Network + Same as MTA Networking fundamentals?

sh3llc00per

Hi

Is the Network + the same type of qualification as the MTA Networking fundamentals? Does the Comptia exam have the same weight as the Microsoft exam?

Could I use the comptia Networking + as a pre-requisite to MCST?

Thanks

Darril

sh3llc00per wrote: »

Hi

Is the Network + the same type of qualification as the MTA Networking fundamentals?

Both are introductory certs. However, based on my experience, the Microsoft Technology Associates (MTA) Networking Fundamentals certification is lighter both in content and difficulty. For students that plan on focusing on Microsoft technologies, the MTA Networking Fundamentals cert followed by the MTA Security Fundamentals cert does lay a solid foundation to move into more advanced Microsoft topics.

I wrote a MTA book (Microsoft Windows Networking Essentials, ISBN 111801685 and was intrigued to learn that some people were using it to teach Network+ classes by adding just a little more material. That shows how much crossover there is in the content. The biggest difference from a content perspective is that the MTA cert includes information on Microsoft technologies while Network+ is vendor neutral.

sh3llc00per wrote: »

Hi

Does the Comptia exam have the same weight as the Microsoft exam?

Thanks

Not exactly. What you'll find is that the CompTIA Network+ exam has more weight. One of the driving factors is that the Network+ exam is recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense as a cert that meets specific requirements. MTA exams are not listed on DoD 8570 documents at all and don't carry the same weight.

sh3llc00per wrote: »

Hi

Could I use the comptia Networking + as a pre-requisite to MCST?

The Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE, MCSE Certification | MCSE Training | Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer certification allowed people to include some certs such as A+ and Network+, or Security+ as an elective.

However, that is not included in the newer certs such as the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS, )MCTS Certification | MCTS Training | Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist or Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP, MCITP (Microsoft Certified IT Professional) | Training Courses for IT Professionals) certs.


HTH,

sh3llc00per

Thank you for replying.

usagent27

Thank you for posting! i just got your book for the MTA exam. After that exam i will be off to the N+

erpadmin

usagent27 wrote: »

Thank you for posting! i just got your book for the MTA exam. After that exam i will be off to the N+

If his MTA book is like the Security+ book he wrote, you will probably kill that exam.

What you should probably do is do an honest write up here on how the book helped with the MTA exam so that others can either buy it for their own use or (very and highly unlikely) not use it. Just based on my Security+ studies and the one book from Darril I read (front to back), I would find it difficult to not recommend his textbooks for cert prep. I myself would read, for example, his SSCP book, but with grad school, I don't have the time.

usagent27

i will post back after i take the test. So far i'm a third of the way through the book. hope to finish it this week

Darril

usagent27 wrote: »

Thank you for posting! i just got your book for the MTA exam. After that exam i will be off to the N+

Good luck with the MTA exam. Let us know how you did.

After learning that people were using the MTA book for the Network+ exam too, I decided to write practice test questions for Network+ as a supplement and recently completed them.

erpadmin wrote: »

If his MTA book is like the Security+ book he wrote, you will probably kill that exam....
I myself would read, for example, his SSCP book, but with grad school, I don't have the time.

Thanks for the kind words erpaadmin. Hope you're enjoying grad school.

quinnyfly

I have Darril's MTA book also, I used it as a supplement for my CIW Network Technology Associate Exam, it was a valuable tool and provides what I would cosnider, a basic, yet very well explained account of networking basics.

I have done my Network + and I wish I had Darril's book around then, it sure would have helped me grasp some topics. I have only done two networking certs so far and both really very basic and fundamental in theory, they no doubt share many commonalities, as I am sure many of them do.

My impression is to recommend Darril's MTA book as supplemental material for the Network +, I would also recommend the Exam Cram, it covers most of the exam objectives, it may however, be a tad dated as I do not know if any updates have since been written.

Keener

What is the Security+ book and where can I find it? I am finishing up my Network+ now and will then dive into the Security+ arena. Long term I want to focus on Security in my career.

Thanks in advance.

