A+ Questions

If someone were to give me an A+ tech and one who wasn't, I would take the non-A+ tech. I have found that the non-A+ certified techs are more trainable (even if they don't know something) and are less likely to BS their way through a problem to customers. I have read many white papers on the 'advantages of certification'. As someone who has more than 19 years in the industry, I can say that certifications mean nothing unless you are starting out or trying to be hired.

What most people seem to fail to understand is that a certification is a 'meteric' and that is just a ten cent way of saying 'measurement'. So, if you are outside the US, a measurement in inches or miles does you no good when relating to those around you... likewise, the people who created the measurement for the A+ obviously weren't bench techs. Yes, the information that is required on the A+ is fine... but is it useful? How often do techs use the 'facts' that are required? Are they current? Unfortunately, I have to agree with many of the people who have already responded - the certification means little unless you want to get a job and the person who is hiring you isn't a bench tech or doesn't really know anything about troubleshooting computers.

In the defense of the A+ exam, it is only supposed to cover material a person with 6 months experience would know. I think the certification should cover content that someone with at least two years experience should know and the test should be created by bench techs and other people with SOLID computer troubleshooting experience.

The other problem with the A+ exam is that it is supposed to be 'non-manufacturer specific'... But why are the only OS's being tested Microsoft OSes? There are several more useful to business OSes including Linux, Solaris, and HP's flavor of Unix. What? Someone with six months experience wouldn't know UNIX or Linux? Hmmm... I have seen many of these OSes on Intel based products... whoops, another bias of Intel based products. The test today doesn't fullfill the objectives that were specified - instead, the test is narrow and favours only one set of specifications: the home user type computer. Is this the type of user that should be in the business world fixing computers? I should think not.

Even with this low set of objectives, it fails miserably to establish confindence by those who are competent.

I just passed the test actually.. And now i need a job.. Any ideas where to look? I've tried all the website job search things like and they all wanted 10 years experience.. The computer industry has barely had good 10 years. Any idea where to look?

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<font face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva" size="2">Originally posted by Darren Wilson:
Want to hear something funny? I failed the A+ test!!!!!! The A+ test means absolutely nothing!! The things that they ask you have no real relevance to todays technology or architecture. Who needs to know what pin on an LPT port gives ground or rubbish like that. for the cost of todays components it would be more cost efficient to replace a part than to sit down & attempt to fix it. I can understand these questions 15 years ago, but today, they are a waste of time. It may mean someting if the questions were more up to date, but as it is I don't rate an A+ any higher than I do spelling your own name.
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I agree in part, much of the content is not relevent to todays techs. However, at my work we still use serial line cables connected to a port on the server, therefore knowing the pin outs is required for troubleshooting/repairing cables.


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At the end of the day, it's all fundamental.....

does passing guarantee you a job? (not really a question if you get my drift)

no but can anyone give any pointers?

You can get a job a Compaq, that's for sure.
Actually working at Compaq and knowing what you are doing...let me rephrase that .. learning how to solve and why the solution works.. will really give you a headstart over other people in the IT hardware/ OS software support area. The problems range from figuring out the difference between a virus and bad ram.. or dying power supply or CMOS.. to re-install windows 98 on an integrated motherboard where win98 does not supply the drivers and getting them to modem connect and download them from Japaneese or Russian websites.

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The Data Circuit has Melted.

i am amazed at how many people i know that are A+ certified but have to bring their computers to my store to be fixed. nothing can really beat experience and time coupled with an absolute desire/fascination to make things work. a basic working knowledge of how to use a screwdriver is ranked kind of high up there as well. as far as a question that should be on the test?

"if you need a driver for a system component where would find it on the WWW?"

a. www.nascar.com
b. www.pga.com
c. www.monster.com/taxijobs
d. www.windrivers.com

sorry if that was cheesy, but this site has been set as my home page for 2 years for pete's sake!

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windows (When-Does-OH-S**t): (n) a 32 bit platform running with 16 bit performance with built on an 8 bit foundation that is not worth 2 bits.

I agree with everyone above. Its good to get for paper reasons. I already had 7 years experience in the field of computers before I even got mine. (Actually never heard of A+ cert. until I went to school) I just wanted to get some paper under my name because I wanted a corporate job (I owned my own comp store, but the market started to go down. What I saw when I went to school made my stomach hurt, I saw all these rocks trying to get their A+ and they didn't know anything. Sure they could read a book and remember the answers pretty good, but actual computer repair skills were beyond their grasp. One guy went and got his Net+ cert. and had never even opened a computer, but he could read and remember well. I knew right there that finding a job was going to be tough because around here the schools flooded the market with rocks.
And last but not least those stupid A+ books only give you one possible solution to a problem. They always say "if this is what the computer is doing, then this is the solution" and anybody who knows tech knows that one problem on a pc can be one thing or many things.

