CompTIA A+ Question

AhhhFrank

Hey guys, first time posting. I was going to buy the A+ voucher, but the top of the title said expiration is Dec 31, 2009. I read somewhere that the vouchers are good for 12 months, but that expiration date got me worried. If someone can clear that up for me, it would be great (tried emailing them but no one responded to me).

Also does anyone know how long I would need to study and how difficult the test is. I'm not a total noob at computers (I can troubleshoot some stuff) but if anyone can give some insight that would be great. Thanks!

exampasser

Well when I got ready to take my Network + exam I did not buy the voucher off the Comptia site, I just purchased it through Prometric when I was scheduling the exam and it had a year on it before it expired. You should do just fine by simply studying an exam cram book, I studied a few months for mine but I did not study intensly often I went for weeks without opening my exam cram book. Allthough I have never took the A+ I can't imagine that it would be difficult if you have basic pc hardware knowledge and such.

Divine-Assault

I think it is better for you to buy a voucher when you are ready to take it instead of buying a voucher and using it months later. It is not like the vouchers will run out or anything. And also, if you browse around on google you might be able to find discounted vouchers for those that expire early so you can save some money.

RobertKaucher

GetCertified4Less.com - Certification Test Voucher Bundles at Discount

You get a voucher and usually test prep software as well.

AhhhFrank

Hey thanks for the great tips guys! I'll be sure to check out that site Robert, thanks!

I've been looking through the forums and I see some people are suggesting to skip CompTIA certs entirely and go directly to Microsoft or Cisco. I want to get into the IT field and I'm looking to get some certs to help me get through the door. I have a BS in finance ~_~ so that's like no help. So any suggestions? Should I save my money and skip the CompTIA? Again any advise would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

robfar23

AhhhFrank wrote: »

I've been looking through the forums and I see some people are suggesting to skip CompTIA certs entirely and go directly to Microsoft or Cisco. I want to get into the IT field and I'm looking to get some certs to help me get through the door. I have a BS in finance ~_~ so that's like no help. So any suggestions? Should I save my money and skip the CompTIA? Again any advise would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Breaking into the 'field', I'd suggest still running with A+, just for the basic concepts of things in general, some might say study it and skip the exam, then push on from there, however if you've studied the material and have the spare cash it's still a cert worth having. Have recently passed mine, (2009 objectives), didn't take a large amount of studying, put in 3-5 hours a day and you should be exam ready in a month. Maybe then think about hitting 70-620, plenty of material out there (for free) and very very easy to pass, then possibly 70-622 or 70-623, again both pretty easy to get by, and 622/3 with 620 gets you MCITP status (on the cheap!!), again you most likely could be through them in a month, maybe 6 weeks with dedication. People might suggest other routes, but for me it was a very fast way of getting certs behind me and also proving I know the basics to employers, CCENT next up, then might jump back and do MCDST (XP is still by far the prevailent OS business wise in the UK).