluate my career goals and determine if you should continue to waste time on A+ if your career path is jumped straight over hardware issues on workstations and end-users to network problems. Just read the books and learn the material. If time and $$ permit, take the exam for grins, but really, you sound like you've moved on to higher level certs. And NET+ and SERVER+ count as an elective on the MS MSCA (2003) if you are going for that one.

Ethanp

I apologize for the confusion. I currently have my Security+, not my Server+. Though, I am looking to possibly study for the Server+ after I take and pass the A+.
My goal is to have my A+, Network+, Security+, Server+, and Convergence+ certs by 2010. I am also trying to earn my Masters degree in Computer Security Management. I should have my Masters degree by March 2010. But I am trying to take 1 thing at a time.
I want to be a Security Administrator one day for a government contractor, but I am very intimidated by the CISSP cert, so I will probably hold off on that cert till I am required to take it. Would you recommend me to look at any other certs? Perhaps from another cert vendor like Cisco, ISC2, Microsoft? I like CompTIA though.
Thank you for the advice.

WilliamK99

Ethanp wrote: »

UNBELIEVABLE! I failed the A+ Essentials exams after passing the Security+ and Network+ exams. After all, CompTIA recommends people to get their A+, then Network+, and then Security+. And I nearly received a perfect score on the Security+ exam. I don’t get it.
I have been using the Mike Meyer’s Passport books and TotalSem’s practice exams. Could someone please explain to me what I am doing wrong? I am thinking about spending the money and purchasing another practice exam from another vendor. Can someone recommend me a practice exam vendor that will give me a smooth ride in passing the A+ exams (Essentials and Technician)?

Sorry to hear that, but just remember when you fall off the bike, you need to get right back on it. Your best bet now, is to go over the exam objectives and check to see which areas you did poorly on, study for the next few weeks, concentrating your effort on the weak areas, and then re-test, do not wait 1 to 2 months as some of the knowledge you already have will begin to leave you... Best to re-test while the info is still relatively fresh.

JoJoCal19

I have to agree with Plantwiz on the practice test aspect. Plantwiz said the same thing to me as above and I thought I knew better and ignored the advice. When studying for my Network+ I took a few practice tests and scored in the upper 80s and felt I was more than ready to pass the Network+ test. Well I didnt do hot and passed with a 615

The practice tests give you a false sense of confidence. I would suggest going line by line in the objectives and re-reading the section on the objective.

Baldeagle79

Ethanp wrote: »

I apologize for the confusion. I currently have my Security+, not my Server+. Though, I am looking to possibly study for the Server+ after I take and pass the A+.
My goal is to have my A+, Network+, Security+, Server+, and Convergence+ certs by 2010. I am also trying to earn my Masters degree in Computer Security Management. I should have my Masters degree by March 2010. But I am trying to take 1 thing at a time.
I want to be a Security Administrator one day for a government contractor, but I am very intimidated by the CISSP cert, so I will probably hold off on that cert till I am required to take it. Would you recommend me to look at any other certs? Perhaps from another cert vendor like Cisco, ISC2, Microsoft? I like CompTIA though.
Thank you for the advice.

If you're pursuing graduate level coursework...don't be intimidated by the CISSP exam. Just start on it, and treat it like a graduate course...do your reading, pay attention, think critically about what you think each topic means, and press on. Go for the CISSP! Good work on the grad school too. I'm working on my M.S. in Human-Computer Interaction from Iowa State (offered by the engineering distance education dept), and you tend to find people who either concentrate on education or certifications, but not many people do both! I've been the former, but I am now working on Security+...had a course in CISSP, but haven't tested, so I should probably do that this year, too. No certs for me, as of yet, though, so I don't speak from experience on the certs.

skwira001

The A+ exam is a very weird test. They have a lot of weird questions. When I took the test, I thought I was going to fail

wwpranma

You know, it's been quite a long while since I visited these forums

So to all, hello.

Don't worry about failing. It happens. Happened to me. I was taking the 2005, before they had it divided into four different exams, and lemme tell you, changed my life.

I learned what I was doing wrong and have figured out what I need to fix with it. If you fail, you fail, you just gotta be able to jump back up on that horse and keep riding. If you really want this, you will get it.

Satcom

I think you went in overconfident aka cocky

I might be in your same shoes in november

im going for CCNA, and A+ ... i might even try to throw in N+ in one week

dust yourself off hit the books .... and try again.

