A bunch of questions! (studying for a+ and book options)

Heileg

Hey guys i've been studying for the A+ for a few months and i've read upgrading and repairing computers by scott mueller and mike meyers AIO. I've also watched all of professor messers videos.

I've been looking for a somewhat shorter book and i've decided between the new editions of Exam Cram by david l. prowse or mike meyers Passport. If anyone has an opinion on these 2 that would be great. would a dedicated book of questions be good too? (i noticed david l prowse has a book with over 700 questions)

Also, i've written up a study guide for myself thats pretty long but i'm not so sure I have all the material I need in it. I went through the official objectives list pretty well but i'm not so confident if i got it all down. The objectives are rather broad so i wrote down what i thought i didnt know too well (tried to cut it down to make it short at 40 pages so far). If anyone has any resources for notes that I might find useful that would be greatly appreciated too.

I plan on taking my test at New Horizons. I was actually thinking about taking a class at it... but i've read that people have had mixed feelings about how good the instructors are. If anyone knows anything about this school/testing center i'd love to hear your thoughts. (i know i could pass without a class but i feel it would help to have an instructor... if they're qualified, anyways).

I know I got a lot of questions here but any insight on them would be awesome. Sorry if i asked something thats already been answered on these forums. Thanks for your time!

Bryzey

You sound like your on the right track and have done a significant amount of study.

Exam cram is a great resource to supplement what you have alread read so far.

I would suggest maby a practice exam or iPhone app with lots of questions to get some practice in.

Good luck!

Heileg

Thanks for the quick reply, Bryzey. Where would I go about getting an accurate and "good" practice exam(s)? I've taken a few but didn't score too well on them. After writing this I noticed that David L. Prowse has an exam cram practice question book with over 700 questions in it. I read a preview of it and it looks pretty good... i think i am going to get this one since i cant seem to find enough practice questions. I may also get passport (i have a 701-702 version of reg exam cram).

anyone know if theres other books like the exam cram authorized questions? Its basically just a book full of nothing but questions that might be on the exams.

nosoup4u

Heileg wrote: »

I plan on taking my test at New Horizons. I was actually thinking about taking a class at it...

I don't know about the A+ class but I did take several Microsoft classes at NH that my job paid for and what a gigantic waste of money that was.

Ended up buying self study books and labbing on my own for months instead.

I don't have much to offer on A+ except don't waste your money on that.

Heileg

I've had my doubts about NH. Thanks for... clarifying how they operate, lol.

DoubleNNs

Just to let you know, CompTIA exams are very straight forward. Easy almost. I can only assume this is your first CompTIA exam you're going to take, and possibly even the first IT cert you're going to take.

If you've read BOTH those books cover to cover and watched all of Messer's videos, you may actually already be ready. You might not need any more study materials, and doing so may be overkill.

Personally, when I took my Net+ I read thru an outdated version of Mike Meyers AIO and bought a current exam cram to supplement. Whereas I thought the Net+ exam cram was awesome, I probably only got thru 1/4th of it before I took my test. With an outdated AIO and 1/4th of my exam cram finished I ended up passing my Net+ w/ an 840/900.
I most def would have done better if I finished my exam cram, but I already scored 120 points over passing. I don't think I could consider studying an extra 2 weeks just to make 10 points or so higher an efficient use of time.

On top of that, whereas I thought the Network+ Exam Cram was golden, I thought the Sec+ Exam Cram was horrible (didn't even bother finishing chapter 2 and got an 845/900 on Sec+) I haven't gotten to the A+ Exam Cram yet so I can't rate that.

My suggestion: Do the Practice Tests in the books you already have. Do some of the pop quizes on Messer's site. Do the quiz on TechExams.com as well as the official CompTIA practice exam. Try to understand WHY the correct answers are right and WHY the wrong answers are wrong. See how well you get on those exams. If you're getting above 80-85% consistently, just schedule the exam. It'd be a much more efficient use of your time to just go over your weak subjects at this point instead of going thru an entirely new book. Otherwise, you may never feel ready and will just keep putting the exam off indefinitely.

(However, if you DON'T do so hot on your practice exams, then maybe consider getting the exam cram/passport book.)

Bryzey

The 2 main practice test websites that I am aware of are:

Transcenders
MeasureUp

Practice tests allow you to spot an area of weakness so that you can focus more time into that topic.

Example: I am studying for the 702 at the moment and by taking a practice exam I have identified that I need to spend some more time learning/re-learning printers and disk management before taking the real exam.

I am not sure if the prowse questions book is any good or not as I have not read it. I did read the actual exam cram book though which was by far the best book I have read for the A+

There would have been a lot of practice questions with your mike Meyers book as well.

DoubleNNs

Even if the A+ is the only cert you plan on getting and you aren't rushing to get to higher level certs, the sooner you DO pass the exam, the sooner you'll be able to apply the new knowledge you've acquired instead of just reading about it.

Michael2

You should get the A+ Practice Exams by James Pyle and Michael Pastore. It's got about 1000 practice questions in it with in-depth answers. I've got Passport as well but I think this other book is a lot more helpful.

Heileg

Woot. I found some classes at a community college. I took some courses there for my associates degree and they were great. I know this doesn't mean their a+ classes will be good but i'm going to meet a counselor soon to learn more about them and what they cover. As always your replies are great. These forums are wonderful i've been a lurker for a couple months, glad i posted.

Krones

I believe you are ready for the test. Many colleges split the A+ into two different courses which makes sense since it is a lot of material but if you wait to complete the courses it will be a year before you finish the second test. The 701/702 expires in August or October 2013... At that point, you might have to take the 801 if you decided to take the 701 in May after completing the first part of the course. Honestly, it is is very easy to over study for this test. It really is not that difficult if you have already put in the effort to read 2 books and watch all of the Messer videos. At this point, I would take some practice exams, brush up on the troubleshooting methodology presented in the books, and take the 701 within the next few weeks.

DoubleNNs

I whole-heartedly agree with Krones.

Don't delay taking the test too much, unless you actually plan on the A+ being the only cert you achieve in life. Ever. However, the sooner you do pass the sooner you'll be able to apply the knowledge learned and/or go on to higher-level subjects.
Simply getting that one cert does not guarantee a successful IT career. It doesn't even guarantee an IT carerr at all. Whereas the A+ is a very important cert to get, there are a lot of other things you may want to begin looking into to aid your future IT career.

DoubleNNs

However, between the options of a cram book or a college course, I'd def suggest getting 1 of those books suggested above.

Idk which one of the 2 may be better for you - look up reviews on amazon or toss a coin. I'm sure either would get the job done.