Next up in the "MyLearning" Blog Series is the CompTIA A+ 220-1001 and 220-1002 Certification.
To Recap - the "MyLearning" Blog Series outlines what I am Currently Learning or what I have Completed in my Learning Roadmap.
I will highlight the Resources and Strategies that I used to get me through it, my Results, and also what I plan to do to extend what I've learned to build on that knowledge.
The Intent - of this Blog Series is to give people a guide as to how I'm doing it so maybe to help people build their own Starting Point for their Careers.
The Goal - with each of these posts is to Share Resources and help guide people who might be overwhelmed at the amount of resources and information out there and aren't sure where or how to start.
The Details.
School: Davis Technical College, Kaysville UT
Course Book: Mike Meyers' CompTIA A+ Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Sixth Edition (Exams 220-1001 & 220-1002)
$62 ISBN-13: 978-1260455069
Course Lab Manual: Mike Meyers' CompTIA A+ Guide to Managing and Troubleshooting PCs Lab Manual Sixth Edition (Exams 220-1001 & 220-1002)
$40 ISBN-13: 978-1260454574
Course Exam Cram: CompTIA A+ Practice Exam Cram Core 1 220-1001 and Core 2 220-1002 First Edition
$15 ISBN-13: 978-0135566268
Additional Resources I used:
TOTAL: CompTIA A+ Certification Course (220-1001) by Mike Meyers - $14
CompTIA A+ (220-1001) Test Prep, Exams and Simulations by Jason Dion - $16
TOTAL: CompTIA A+ Certification Course (220-1002) by Mike Meyers - $18
CompTIA A+ (220-1002) Test Prep, Exams and Simulations by Jason Dion - $12
CompTIA A+ (220-1002) Practice Exams x6 by Jason Dion - $14
CompTIA A+ 220-1002 Core 2 Lab Course /w PBQs by Andrew Ramdayal - $12
CompTIA 220-1001 Practice Exam x1
CompTIA 220-1002 Practice Exam x2
YouTube Channels Used:
Mobile Apps:
Brainscape: Flashcard Tool
The Certification
Provider: CompTIA
Exam Code/s
Number of Questions: Max of 90 Questions Per Exam
Type: Multiple Choice /w PBQs
Time: 90 Minutes Per Exam
Expiration: 3 Years
My strategy?
A+ 220-1001:
Completed the Mike Meyers Udemy Course
Completed the Jason Dion Test Prep, Exams and Simulations Udemy Course
Completed Exam Cram 1001 A + B + C Practice Exams
My strategy was simple... I took 3 weeks off from School, and in those 3 weeks I worked through my Udemy Materials and Practice Exams.
Initially I wasn't scoring super high in the Practice Exams, but during my Review I observed I was fighting the questions/answers quite of bit and if I was more confident in my instincts, I would have done better.
I started scoring higher in the Practice Exams and I felt confident enough to go for the A+ 1001 Exam, and I passed.
I was able to get the Cert Exam Passed before I needed to start my School Course work, so they gave me Credit and I essentially was able to "Test Out" of the course and skip it entirely.
A+ 220-1002:
Completed my School's Coursework
Completed the Mike Meyers Udemy Course
Completed the Jason Dion Test Prep, Exams and Simulations Udemy Course
Completed Exam Cram 1002 A + B Practice Exams
My strategy was a little more complex with this one... My School Coursework followed the same Mike Meyers Book from the Udemy Course.
So, I was sort of able to kill 2 birds with one stone... I'm not a "Strong Reader" off paper, so I followed my School Coursework with the Udemy Course Chapters.
Did all the Labs required of me from the Course and a few extras from the Lab Manual to give myself some practice with Linux, and some older versions of Windows that I hadn't used in a ... long time.
All the labs were great, because it gave me even more experience and practice using Virtual Machines and VMware.
I finished both the Udemy Course and my School's Coursework in about 2 and a half weeks.
Spent a week doing Exam Prep - and went for the Certification Exam.
Results from my strategy?
A+ 220-1001:
Study Time: 3/21/2022 - 4/9/2022
Exam: 4/12/2022
Results: Passed
Score: 776
A+ 220-1002:
Study Time: 4/18/2022 - 5/5/2022
Exam: 5/16/2022
Results: Passed
Score 783
Continued Learning plans?
