What can I do with Comptia A+ HELP!

TheBigMac

Hi all
I'll do my best to keep this short and to the point.

I have no IT experience, except what I've pickedup over the years fixing my own and family and friends PCs. I know Comptia A+ is the place to start but I really want to know is it worth doing... will it land me an entry tech job? I have about 5-6 years of studying business studies but dont have a degree all I have is a HND in Business. I just want to get my foot in the door of a company but I dont want to waste time and money with getting my Comptia A+ cert to only find its useless, as Im sure people with computer degrees are more than willing to take a £10,000 a year job as this economy is entering a triple-dip recession according to BBC News...

If I do get my Comptia A+ is there any other certs that would be recommended I also wouldn't mind entering the Networking field, but my main choice would be Desk support.
In all honesty I cant afford to go on any training courses and would be relying on self-study, I have the Mike Myers 801-802 book on my kindle (I plan to get a hard copy if I decide to go ahead with the comptia a+)

danny069

The A+ Certification definitely helped me land a desktop support role, is it worth it? yes it is, two exams one for hardware one for software it will validate your skills as a technician. It will certainly look good on your resume and some jobs require that you have it. After you get your A+ you can move on to Microsoft Certifications that gear towards desktop support: Windows Certification | Microsoft Learning If you wish to go into networking, then you can get your N+ instead of A+ then move on to Cisco certifications such as CCENT, CCNA and so on...

TheBigMac

Thanks for the reply only problem being, is that from research I've found Microsoft Certs to get outdated, so wondering if it would be even worth it to do that! can the MS certs be self-studied?

TheBigMac

Thanks for the reply, I don't think I'd do an MS Cert tbh as they go out of date quickly and realistically companies and firms are still using windows XP so studying windows 8 wouldnt be that helpful (so I've heard), so if I did pursue the desktop support role what other certs could I do after which isn't an MS cert? or is comptia a+ as far as it goes when it comes to entry to the tech support industry?

danny069

You are right Microsoft certs do get outdated, but this is true for all certs, that's when you re-certify to keep up with new technologies. You can also get virtualization certs: VMware Certification which are highly valuable considering this is the future of desktop computing.

Jacob25

Hi,
In my opinion, I believe that you should go for the CompTIA A+ Certification. It will definitely help you get a Desk Support job. Also the Microsoft Certifications are a good choice too. MCSA - Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate. It takes two exams in order to be certified, and it will be Windows 7 based. Of course this is after you have completed the A+. This can be done by Self-Studying too.

I've seen people argue that certifications are useless and experience is what matters. However, everyone must start somewhere, and by validating your knowledge with the A+ exams, you can prove to yourself that you are ready to take the next step. Don't worry experience will come.

Darril

There aren't any guarantees, but in my experience, the core three CompTIA certifications (A+, Network+, and Security+) help many people get interviews for entry level jobs. You learn valuable information while pursuing them giving you a solid foundation of IT knowledge, and many hiring managers will accept them as a substitute for on-the-job experience for some entry level jobs. During the interview, you have an opportunity to demonstrate that you retained the knowledge from the certifications, and to show that you can get along with people so that you can fit into the company's culture.

Almost all certifications can be pursued through self-study. An exception is at least some of the VMware certs which require you to pay for and attend a class.

Almost all certifications get outdated too. It reminds me of conversations I've had with people in the past about buying a computer. Each time they saw a computer they liked, they decided to wait because they knew the price would come down. And it did. But then there was another computer that had just a little more or was just a little better and they decided to get it. But not yet because they knew the price would come down. So they waited. Six months later, still no computer.

I suggest you lean into it. You say "I know Comptia A+ is the place to start" so I suggest you go with that knowledge and decide to pursue it. Now. Otherwise, you might find yourself six months later, still with no certs.

Last, instead of buying a hard copy of a book that you already have on your Kindle, you might like to get another book by another author so that you can get the perspective of another author. You might like to check out the Microsoft Press ebook sale mentioned in another thread on this forum or find another source.

Good luck.

danny069

I got my A+ Cert in 2003 (I started my path in 2002) and my current job requires it, so after 10 years it still shows you how valuable it is.