jeffro Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 Anyone here have these? I know A+ is borderline useless but I'm certain both of these will be useful in gaining the advantage I need for a new job or salary increase. I seem to be stuck at a plateau right now. What is the process for this? What should I expect? Are the online practice tests actually pretty similar to the real deals? Ive been in the industry long enough that the practice tests for both were fairly simple. Based on those alone id feel confident just walking in and taking them. (yes i know, they're $200 each) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergwheel1647545492 Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 I took my A+ about 13 years ago. I passed but this was right after college and before i had begun my career, so i was super nervous going into the test. I did some pre-tests and i think i had a book that i also studied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exodus Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 Study study for both. Comptia specifically tries to trip you up on the questions. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbird Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 I don't know you personally, but I've seen you post about networking for a long time. Skip Net+ and get your CCNA. I know it's Cisco specific, but I think it's a more highly regarded cert. I've been told you can find some really good "study guides" (look up CCNA pass for sure) online. You may have to pay for these, but you'll be more than prepared for what's on the test...so I've been told. I've taken a military CCNA "level" course, and am hopefully going back for the CCNP "level" course next month. Then I'm going to study up and get my real CCNA, then branch off into data center, security, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbird Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 Oh, also when I got my Security+ I downloaded an app on my phone with lots of flashcards. I crammed on those for like a day and was good to go. Something to check out if you decide to go for Net+, I'm sure they'll have an app for that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Cranium Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 My advisory committee a few years ago made the recommendation I switch away from vendor neutral certs and move toward vendor specific certs. While my class more closely aligned with the NET+, now I am specifically a CCNA program. Currently I am certified to teach the CCENT, and will finish the training to teach CCNA next summer. I am in agreement that if I were you I would jump straight to the CCNA unless there is a reason not to. The Comptia certs used to have the advantage they would not expire. Now I believe they need to be renewed every 3 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ackbar00 Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 I am in agreement that if I were you I would jump straight to the CCNA unless there is a reason not to. This. Or something along the MCSE path to be more along the server path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Karacho1647545492 Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 What do you want to do? If you want to work for a big corporation with a huge budget and regulations out the ass, get CCNA and go down the Cisco path. If you want to work at a small/midsize business that's more personal, with a bit more freedom and the ability to potentially start your own business down the line, go for Microsoft certs. The SMB world lives and breathes Microsoft, especially Office 365. Security + will be much more useful in the coming years. IMO there's more job security in CCNA but likely a better quality of life argument for MS certs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractor Posted October 20, 2017 Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 Like many I got A+ and Network+ a long time ago +20 years. I still see them as useful and get many potential job offers because I list them on my resume. I'd check though I think now they expire every 3 years which makes them a very expensive cert in the IT world considering there value compared to mid and high level certs. If your interested in IT certs go here http://www.techexams.net/ Very useful site with great people and information. I joined awhile back when I started back into the Microsoft certs. I've taken literally hundreds of industry and manufacturer courses and according to my transcripts I tend to score above average, but that MCSA 2012r2 was really tough to pass and took a lot of study and labbing. I didn't spend much on materials though, maybe $300 including the exam fee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudiOn19s Posted October 20, 2017 Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 Skip the BS entry level certs. Focus on CCNA, JNCIA, JNCIS, etc. Multiple high level certs across vendors shows diversity and drives more $$$ Go get some certs then send me your resume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Brian Posted October 20, 2017 Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 A+ is perfect for Tier I misery like help desk shit.. replacing Brenda's keyboard because the fat cunt spilled her fat cunt drink on it, walking Walter through the tedious steps of enlarging his icons because he's older than a jar of farts and can't see shit, etc. I've never heard of anybody magically getting a salary increase because one weekend they got a hair up their ass to drop by New Horizons and take a silly test, which, by the way, is nothing like any of the online practice ones; It's 20% study-able knowledge, 60% critical thinking, and 20% stupid questions like: When plugging in a computer for the first time, do you plug in the power cable to a.) the computer first? b.) the wall first? The answer is it doesn't fucking matter and why is this shit on a fucking test that I'm paying money for. Sec+ and EHC are useful.. they're what companies are primarily looking for (gov contractors at least). N+ obviously if you wanna get into networking, but that market seems saturated unless you want a $30k gig rebooting routers or waiting for other ppl to die so you can move up. Go pirate some Cisco study shit for your CCNA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ackbar00 Posted October 20, 2017 Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 A+ is perfect for Tier I misery like help desk shit.. replacing Brenda's keyboard because the fat cunt spilled her fat cunt drink on it, walking Walter through the tedious steps of enlarging his icons because he's older than a jar of farts and can't see shit, etc. Ahhhhh, makes me miss my old help desk days right there lol. Rest of it, your spot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Karacho1647545492 Posted October 20, 2017 Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 I would also ask: where do you see your end game? Do you want to hold CISSP cert and be a security consultant? Do you want to do networking, whether on your own or for a big multinational corp? Your end goal may not be where you actually end up, but it will at least shape your initial direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssFo Posted October 20, 2017 Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 Man, A+. That brings back some memories (1997). Is networking were