A+ Cert Ya Right

[Ya_know]

Experience is the best teacher. I learned more on the job than I ever did going for a certificate.

Pimps say the same thing!

[amyb]

Pimps say the same thing!

you are on a roll Ya_Know.

[Archer]

Pimps say the same thing!

Bin mixin with the wrong folk again Ya_know?

[Ya_know]

you are on a roll Ya_Know.

Shhhhh...I don't want it to be obvious yet...

[amyb]

Shhhhh...I don't want it to be obvious yet...

Between you and me..I think it's been apparent!!

[NeoZeeD]

i got A+ certified november of last year. i did take a class for credits but i pretty learned alot from my brother and building my first computers and then getting a help desk job later on. but i learned alot from the help desk job and brother. even though it wasnt hands on i was pretty much able to see what exactly the people would tell me and i knew almost all the menus and dos commands from memory.

BUT...
since i left the tech field now i have another cert my company gave me. cfr49/ aita certified.

but i do miss being a tech, but i do some builds on the side.

i remember when i took the test i was kinda sh*tting bricks becaues i didnt want to fail and i studied for it and it costed me a good doller i didnt want to throw away.

but i am going for i-net and network + and hopefully things will change in the future

[Tekboy]

[QUOTE=NeoZeeD

i remember when i took the test i was kinda sh*tting bricks becaues i didnt want to fail and i studied for it and it costed me a good doller i didnt want to throw away.

but i am going for i-net and network + and hopefully things will change in the future[/QUOTE]

Hang in there, NeoZeeD. If "messing with" computers is what you really want to do, eventually you will be rolling in work, since many people are leaving the field for other careers. Competition is stiff, but if you do GOOD WORK, and treat people fairly, you will eventually be busy as you wanna be.

Certification helps your own self confidence, and on rare occasions, will even land you some work.

[amyb]

Just had a winner in here ... he came in and bought a Case, Mainboard, CPU and videocard. Braging about the fact he was an A+ Cert tech. Any how he comes back in screaming that we sold him defective parts and we screwed him. So I tell him we'll figure out whats wrong... He leaves and we look at the computer. He bolted the mainboard to the case without offsets shorting the board out. To get the cards it fit he had to remove the backplains. He comes back in and we proceed to argue. He tells me that he put every thing in the right way and I don't know what I'm talking about. So I show him and he say thats the proper way to put a mainboard in a computer it's to ground the board !!!! So he leaves telling us we're dumb and he is a much better tech than all of us...

My question what are they giving C+ Certifications out in cracker jack boxes ???

That is wey experience over a certificate is so much better. I learned more on a job than I did going for certificates and a diploma.

[ShadowWynd]

We have fired more A+ techs than I care to count.

Most of them had never built a computer before in their lives. It costs too much money to have them do a job, then have an experienced tech have to strip down the machine again and rebuild it. Other A+ techs have burned motherboards, dropped a stack of hard drives, wiped customer's machine (for a minor issue / without authorization).

http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/?t=...ate=2003-05-30

[HerminShS]

Man, is very simple.

Do you know how many people I see that "say" that they are A+ Certified?

Ask them to see their A+ card, I always carry mine, never mind that I got it when I was still in high school, when it actually was worth something, I'm not even in the computer field anymore, more into CCTV and DVR'S.

One time, I was looking for a new employee, and one of the candidates came to the interview, and showed me a color "photocopy" of an A+ card, and told me that it was also good for CCTV, and laugh my *** off, and showed him mine, and he just quietly walked away, man that was funny.

[Tekboy]

We have fired more A+ techs than I care to count.

Most of them had never built a computer before in their lives. It costs too much money to have them do a job, then have an experienced tech have to strip down the machine again and rebuild it. Other A+ techs have burned motherboards, dropped a stack of hard drives, wiped customer's machine (for a minor issue / without authorization).

http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/?t=...ate=2003-05-30

GREAT comic! As I have stated before, there is absolutely NO substitute for hands-on experience. I am glad I got my A+ years ago, but I rarely even think about it any more.

By the way, it is "Compaq week". Four of them so far this week, and I am a sole proprietor!

[kpataska]

I've had my A+ Certification since March of 1994! Back when computers were far less reliable - and who knew SCSI back then? Needed to for the Crapintosh section.

I passed it with a 94 the first time and I was Zenith Data System's guinnea pig. Didn't even bother to study - didn't need to!

Oh well... Getting old is hell...

Kenny P.
Visualize Whirled P.'s

[Bigtimbre]

The value of certifications depends on a number of things. I worked very hard to get my CNE, and as such take pride in it.

Working for a contractor/outsource company, certifications are important to us for a number of reasons. There are minimum certification requirements to be a MS Solution Provider, or Netware Corporate partner (Must have X number of MCSE's for example). When we go to bid on projects, there are a number of RFP's that will list specific certification requirements. Some companies won't provide tech support if you don't have a cert, just try getting support out of Citrix without it.

I've always thought of certifications as a good baseline, but not the end all. Look at other professions, there are bad engineers that have gotten their licenses. Bad doctors, incompetent lawyers, crappy mechanics, and poor teachers. All of which have tests that certify them to be competent professionals (Although I don't think all mechanics have to be ASE, but you understand the point).

What I like about certifications, and the classes associated with them is that they can give you a better understanding of how things should be done. There is no substitute for experience, if you learn the right way to do things. I can no longer count on my hands and toes the number of times I've had to come in and fix problems caused by techs that did it their way, as opposed to the standard. When I worked in radio, I worked with a guy that when building out a studio would wire things the way he wanted. This might have been ok, if he had done it the same way in both the studios... So once he left, I ended up having to re-do most of that work.

[BaddASCII]

When I graduated from college in '92 I got my ISCET(the A+ was just starting and not a standard). When I run in to people with an A+, I fix their mistakes. I had a guy who started with me, and I had to show him how to put a modem in, and send e-mail. Book-smart maybee, common sence...... NO.

[Tekboy]

When I graduated from college in '92 I got my ISCET(the A+ was just starting and not a standard). When I run in to people with an A+, I fix their mistakes. I had a guy who started with me, and I had to show him how to put a modem in, and send e-mail. Book-smart maybee, common sence...... NO.

I had to fly to Anchorage to take the test back when I got my A+. They asked me what I had been doing with computers, and I told them "new machines, troubleshooting, upgrades and repairs" for the previous two years. This was before all the "brain dumps" or whatever they are called. They told me not to worry.

I think they gave me like an hour and 20 minutes to take the test, and I was done in 20 minutes. They saw my scores and ofered me a job, but I don't want to live down there.

I will say again. There is NO substitute for hands-on experience in this business.