A+ needed before Network+?

I'm a sophomore in college majoring in cyber security engineering. A lot of the internships I'd like to do in the summer before my senior year require a network+ certification and some prefer a security+ certification. So this is my last summer to get a cert. I've read online that you should get the A+ cert before network+. I'm not going into IT and have taken a basic OS course, which is all I assume I need. This coming summer I'll be taking a few easy summer classes online and will have a lot of time on my hands. So given my major and amount of time I have to study (about three months) would it be worth it to get the A+ given I'm not majoring in IT or should I skip right to Network+? I took a basic computer networking course in freshman year and did well, but I'll need to refresh since it was so long ago. So if I should skip to Network+, is it possible to finish in three months? Thanks.

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PJ_Sneakers

Just for my own curiosity, which school are you enrolled in? I would assume a university cyber security track should include enough IT curriculum for you to pass Network+ by your sophomore year with only a few weeks of studying.

agentcapskins

I'm at George Mason University in Virginia. I've taken some basic cyber/programming courses, but just one computer networking course. I'll be taking network security courses this coming Fall. So would that one networking course be enough to help me pass in a few weeks?

Dakinggamer87

Generally I usually would recommend the A+ before the Network+ as it builds on the foundation of each other.

PJ_Sneakers

Gotcha. Without knowing the specifics of their networking class, I'd say probably. A+ is not a prerequisite, but it will help. There is a little bit (not a huge amount) of overlap between the two. Definitely would not hurt to have the A+ though.

Network+ is not EXTREMELY hard, but it is much easier to earn if you have experience in IT. There will probably be things like subnetting, networking commands (like ping, tracert, route, ip/fconfig, etc.), routing concepts, a few basic security topics (basic firewall, basic crypto, etc), and some hardware stuff.

Check out Professor Messer's free Network+ course. Professor Messer's CompTIA N10-006 Network+ Training Course | Professor Messer IT Certification Training Courses

It's pretty good for free. It'll give you a good idea of what you'll be expected to know going into the test.

AverageJoe

I say, based on what you've described, go straight for Network+. As a matter of fact, I did Security+ first, then Network+, then A+ last and I don't regret that ordering at all. For me, A+ was the most difficult. I've done all sorts of IT work during my career, but it had been many years since I'd done A+ level work. I only went back and did the A+ exam afterwards because I was in charge of people who were required to have A+ so I felt like I should get it myself for legitimacy and to see just how hard it was. I probably wound up studying twice as much for A+ than I did for either Network+ or Security+.

Just my 2 cents.

agentcapskins

I'll look into that training. Thanks for your input.

thomas_

PJ_Sneakers wrote: »

I would assume a university cyber security track should include enough IT curriculum for you to pass Network+ by your sophomore year with only a few weeks of studying.

When I was finishing my business degree I took an "IT for business" class at a university that was highly ranked(top 10) for their cyber security program. I took it because it fulfilled a business elective for me and I was able to petition to get into the class since I had some computer classes about 10 years before at a community college.

Anyways, the entire class was filled with cyber security/IT majors, I was the only student that wasn't a cyber security/IT degree. The class is a third year 300 level class. When we go over subnetting no one has a clue of what it is(not to mention how to do it) except for me. Well, to be fair there was one other guy who seemed like he kind of knew the concept, but didn't have a lot of experience doing it.

I haven't done an entire cyber security curriculum, but unless a person has taken classes that go over the specific topics included in an IT cert exam, I wouldn't be surprised if a sophomore level student didn't have enough IT curriculum to pass Network+.

***Fun Fact***

I got the highest grade in the class. The teacher mentioned in class one day that I had the highest grade(so much for student confidentiality) and tried prodding them to study more by saying "You're not going to let a non-IT major get the highest grade in the class, are you?".

PJ_Sneakers

That's a good point. Also depends on the order you take classes too.