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A+ Certification holders... How many times before you passed the exams?

#1
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8/3/07 at 9:30pm
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For the past 6 months, in my spare time after work, I have been studying for my 301 and 302 exams. Monday evening I got online to find a local testing center and low and behold, the 301 and 302 are no longer given. Instead there is now an Essentials exam followed by a 602, 603 or 604 depending on the career path. (Sadly, I had to fork over more money for a study guide covering the Essentials and 602 exams.)

My question for people who passed the A+ exams is this: How many times did you have to take each exam to pass?

I am only going to take the Essentials and 602, but at $165 each, it can get pretty expensive.
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#2
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8/4/07 at 6:59pm
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Re: A+ Certification holders... How many times before you passed the exams?

Once, but I'm a total compter geek. I never had to study for it or anything. Usually the sample tests are a little more difficult than the real thing, so even if you just pass one them with little margin, you should be fine. However that was for the 301 and 302...not sure about the new ones.

And if you are going for the MCSA or other certs, here is how I hanled the ones I have completed so far: I had to study a little for Net+, but not for the Win XP cert...next up is Managing and Maintaing a Windows Server 2003 Environment, and then The Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure. The environment one is a little more difficult than the previous ones, the infrastructure has me worried. It'd be a good idea to take the classes for those two. All of that combined gives you the MCSA.
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#3
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8/5/07 at 7:54am
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Re: A+ Certification holders... How many times before you passed the exams?

Thanks for the input Adam. I feel pretty confident about taking the exams so far. I started reading my new study guide Friday and am almost halfway finished. The only part of the practice exams I have had any difficulty with so far is the HDD formating and partitioning and using RAID. I keep forgetting how many HDDs each RAID setup requires.

And are you talking about the MCSE? I haven't heard of the MCSA.
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#4
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8/5/07 at 8:11am
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Re: A+ Certification holders... How many times before you passed the exams?

Once. I did an interview with a medical facility 8 years ago, and they were all impressed with my resume and certifications, except they pointed out I didn't hold an A+. They still told me I was the leading candidate, and they were very happy with how things went.

I walked into a Sylvan center that day and took the test that day, on the spot, came back with my certification and they gave me the job on the spot.



(I left there years ago, but still one of my favorite resume stories)
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#5
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8/5/07 at 8:18am
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Re: A+ Certification holders... How many times before you passed the exams?

Awesome Chris! I think I have an advantage over a lot of people working towards A+... I have been working with PCs and different OS types for years both at home and work. I can build a PC from the ground up and most of what the books have covered so far is like second nature to me already.
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#6
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8/5/07 at 7:41pm
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Re: A+ Certification holders... How many times before you passed the exams?

I will say this: some of the answers A+ expects are -wrong-. I don't know if they've been corrected since I took it, but A+ runs about a year or two behind current hardware, so some of the questions are not always "right" but think about how they are phrased and go for what's expected. (I knew the "wrong" because the right answer was not an option..)
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#7
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8/5/07 at 8:10pm
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Re: A+ Certification holders... How many times before you passed the exams?

I passed the 301 and 302 on the first try using only the Michael Myers book and the practice tests that came with it.

Not sure what the new tests are like.
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#8
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8/6/07 at 8:47am
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Re: A+ Certification holders... How many times before you passed the exams?

RAID guide

bytepile.com/raid_class.php

The most common are 0,1,5,10.
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#9
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8/6/07 at 7:09pm
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Re: A+ Certification holders... How many times before you passed the exams?

The new book I'm studying from is a Mike Meyers Passport A+. It's written so much better than my 301-302 book which is a PrepLogic book.

Thanks Adam!
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#10
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8/7/07 at 8:54am
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Re: A+ Certification holders... How many times before you passed the exams?

I passed it the first time up. I took the hardware and operating system exams separately back in 2003. My passing score for the OS exam was, I kid you not, 666. I have no idea how I'd do now since they've changed the exams quite a bit since then.

I recently passed my CISSP exam first time up and found the Mike Meyers Passport book to be a great investment for cramming during the last two weeks leading up to the exam.
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#11
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10/3/07 at 7:09pm
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Re: A+ Certification holders... How many times before you passed the exams?

Well I'm halfway there. I passed my A+ Essentials exam Monday so I only have to go back for my 220-602 IT Technician exam.
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#12
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10/12/07 at 2:38pm
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Re: A+ Certification holders... How many times before you passed the exams?

I did it! I passed my IT Technician exam this afternoon with an 810 of 900.
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#13
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10/15/07 at 9:35am
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Re: A+ Certification holders... How many times before you passed the exams?

Quote:
I did it!

Congratulations. Now you'll have to learn the secret handshake.
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#14
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10/15/07 at 3:52pm
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Re: A+ Certification holders... How many times before you passed the exams?

Is it anything like the Royal Order of the Water Buffalo?
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