A+ Qualification

completenovice

Hello All,

I am currently thinking about re-training in IT. I do have a fair understanding of Hardware and components and how they work but I need to get A+ done before moving on to N+ etc..

Why do none of the training providers display prices openly on their websites? The million dollar question though, is which provider to use?

Any help/advice would really be appreciated, thanks.

fleccy

completenovice wrote: »

Hello All,

I am currently thinking about re-training in IT. I do have a fair understanding of Hardware and components and how they work but I need to get A+ done before moving on to N+ etc..

Why do none of the training providers display prices openly on their websites? The million dollar question though, is which provider to use?

Any help/advice would really be appreciated, thanks.

I personally wouldn't bother with those qualifications if I were you. Employers recently aren't too bothered about them as the answers to those exams are all over the internet on sites such as sadikhov.com. I have A+, N+, etc, etc. No-one employer-wise seems to care, so I went to university to get a degree (in my second year).

fluffnutter

I've worked in IT for > 10 years (coder and now project management) and I've never heard of A+ or N+. Is it a networky/hardware support thing? It's not apps that's for sure.

gaming_guy

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xenonive

Microsoft exams are the way to go as MCSE includes the security+ as one of the optional exams . Most universities have IT academies open to the public for study , I did my MCSE which with basic MCP(Microsoft Certified Professional) then MCSA (Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator ) before moving to MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) in evening classes at a uni and was a 1/3 of the cost of training centres but did take 9 months to complete due to the evening classes but worth the saving.

Lil306

If you want to get forward in IT,

- Developer / Programming / Web Design
- Get your MCSE / CCNA qualifications
- Be a university graduate

That's all there ever seems to be, it's why I'm working on getting qualifications on the first two. I don't particularly care about Uni quals as I'm focussing around programming / design and the MCSE/CCNA for the higher paid jobs (and because I want them)

Also Linux / Unix, but that's more of a specialist field

completenovice

Lil306 wrote: »

If you want to get forward in IT,

- Developer / Programming / Web Design
- Get your MCSE / CCNA qualifications
- Be a university graduate

That's all there ever seems to be, it's why I'm working on getting qualifications on the first two. I don't particularly care about Uni quals as I'm focussing around programming / design and the MCSE/CCNA for the higher paid jobs (and because I want them)

Also Linux / Unix, but that's more of a specialist field

Thanks lil306, I appreciate A+ & N+ are entry level stuff, am hoping to progress to CCNA & MCSE or A in due course. As you say, that is definitely where the money and the challenge is.

Just wish the training providers would be open about their pricing. I am well aware they want to talk to you and 'draw' you in by making you ask, but surely one of them would have the sense to be different and adopt open pricing on their sites. I can't think of a single reason why not.

aw78

Hi, I work for a microsoft gold partner. Dont bother with A+, also the mcse is dead ( old tech ) the way forward with regards to the microsoft sid eof things is MCITP, that is the replacment for mcse just over different techonologys

You can get an MCITP on server 2008, exchange etc.

To get these you do 3-4 exams, each one giving you an mcts (microsoft certified technology specialist ).

You could also look into virtualisation with vmware and get your VCP, this is very big at the moment.

I have mcse/mcse ,vcp and mcitp in server 2008/exchange 2007 and 2010s....and you know what? experiance counts more than all of them put together..my advice is try getting into 1st line, anywhere then work your way up, the quals will come while your getting experiance.

I wrote an article on all this on my website but i dont seem to be able to post links!

edit. That is my site in my signature..i thinkits feature 7 on the features page.

fwor

completenovice wrote: »

I can't think of a single reason why not.

I suspect that the main reason is that most training companies are targeting corporate customers, who generally don't care about the price as long as it's not outrageous.

As a generalisation, what a company would be prepared to pay and what an individual can afford are so different that most are simply not interested in the latter.

Hammyman

Personally, I'd avoid MS certification altogether and go for a Unix/Linux one. MS Admins are ten a penny and as a result, there's loads going for the same job and the money is lower.

scotsbob

gaming_guy wrote: »

Comptia A+, N+, Security+, Linux+ etc

http://www.comptia.org/certifications/listed.aspx

The qualifications are CompTia's own qualifications, that does not mean they are universally recognised.

Anyone can set up an organisation and award bits of paper, it doesn't mean they are worth anything.

I would suggest that the OP reads very carefully the comments above from people in the industry who have never heard of these qualifications.