you want to be? Automation/Virtualization/Security seem to be the big tickets right now. Of course having a strong network understanding is key to all of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffro Posted October 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 stupid questions like: When plugging in a computer for the first time, do you plug in the power cable to a.) the computer first? b.) the wall first? The answer is it doesn't fucking matter and why is this shit on a fucking test that I'm paying money for. . Okay, I noticed this on some of the practice tests. Strange. General consensus seems to be CCNA. I will begin doing research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrhobbz Posted October 20, 2017 Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 If you are still interested in an A+ and Network+ after the above posts, do it. It can't hurt right? I would say though that if you're not solely tied to the desktop/networking world you may even want to look at going down the security path. Tons of jobs and big money on that side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Brian Posted October 20, 2017 Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 It can't hurt right? I mean, they cost hundreds of dollars to renew every year, so time spent working in a position where they're not needed does kind of hurt.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrhobbz Posted October 20, 2017 Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 I mean, they cost hundreds of dollars to renew every year, so time spent working in a position where they're not needed does kind of hurt..Sure absolutely, but if they do indeed get him in the door at a company he wants to be at they are worth it at that point. Last time I held an A+ was in the early 2000s, I've progressed far past that so i don't know what the job requirements at that level are anymore. Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Quik7 Posted October 21, 2017 Report Share Posted October 21, 2017 If you have network experience than jump to CCNA, the Net+ cert is good for newbs but apparently they also stepped up their game and madeit a lot tougher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshymkiw83 Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 Skip the BS entry level certs. Focus on CCNA, JNCIA, JNCIS, etc. Multiple high level certs across vendors shows diversity and drives more $$$ Go get some certs then send me your resume. This is the best advice in this entire thread so far. Also - Certs can help you get in the door, but are becoming devalued very quickly. Because of people just taking them to get $$$$ without knowing the material. I have interviewed CCIE level people, who couldn't do basic shit..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssFo Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 This is the best advice in this entire thread so far. Also - Certs can help you get in the door, but are becoming devalued very quickly. Because of people just taking them to get $$$$ without knowing the material. I have interviewed CCIE level people, who couldn't do basic shit..... CCIE is one of the hardest certs to get. I've yet to meet one that didn't impress me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudiOn19s Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 CCIE is one of the hardest certs to get. I've yet to meet one that didn't impress me. You'd be surprised...I've interviewed 2 this year and both weren't great. Something I should have mentioned earlier is getting practical experience with these certs. I realize this isn't always as easy as it seems but find a mentor that's a high level network guy and force yourself into their projects volunteering your time to help out and get experience. Find a leader of that group, state your intent to get practical experience based on the training you are pursuing and get involved as much as possible. There are plenty of book smart people out there with certs out the ying yang that don't have real world experience at a high level with these technologies. They know how to apply the principals in an ideal situation in a lab not in a network that's been bastardized by engineer after engineer over the years. Also a follow up on my comment on multiple vendors. As others have stated you need to really examine what you want your path to be. If you want to get top dollar in the market you need to either head down a consulting path or work for a MSP. In those situations being fluent across multiple vendors is key to $$$. IF you're going the enterprise path understand what they are using (it's going to be Cisco) and focus on that specifically. Enterprise employers won't put a lot of value in the fact that you know Juniper or Palo Alto if they have no intent to ever use them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg1647545532 Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 I think a lot of people think about IT certifications in the wrong way, and it's created this cottage industry of scamming people out of money for courses and promises of passing a test. Can you imagine if there were fly-by-night vendors promising to get you to pass an ASE Master Tech course in 3 weeks of training, having never worked a day as a mechanic? An A+ certificate is about the equivalent of 6 months of working as a desktop support technician, which isn't to say you can go get your certificate and get jobs that require 6 months of experience you don't have. Instead, you should be able to do the job for 6 months and then go in and get the certificate without studying. It's not a hard test for anyone who's been doing the job (IMHO), and cramming for it completely defeats the point. Like an ASE cert, it's not a way to get your first job, it's a way to prove to either your current or your next employer that you're not BSing about your experience. Yes, this is a bit of a cart/horse situation, but that's life now. The real opportunity is going to come from changing jobs, which is well documented as the only way anyone gets promoted in IT anymore. Having certifications might help with that depending on where you're applying. I know a lot of government contracts require them. FWIW, the AF made me get my A+ and Security+, they expire after 3 years now and the upkeep is retarded so I'm just going to test again next year (out of pocket) and then hope that lasts until I can retire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyM3rC Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 If you have network experience than jump to CCNA, the Net+ cert is good for newbs but apparently they also stepped up their game and madeit a lot tougher. Net+ got way harder. Just talked to a compTIA instructor about this last week, said it's gotten significantly more challenging and threw some figures at me about pass rates going way down and blah blah blah. Net+ and A+ both have some seriously retarded shit on them you'll never ever use- like they didn't have enough on them to feel it was "thuper therious guiz" so they added a bunch of ancient junk on there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfunnyryan Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 whats in net+ now? I did A+ a few years ago, laughed at the old irrelevant shit in it. Really needs redone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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