Mike

quinnyfly

Link to DG's Sec+ book: Amazon.com: CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-301 Study Guide (9781463762360): Darril Gibson: Books

Keener

Awesome! Thank you!

usagent27

i passed the MTA-366 today. I used Ucertify and Darrils book. Highly recommend Darrils book if you want to pass the exam. There were 35 questions and his book prepared me for 30 of them. Thanks again!

erpadmin

usagent27 wrote: »

i passed the MTA-366 today. I used Ucertify and Darrils book. Highly recommend Darrils book if you want to pass the exam. There were 35 questions and his book prepared me for 30 of them. Thanks again!

Yup, sounds about right. Congratulations!

Darril

usagent27 wrote: »

i passed the MTA-366 today. I used Ucertify and Darrils book. Highly recommend Darrils book if you want to pass the exam. There were 35 questions and his book prepared me for 30 of them. Thanks again!

Congrats on the pass. Good luck on the Network+ exam.

sh3llc00per

Do the exams expire? I took my Network + in 2005...

Darril

If you earned the cert before 2011, your certification is "for life". If you earn an A+, Network+, Security+, or CASP after Jan 1, 2011 it expires after three years unless you keep it updated with continuing education credits.

This article covers the details: CompTIA Continuing Education Program

jessespringfield

Just passed both within the last month. Network+ definitely the more difficult of the two. Such a broad spectrum of material and for a few of the questions it really seemed there could have been more than one correct answer. Just less gimmes on the CompTIA exam. And I'm not talking, "Name the DNS port" type questions.

I had maybe 2 questions on the OSI model, no questions on IPv6, but it seemed that 33% of mine was related to wireless topics. Know that stuff. Know it cold.

The first 7 or so questions were right from within the simulator so know that as a potential requirement for you. I really struggled with a few of them.

I used both Darril's MTA book and his Network+ Practice Test Questions (Get Certified Get Ahead). Very helpful for both exams. Also used Professor Messer vids, Exam Cram and read half of Todd Lammle's Net+ book but ran out of time. Todd's book has a lot of great info but I think a lot of it goes beyond the scope of Net+.

trueone55

jessespringfield wrote: »

Just passed both within the last month. Network+ definitely the more difficult of the two. Such a broad spectrum of material and for a few of the questions it really seemed there could have been more than one correct answer. Just less gimmes on the CompTIA exam. And I'm not talking, "Name the DNS port" type questions.

I had maybe 2 questions on the OSI model, no questions on IPv6, but it seemed that 33% of mine was related to wireless topics. Know that stuff. Know it cold.

The first 7 or so questions were right from within the simulator so know that as a potential requirement for you. I really struggled with a few of them.

I used both Darril's MTA book and his Network+ Practice Test Questions (Get Certified Get Ahead). Very helpful for both exams. Also used Professor Messer vids, Exam Cram and read half of Todd Lammle's Net+ book but ran out of time. Todd's book has a lot of great info but I think a lot of it goes beyond the scope of Net+.

Hey jesse,
Mind if I ask which of the two you took first? Did you feel the Net+ was harder after or before the MTA? I took the MTA today and got a 95. It wasn't difficult at all. Wish i knew which question/s I missed. Only got 32 questions.

justlearning

I stumbled across this forum more or less by accident while trying to learn about the Net+. I'm in school for my BS in IT, and currently am taking classes for Net+, MTA in Security, Storage+, and Cloud Essentials. I'm using 4 different textbooks by 4 different authors, and I have to admit yours is the best. The other one from Sybex (cloud essentials) is also good - even though I don't consider Cloud Essentials a 300 Level class - but the MTA in security is the easiest, most explained, least verbose, and logically explains the material best. The Storage+ and Net+ seem to go out of their way to explain things that makes more sense to a compiler than a student or unnecessary material, whereas yours has screenshots and step by step directions, and explains in a very sequential manner.

Long story short, I'm a fan of your method, and had no idea I'd find you in a forum. I made it a point to register and reply to this when I could have just as easily kept on scrolling, just to let you know your book is both superior and less expensive than other books. Only question I have is:

Have you written a book for the CCNA?

DoubleD

Darril wrote: »

If you earned the cert before 2011, your certification is "for life". If you earn an A+, Network+, Security+, or CASP after Jan 1, 2011 it expires after three years unless you keep it updated with continuing education credits.

This article covers the details: CompTIA Continuing Education Program

what he said