Certifications and the preperations for such

HadjiQuest

Summer is just beginning for me, and I will hate myself if I don't grab up A+ and N+ certs before it's over (something I intended to do last fall, before I got too tangled up in my retail job and lost all my free time).

I'm pretty much ready for the A+, but I'd like a resource with some practice tests before I go take the real thing. What are some good resource sites? I can't even remember most of them, it's been so long since I've looked at the options.

Anyone have any recommendations? Also, the tests are $165, but there are vouchers to drop them down to $125. Does anyone know how I could get one of these vouchers? I thought some of the practice sites offered them, but I don't remember anymore.

Moe Fwacky

When I was prepping for my A+, I took the fast track course at the local community college as a refresher on some of the technical specifics. It was pretty helpful and came with a voucher for the test. Of course, the course itself was 1200 bucks, so I wasn't really saving money. I might have some old refresher discs lying around somewhere, but I took mine 4 years ago, and I'm pretty sure the test has changed since then.

edit: also hadji, when venture bros season 3 comes out, you should try and find a screencap of adult Hadji Quest for your avatar

HadjiQuest

Moe Fwacky wrote: »

When I was prepping for my A+, I took the fast track course at the local community college as a refresher on some of the technical specifics. It was pretty helpful and came with a voucher for the test. Of course, the course itself was 1200 bucks, so I wasn't really saving money. I might have some old refresher discs lying around somewhere, but I took mine 4 years ago, and I'm pretty sure the test has changed since then.

edit: also hadji, when venture bros season 3 comes out, you should try and find a screencap of adult Hadji Quest for your avatar

My local community college has cert-lite classes as part of the curriculum; one for net+, a+, the first MCSA track test, sec+, and a couple others.

I took the net+ and MCSA classes exactly a year ago, and my original intention was to study for the actual tests for the two months following, and then take them. The problem was, my parents made me get a job, and then the job bumped me up to full time and I lost the time I had to study with (as I was also a full time student).

Also, since it's an over night job, and I have to switch constantly between days and nights, I've gotten a bit sickly and my memory's kind of been shot so I've forgotten almost everything about the MCSA stuff, and around a quarter of the Net+ stuff.

I'm looking, primarily, for a website with a large question bank to draw from, possible vouchers, and a money-back garauntee. Test King is the only one I can remember, but I know there are a ton of them; they've all just slipped out of my hole-filled memory.

Evil_Reaver

http://www.getcertify4less.com is a great website that sells cert vouchers at discounted prices. I purchased all of my vouchers from that site and averaged about $50 in savings per test. The CompTIA tests are more expensive than Microsoft and Cisco, though, so don't be too discouraged if the price doesn't drop below $150 for a voucher.

TestKing is cheating, so let's not talk about using their services to help you pass the exams.

Uncle Long

I got my A+ cert last summer. I was working as a beer distributor after a month or so of fruitless job searching (I'm an English BA) which was definitely not what I wanted to be doing and thought I'd at least take a track into IT for nothing more than better pay and a tolerable job. I basically just picked up a book from Barnes & Noble and read through the thing in between stops on my merchandising route. A month later and I got the cert. and started work at a local computer store/repair shop making decent money.

I haven't taken any classes on the subject. I just used what I knew from a user's stand point and the general information and history that was covered in the book and took the tests. They're pretty simple, no reason why you can't start studying and get your cert this summer.

Just, make sure you realize that the A+ cert involves two exams so you'll need a voucher for the basic exam and a voucher for the specialized.

Evil_Reaver

That's pretty much the same reason why I got my A+ as well. I was working a shitty call center tech support job for the cable company and I figured the only way out was to get some certs to validate my knowledge. I got my A+ after a few months of studying. This was a couple of years ago before they changed the tests, so a lot of the information was about super outdated hardware and stuff no one does anymore (like manually configuring IRQs) which is the only reason why it was a difficult cert for me.

Just remember, though, a cert is useless if you can't back it up. Don't be one of these jerk offs that collects certs as a hobby; paper certs devalue the certification for the rest of us, so don't take the exam unless you're planning on using it.

HadjiQuest

I think I'm ready for the test, but I'd like to take some practice tests so I can see if I fall short in any areas, and know where to improve.

Can anyone suggest some sites with practice tests?

chamberlain

www.measureup.com

This is what I used. It's not free, but if you can pass these, you can pass the actual test.