As far as Continued Learning plans goes, a side from my normal tinkering that I do at home with my Custom Gaming PC and tinkering with my many laptops.
I'll continue working on my Virtual Machine labs, my school is amazing, and I have a Year Subscription to VMware that I will take full advantage of!!!
There will also be additional saturation of this kind of learning as I move through Network+ and Security+.
I'm told there will be some Active Directory Labs that I will be starting up with these courses.
I also plan on investing in a little MAC Computer...
I was disappointed at the level of knowledge of my macOS experience, it really showed during the 220-1002 coursework.
I hadn't touched a MAC since the mid/late 80s when I was in Elementary School.... and things have changed a whole lot since then.
What can I do to help you?
Strategy Ideas:
I hope this strategy helps and give some of you some ideas on how you can strategize your studies and your self-paced learning, while keeping costs relatively low in the process.
Cost:
If I had to admit, did I need 6 different Udemy Courses? No, because I didn't end up using them all if you guys hadn't noticed.
All told, there was 8 Jason Dion exams I could have done for the 1002, I only did 2 of them.
I didn't touch the 13 Hours of PBQ's from Andrew either...
Honestly, I just didn't have the time... I tried my best to balance the burnout, and overload of information, over doing it...
I still think I was borderline close to hitting that breaking point of overdoing it and overloading, but I finished just in time to prevent the power outage.
YouTube:
I also found that on YouTube, there is just a TON of amazing Content Creators out there that all put their stuff on YouTube - FREE OF CHARGE.
The reason I had so many resources, is because... I can. I like having different perspectives, different insights, different viewpoints on various topics.
It's the same reason why I never say no to a Connection or a Call/Chat conversation on LinkedIn. You just never know what kind of insight, perspective, or knowledge you might be able to gain from someone.
Brainscape:
One thing that I have gotten a TON of feedback on from folks who are using it is my Brainscape Flashcards.
Are they perfect? Hardly... They were meant for me... what I didn't anticipate, is that I would suddenly get a pretty large following to them and people reaching out to me telling me how helpful they have been for them to pass their Exams.
I encourage you to check out Brainscape, I think it's a great service.
Is it the best Flashcard solution out there? Absolutely not... But quite frankly, I find Brainscape to have just the right amount of Features that making the Cards is seamless, fast, and easy - keeps up with my insane typing speeds, and it keeps up with my Rapid Drilling of Flashcards without any issues.
Some of the other Flashcard services out there were either too limited in features, or to feature rich for my liking.
I can take Brainscape on the go as well, donating plasma sitting on the bed, I'd be drilling my Flashcards for example...
Just a great, underrated Platform in my honest opinion.
Reach out to me if you're looking for my Decks, I'm happy to share them, and I usually give FULL ACCESS for FREE.
My Thoughts on the Course/Certification?
You will never ever ever hear me poopoo a Certification.
I know in the community; the opinions are mixed... and for reasons I understand.
It's become more of a Business, and it's easy to see why so I won't get into that.
Certifications still take alot of work, dedication, and drive.
They are NOT easy...
Thus, they should be celebrated when we earn them.
I believe in Certifications, should they be relied on 100%? No.
They serve a purpose... and I think the Entry Level Certifications are great starting points for people who are looking to find good roles to get started, and for people who want to validate what they're putting their time, hard work and effort into.
Then, I firmly believe to get more specific Certs, specifically Proprietary Certs, or Vendor specific Certs, that's when having a Role that requires them comes in...
You won't see me getting AWS Certs for example, unless I'm working a job that has me working with AWS.
That's why I think these A+, NET+, SEC+ Certs are great because I think they give you a great foundation and give you enough value to use as leverage to get the roles and the kind of pay, to start pushing you into those Intermediate and more Advanced Certifications.
I look forward to them as well when my time comes!!!
Now, as far as A+, I think it's a great Cert still. For those types of Roles, I still see it being asked for Everywhere. Some places require it to even get the job, some will say to get it within 6 months of Employment. It's still heavily asked for and on alot of Job Descriptions, so I think it's a great one to have under your belt and I highly recommend it!!
Good Luck!!!
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