Ethanp

I have read and taken all of your advice. I just started studying for the A+ Essentials exam again. I am studying from the Mike Meyer's all-in-one A+ book, and practicing taking exams with cram master . To gain more confidence, I am thinking about also buying the Transcender practice exams.
At this point, I just want to take the A+ Essentials and Technician exams, and get them over with. I hate this hanging over me.
Does anybody have anymore advice for me?

Plantwiz

Ethanp wrote: »

I have read and taken all of your advice. I just started studying for the A+ Essentials exam again. I am studying from the Mike Meyer's all-in-one A+ book, and practicing taking exams with cram master . To gain more confidence, I am thinking about also buying the Transcender practice exams.
At this point, I just want to take the A+ Essentials and Technician exams, and get them over with. I hate this hanging over me.
Does anybody have anymore advice for me?

I see you missed the part where I suggested you skip the practice tests?

You need experience and to learn the material. And it may turn out, you need more time. 500 hours is usually recommended for this exam, so approximately 6 months of a variety of experiences, not mere board swapping.

However, repeated going over the same questions to memorize your answers...doesn't make you a valuable employee in the long run.

IF you are not working much with hardware, or your goals are to not work too much with hardware, then skip the A+ and forcus on the exams that will improve your skillset.

Psoasman

Here's what I do to pass the exams...12 so far in a row.

1. read through the whole book, even the glossary.

2. read through again, taking notes on the material.

3. do hands-on labs the entire time.

4. I will type up charts and graphs to help organize the material, especially helpful on the A+ / Network+, where there is an enormous amount of data.

5. Do some practice exams, focusing on the areas I might have trouble.
6. Pray

For my last exam, the 294, I actually typed up all the review questions and chapter noted and read through them every day for 2 weeks before taking the exam..and got one of my highest scores yet.

For actually taking the exam,here is my strategy: I write down all the numbers and as I go through the exam I put a check mark next to the answers I know for sure. I put a "M" next to the questions I am going to review. I save the sims for last.

This has worked for every exam I've taken, I hope it helps others out as well

bwcarty

Psoasman wrote: »

For actually taking the exam,here is my strategy: I write down all the numbers and as I go through the exam I put a check mark next to the answers I know for sure. I put a "M" next to the questions I am going to review. I save the sims for last.

I do something similar. I usually calculate how many questions I need to answer correctly in order to pass, and I write that number down first thing. After that, I keep a running total (using tally marks) of questions I'm 100% sure of. If I hit a question I'm not 100% sure of, I jot down the question number and a 1-3 word description of the subject. If I hit a similar question later on, I can jump right back to the exact question I wasn't sure of earlier.

msbachman

Psoasman has sage wisdom there, I just thought I'd point that out. That's about what I did on the Security+ exam, and I'm sure it's applicable to other exams as well.

Norbie

I failed my A+ essentials the first time I took it. I passed it the second time with the minimum score allowed. I later passed the IT technician exam by a much larger margin.

I got my Network+ this weekend...studying for Security+ as we speak.

Truth be told I don't enjoy the A+ material....I needed to pass the A+ to keep my job. I had much more fun studying for the Network+....I got that one for me.

Norbie

Ethanp wrote: »

I have read and taken all of your advice. I just started studying for the A+ Essentials exam again. I am studying from the Mike Meyer's all-in-one A+ book, and practicing taking exams with cram master . To gain more confidence, I am thinking about also buying the Transcender practice exams.
At this point, I just want to take the A+ Essentials and Technician exams, and get them over with. I hate this hanging over me.
Does anybody have anymore advice for me?

Not to contradict people who know more than I do but I found Transcender extremely helpful for A+ and Network+. I would NOT have passed either without it.

This was my lame strategy.

1. Study the Transcender stuff night and day for a month. There's hundreds of questions to learn and even more flashcards. You don't just learn the material...you get the trick question type style you might not get from the books. Plus it explains WHY a wrong answer is the wrong answer. That is so invaluable.

2. I usually buy two or three books on the cert in question. I enjoy the practice questions on their CDs more than reading the book cover to cover. I work for a living so I don't know that I have time to read through a book and have an adequate retention of the material. I study Transcender more but when I feel like I have a good grasp on the questions I use one of the other practice questions cds that come with the books (Sybex, Exam Cram, Mike Meyers etc). They're nowhere as good as the Transcender stuff IMO BUT they help fill in gaps in my learning Transcender has failed to impart.

3. I have a good group of people at work to bounce questions off. If I am unclear on something I ask someone to spell it out for me.

4. Note cards. I make lots of note cards.

I doubt my strategy will work for Microsoft or Cisco exams which are more hands on.

Tin32

Yeah it's important not to go in over confident and to prepare as if it were a much harder exam. it's easy to slip up. You'll get it next time for sure.