Advice needed..

hypnotizeminds · #1 January 2nd, 2005, 07:30 PM

Hey guys,

For a while now I have been looking into starting a career in the IT business, and with so much going on in that area this day and age, it has taken me a while to look through what I feel now has only been a small portion of what is available out there. It is probably impossible to examine every IT field, I'm sure there are far too many, but I have come across a few that had interested me, and hope to pursue something along those lines as soon as possible.

However, that is not what this is about, I need help getting to that step. Everywhere I turn, beit job applications, job descriptions, etc, have all included information about IT Certifications being either a prerequisite or some type of factor in what I was reading about.

So, basically what I am asking is where is the best place to get certified (good reputation, well-known organization, reasonable price, sufficient selection of training supplies, etc) in the US? I realize that no one here knows that much info about all of the organizations in the country, but is there any way someone could help me find a good place for me to start?

My immediate goal right now is to obtain an A+ Certification, I will cross the following bridge when I get there. I have been looking around the CompTIA website and they seem pretty impressive as well as user friendly. Being 18, I haven't really had a chance to figure out what places were well known in the business world, but this was just one that seemed respectable, IMO. What do you guys think?

Also, if anyone could help me out as far as understanding how one goes about becoming certified, that would help, too, as the whole process seems to be a blurr to me and I don't want to get into anything I do not at least partially understand beforehand.

Thanks for your guys' help, and please feel free to offer me any advice at all that you may have for me. I know that many of you are certified in one or more areas and I hope you can let me gain from your experiences.

**zipulrich** · #2 January 2nd, 2005, 08:07 PM

Yes, A+ is a good starting point. I took mine online through a local college, but look around in your community for classes as an alternative.

When bAdWayz gets here, he'll likely offer good (expert) advice - not only did he teach A+ classes, he has more certifications than any single human should.

hypnotizeminds · #3 January 2nd, 2005, 08:22 PM

I will look at colleges around here and see if any of them offer online courses or something along those lines. I am not too keen on the idea of physically going to any classes, let's just say that high school was not something I'd like to repeat any part of ever again..

It'd be great if there was a way to buy a few books like A+ training guides and whatnot, study my ass off, and then go online and take the quiz or go to a class, sit down, and take it.

Like I said before, I really don't know much about how all that stuff works or exactly how to go about it, but hopefully I will soon.

**zipulrich** · #4 January 2nd, 2005, 08:57 PM

Well, for A+ certification (and general knowlege) you should get and study the A+ Certification Exam Guide by Michael Meyers (not Shrek). It was required for my course.
There are some good test sites out there to get you aquainted with brain-freeze: here's one of 'em <---------------(not spam!!!)

bAdWaYz · #5 January 2nd, 2005, 09:02 PM

That Zip is so crazy hehe. I did teach A+ however and have one or two certs to my name. Hypno, since you have already been to the CompTIA page then you kinda have an idea of what the A+ cert is and what you can expect to get from it. Since the A+ exam is an open test "meaning anyone can take it" you don't HAVE to take any classes to earn the cert. Any local book store such as Barns and Noble or The Open Book ect ect, will have a section on computer training books. There are tons of them on the market but a tried and true set of books on just about any exam are the Exam Cram books. They make study aids for just about every cert you would want to take. These books are very good and some of them even come with discount cards for the test. You can find more info on them here Keep in mind that while you can study these books and pass an exam that there are some things that are just better to have "hands on" with. When teaching a class I could teach students from a book all day but when it came to building a computer or adding and removing hardware they needed to do that in order to get a feel for it. So at least some class time might not be a bad idea. I agree with Zip that the best place to start is by looking at local Community College's. A small two year tech school will likely have the program you are looking for. Most of the time these schools also have the CompTIA testing centers on campus too. There are all kinda of places that offer cert programs that range from good to down right aweful. You will find mixed reviews on ITT Tech, ECPI, New Horizon, and many others. I would personally rather go with a local 2 year tech school that offers A+. Sign up and take the class but also get yourself the Exam Cram books. That should help you out tons and you can be pretty sure you will pass. Getting some hands on in class but also the best of books with Exam Cram. That is all just my personal view of things so others may not agree. I would be more than happy to give you any more info you want just pm me or email me and I'll get back to you. I hope this helps some and if I made things worse or more unclear I'm sorry heheh.

hypnotizeminds · #6 January 2nd, 2005, 09:20 PM

No, no, crystal clear, badways. I know of a few schools out here that are small community colleges like you said to look for. I will see what they have for me there. So do you think I'd be able to actually take the exam at the college itself? Also, what if I bought the cram books and took my time to read everything in them carefully and did the hands-on thing myself? In other words, read about what the book describes while actually following the steps on my computer at the same time? Does that make sense? Would that be a sufficient way to obtain hands on experience?

