Is this a good study time frame?

Natedog010 · October 2012

Hey everyone,

I have just scheduled my 801 & 802 exams through Pearson VUE. I will be taking them mid December. I will be studying with Mike Meyers All In One guide. My question is: Will two months and 3 days be enough time for me to study if I read at least 2 chapters everyday?

tomohol · October 2012

What kind of experience do you have? Are you the "computer guy" for your friends and family? Have you worked or do you work in a tech support job?

Natedog010 · October 2012

I have 1 year of computer experience. Basically, I help out anyone who needs computer help. This past summer, I worked at a local computer store as a service technician. I did many things like: motherboard replacement, RAM upgrade, various software diagnostics, and some network support.

tomohol · October 2012

I'm not A+ certified myself, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt. That said, I have been reading up on how best to study for these exams. And, since I, like you, have some experience and plan on studying somewhat quickly, let me share what I've found in reading the Amazon reviews for the top reviewed A+ study books.

If you get behind schedule reading Meyers, perhaps you should consider reading the Authorized Exam Cram by Prowse, weighing in at about 60% of the length. The general consensus is that Prowse's Cram is suitable for people with some background knowledge (e.g., work experience), whereas Meyers takes a ground-up approach suitable for complete novices. I've read that Meyers covers material well beyond what is found on the test, which certainly is a good thing to be aware of... unless you're in a time crunch.

But, if I had to guess, considering your prior experience, I'd say that at a rate of 18 pages per day (which is approximately the pace you'll need to stay on to read Meyers' 1200 pages by your test date), you shouldn't have trouble falling behind.

I hope that helps some.

tomohol · October 2012

My last post got filtered as spam because I included an Amazon link. Basically, I said:

The consensus about Meyers' All-in-One is that it contains non-essential information that is beneficial for people serious about their careers and for complete novices to ground themselves first. If you find yourself behind schedule, it wouldn't hurt to skip the non-essential material. Probably having the official A+ objective sheet handy will let you know what is safe to skim or pass over.

Another option if you find yourself behind schedule is to use the well-regarded Exam Cram book by Prowse, which weighs in at ~60% of the page count of Meyers' tome. The consensus on Amazon is that Prowse is more focused on the exam and that it's suitable for people with some experience under their belt like yourself. Still, it is very thorough (with 650 pages and plenty of illustrations), so you aren't short-changing yourself or just rotely memorizing facts.

Natedog010 · October 2012

Thanks for the suggestion tomohol. I checked out Prowses site that he has. He provided an article on a suggested # of hours to study per week. I am also going to follow his advice by checking off the objectives as i read them. On my 2nd read through(with notes), i will mark the ones I need to work on more. Mikes premium practice tests allow me to customize the test as to what I want to focus on. I will keep the Exam Cram in mind for my Network+ in the near future.

FloOz · October 2012

Also check out the Messer videos. They compliment the Mike Meyers book well.

someasiandude · October 2012

Definitely download ALL of professor messer's A+ vids on youtube.. put em in ur phone (around 4 gb total) And Watch/listen to em whenever u can .. its what helped me pass the exam since i am more of a visual learner. Then get the exam cram practice questions book, i think it has over 700 Practice questions, if u can pass that then you are more than ready to take the exam.. just my ¢2

Darril · October 2012

Good luck.

Make sure you're aware of the new performance based questions. You might like to check out this blog:
CompTIA Performance Based Testing

Ciscodian · October 2012

Reading is one thing but you also need to do it for some stuff to sink in. I don;t know what your experience is but if you're new to it you should perhaps allow yourself more time and consider other training means and practice questions. just my opinion of course.

Is this a good study time frame?

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