I just passed A+! Now what?

majestic_pecan · July 2014

Hello all, I have been lurking on this great site for a while but felt nervous about registering until I actually earned my A+ certification. Fortunately, I did just that yesterday, but now I'm sort of wondering what steps to take next.
Some background info: I do not work in the IT industry and earned the A+ to make a career change. I am currently sending resumés out now that I have earned this cert, but in the meantime I want to continue building my resumé rather than just sitting around and hope for the best. With a few months of study I could probably pass the Network+ exam, but I'm not sure that it would help me get an entry-level job and in the same amount of time I could probably pass a few MTA exams. I know that these do not look as good within the IT community as the N+ but should I just try to add as many certs to my resume as possible right now and worry about the N+ once I have a job? Or are the MTA certs just not worth it even for entry-level positions? Or is there some other cert out there I am not aware of that I should be pursuing?

mijuda1977 · July 2014

Nice! Congrats! I'm doing the exact same thing. Switching careers. I am studying on my own for the A+. I worked a year at help desk for my old company before switching in to engineering design with Auto CAD. I hate it. So, I'm going back to IT.

What parts did you find most difficult?

majestic_pecan · July 2014

mijuda1977 wrote: »

Nice! Congrats! I'm doing the exact same thing. Switching careers. I am studying on my own for the A+. I worked a year at help desk for my old company before switching in to engineering design with Auto CAD. I hate it. So, I'm going back to IT.

What parts did you find most difficult?

Thanks! Actually the most difficult part for me was pure memorization like wireless networking specs, memory module pin counts and which CPU families go with which socket. I don't have personal experience with those types of things and don't have any way to get field experience. I thought the command prompt would be difficult to learn, but it was very easy to practice (just open up a prompt...) and I now feel pretty comfortable with it. The simulations were also not that bad, although some were trickily worded. I would definitely suggest also memorizing the steps when the Meyers text lists an official CompTIA multiple-step process (e.g. Bluetooth pairing, troubleshooting, malware removal, etc.). You might be asked a question which expects you to repeat these steps in exact order.

Jon_Cisco · July 2014

First thing I would recommend is checking out the job ads you are interested in. What are they looking for? Have you seen any requesting the MTA certs? Have you seen any request the Network+ cert? This will point you in the direction of landing your first job. After that I think you need to pick your own focus.

Good Luck!

daviddws · July 2014

Network+ would be a good choice. After that maybe a Security+ or Linux+ (more companies are asking for this). Cert up my friend!

DonM34 · July 2014

I would aim for network+ because of your background, network+ would give you a better and clear understanding on: Troubleshooting, Cabling, command-lines, Networking Hardware and Wireless technology. Also take a look at what most jobs require, that will give you an understanding of what path you should take.

majestic_pecan · July 2014

Looks like Network+ is the way to go. It may take a bit longer but it will probably be more valuable in the long run. Thank you all for your helpful responses!

ImYourOnlyDJ · July 2014

majestic_pecan wrote: »

Looks like Network+ is the way to go. It may take a bit longer but it will probably be more valuable in the long run. Thank you all for your helpful responses!

Good choice! I personally took the same route and started studying for the CCENT. I also did a recent career jump to Help Desk and was hired by the same employer (regional bank) after I landed my A+ and Network+.

I just passed A+! Now what?

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