I have done a few sample A+ things online, such as this and find myself to be familiar with roughly 45-50% of it. The other 50-55% is basically educated guesses based on what I already know and what seems to make most sense to me. I will check the local bookstores in my area, too, for A+ Certification study guides and see what the colleges around here have as well. Unless I forget, I'll post back here and let you know what I find and perhaps you can help me make a decision as to the best route to go with this once I gather some more info. Until then, thanks so far for your help!

hypnotizeminds · #7 January 2nd, 2005, 09:56 PM

Question:

I read on CompTIA's site that I can buy the books, self-study at home for as long as I wish, then schedule an appointment to take the test at New Horizons, just down the street from my house (no one hunt me down, please

). If you could, when you get time, maybe have a look at this method and see if that makes sense to you? Sorry if I seem like I'm asking you to do things for me that I'm more than capable of, it's not that I'm lazy or anything like that

just have a hard time sometimes understanding how these things work. They leave me with a lot of seemingly unanswered questions, such as "After I sign up at CompTIA, can I just order the study materials from the site?"

I e-mailed CompTIA at their site and never got a reply, that was about 2 months ago so I'm guessing that I'm not going to get one. I know that they got the e-mail, too, because immediately after, I started getting tons of IT related spam at the e-mail addy I gave them. *rolls eyes* Anyways, thanks for the help, I appreciate it much.

bAdWaYz · #8 January 2nd, 2005, 11:02 PM

Ok the short and skinny of things is this. Yes you can buy books such as Exam Cram and the one Zip suggested and do self study. If you go that route I would also suggest having an old pc around to take apart, study, rebuild, melt down, and turn into a pile of parts. Many people I know have just gone out and got books study for 2 months then take the test. As far as where you take the test that is pretty much up to you. Any place that offers a CompTIA testing cneter will let you call and sign up for a test date. New Horizon has a testing center and most local Tech schools do too. Once you read and do all the hands on you can and feel ready just call up a local testing center and tell them what exam you wish to sign up for. They will get all your info and then bill you by credit card. Then just go take the test, pass the test, and spend the rest of the night at a pimptastic post A+ exam party.

hypnotizeminds · #9 January 2nd, 2005, 11:26 PM

Awesome. I got a few PC's laying around that I've taken apart a few times before. It will be fun to do it again with an actually goal in mind other than seeing if it still works when I put it back together..

Thanks for your help, I think I have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to do. One quick question, though. Do you think it is best to register for membership with CompTIA or just go buy the material, study, and take the test when I'm ready without membership?

If you are about to say "that depends on how many certifications you plan on obtaining which would determine whether or not paying membership fees would even be worth it", then to that, I don't really know for sure, but I plan on studying for the Network+ and some Microsoft ones later on this year as well. So other than that, what do you think?

renegade600 · #10 January 3rd, 2005, 12:21 AM

That certificate will be great but that degree will give an edge over those who only have the certificate. And you have something to fall back on when you get laid off for being out of date so the firms can hire someone younger that don't have to be retrain as technology changes.

hypnotizeminds · #11 January 3rd, 2005, 12:26 AM

What degree is that, Dan?

renegade600 · #12 January 3rd, 2005, 01:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hypnotizeminds

What degree is that, Dan?

It makes no difference, whatever, I work for a fortunate 500 company and they look for 4 year degrees when they hire/promote and it really dont matter what in.

It is just something to consider.

hypnotizeminds · #13 January 3rd, 2005, 01:33 AM

Gotcha. You said "that degree" so I didn't know if you were referring to a specific one. I see what you're saying now. Yeah, I'm so damn impatient, though, lol. Definitely something to consider after I get a get the A+ Certificate. Thanks for the input.

bAdWaYz · #14 January 3rd, 2005, 07:11 AM

Hypno,
I would just study up take the test and get the A+ for now. Don't worry about paying fees to become a member of CompTIA, because once you pass both parts of the exam you will get a sweet A+ card "plastic looks like a credit card" and you will have access to the "members only" area of CompTIA's website yay! As far as getting a degree goes, sure it may help you get a foot in the door, but to be honest my comp sci degree really hasn't made me near as marketable as certs have. For example if you went to work at the local mom and pop computer shop they wouldn't care if you had a degree in underwater basket weaving, but if you have that A+ cert chances are you will get the job. True that the higher up you go in management the chances of you needing a degree rise, but for now if you just want to get into the market low to mid levle certs are the way to go. Keep in mind we just covered CompTIA certs here. If you go on to get MCP,MCSE,MCDBA certs be aware that Microsoft is a whole other ballgame. Cisco certs are also good to pick up but like MS that is a world unto its own.