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Its all fun and games until someone loses an eye, then its just fun in the dark.

3 out of 2 people can't count.

You have a computer that is five years old that periodically locks up (no blue screen of death, no error messages). The customer says the computer was running fine until about a couple months ago and it just started getting worse. The intervals are (20 minutes, 3 minutes, 15 minutes) various but not very long--less than a half hour. It locks up right after a full boot, while accessing different programs. What is your next step?
a) Run an antivirus program.
b) Open the case and blow out the dust.
c) Reload the OS.
d) Run a hard drive diagnostic.

The answer is B.

I got A+ around march. I didn't think it was tough in the least. It did help me get my current job though. I think the testing should be more hands on. For example you should give the guy a computer and 5 different modems...if he can install them all in under a certain amount of time then he deserves the cert. If not he should go home and practice and when he comes back give him a few different tasks to perform.
Over all I think it is a good cert to have. I got it because I felt like i needed it to break into the field. I have 2 more tests to go before I will be CNE. They are supposed to be the 2 easiest ones so good for me. I've yet to fail. Novell seems like a good one to get because once you certify it never expires and you can update it by passing one test. unlike microsoft.. I dunno if mcse is worth getting. I will study for it but as for spending the extra to take the exams i dont know. If the place I work when that time comes pays the fee then no problem.

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:)

I would put questions about hardware compatibility on the test. These are the things that you really have to know, minus troubleshooting. Questions like:

What proc works in 815 chipset, KT133A chipset?

What chipsets support DDR, what about RDRAM?

Then I would go into front side bus speeds and chip multiliers. What chips do what and how fast.

A+ is all about the customers perception, it's not really for the tech. I got it beccause I had no experiance and needed a job. It gives my boss the ability to promote it to the ignorant customers that I do battle with everyday. Sometimes I'm hard on the users, but deep down I love them and their ignorance. It give me a job.

Later.

I do not have my A+, but just want to have it so I can say "I have it". Yes it's over a lot of OLD hardware, but I would like to say I've got it. Maybe its just an Ego thing. I have 5+ yrs experience, with a variety of hardware and software. I don't think I would have a problem passing it, but if I did, oh well. Like Darren said before, its cheaper to replace things nowadays then to repair it. I still believe that experience overpowers certifications anyday, but I still want the certs too.

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The problem lies between the keyboard and the back of the chair!

The A+ should not be hands on as this will add scheduling difficulties for some test centers. I do think that some intuitive activities that pose scenarios a la the W2K MCSE exams should weed out those that study this material from a book but cannot implement it in real life.

I believe in skills as much as anyone and Slashdot is howling about the lack of skills in college curricula. I do not think we should neglect teaching intuitive thought.

The A+ exam is invaluable in proving you are not a trailer park engineer that learned this material from fiddling with a few 486's.

I have had my A+ for almost 4 years now, it helped when I was first looking to get into the IT field. Four years ago someone who knew what a computer looked like could get into the field though. I now hold 2 other certs (MCSE and Novell) and honestly all they really do for me is get me in the door for a interview. As has been stated in the previous post the paper does not mean that you know what is required to hold the job. I have actually been embarassed by other MCSE's who didn't know how to edit a boot.ini file https://forums.windrivers.com/ .
At the place I currently work at though you can not move up past the entry level position without obtaining at least one major certification and A+ is one of those certifications that they look for. Is the A+ useless? I don't think it is useless, but I don't think is worth what it used to be.

the problem with the A+ exam is they state that it is the equivalent of 6 months experience. this as everyone knows is far from the truth, what it realy does is provide required knolledge for those who want to persue a carrer as a computer technition. I have never taken the exam but prepared to take it twice. Finacial difficulties both times were the reason i cancelled my exam. And the only reason i was taking it in the first place was for personal gratification. What needs to be in place is a system where the A+ certification is achieved before employment as an entrylevel technition. next a group of certifications in unique areas are achieved to get a final certification as a master technition. this would include a bench repair of a PC that has several problems. their would be no right or wrong way to fix the computer just as long as it was repaired properly in the given amount of time. Im not sure how many people who read this will be familiar with the ASE certification for automtive mechanics, but this works in a simular manor. someone who is ASE certified is certified in an area not necisarily on fixing cars in general. their are certificatons for AC, powertrain, body repair and so on. for pcs it should be in monitors, printers, input devices, optical drives, magnetic drives, motherboards and power supplies. As one person stated above it may be cheaper to replace a component which is very true but a good technition should know why they are replacing that component not just that its bad.