why do you have to be a+ certed??

[sao95]

just curious?

[kane2g]

when your job needs you to be.
Otherwise, if you want a certificate on the wall.
Some companies will require you to have A+ for their Tech department. But others (like BestBuy) dont. even tho youre doing the same job.
SO it really depends.
But if youre not planning on being PC tech / repair, its very unlikely that its going to be required.

PS. I think MS also started to count A+ as one of their courses, so you have another reason.

[John Prophet]

You dont HAVE to be any kind of certed, lol.

A+ is just a good entry level cert that has sort of been accepted as showing a minimum level of competence. (or something like that)

Certs in general show that you know terminology and that you are willing to put forth some effort in a given field.

JP

[Beemer]

So anyone wishing you to work on their computer knows that you know how to research out a solution.

In my A+ course there was a girl at the back of the class. She listened intently to every word from the teacher and all that was said in class by the other students.

At the end of the course she was quite verbal about not learning much in the class. She expected to have supremecy over any computer problem.

What she didn't realize was that that isn't what the course was trying to teach.

A+ teaches you how to diagnose a problem by knowing the components in a computer. Hardware and Software. It doesn't teach you all the problems that can occur. Realworld teaches you that.

Cheers!

[John Prophet]

ya. I am taking some w2k mcse "cram" type classes...I havent taken the actual classes though, just these "cram" deals which are like the bootcamps somewhat.

So to be quite honest about it...when I pass the 70-210 I will be a "paper mcp" as far as W2k is concerned..because I dont work with w2k much. If you dont mix the real life day in and day out experience, then the cert itself doesnt say much.

Of course there are several approaches to the learning process. Personally, so far, I have gotten the cert first, and then "fleshed it out" with the experience.

When I got my A+ I didnt have ANY experience, lol. The first day of A+ class I didnt even know how to drag and drop files onto a floppy, lol. Then I got a job and got the experience also...so now I have both.

Other people get experience and then they "solidify" it with the cert.

Some people make fun of a "paper" this or that..and I fully understand why they do.

But I also think its hilarious to see people who have done something for years and dont have ANY type of cert. To me it shows a certain "lack" on their part. Kind of a "gap" that should be filled.

From a practical point of view...if it helps you get a job, how can a cert POSSIBLY be bad?....besides, I did learn a LOT in my A+ classes as well as the "mcse cram" classes I am in now. If nothing else, as Beemer said...the whole cert process helps you learn how to think logically, set goals, concentrate etc.

From a personal point of view...I think you should be a "student" of whatever field you are in.

If I ran the comp store I would very much prefer guys with at least a A+ unless they want to work for minimum wage while they learn....I mean , really, if a guy isnt serious or focused enough to get a cert, that doesnt say much for him. A cert somewhat says that you plan to make it a career.

JP

[sKiT]

I have no cert's related to PC's and hold a Network administrator/ Tech Support position. I wouldn't call it a "lack" on my part though. I took the online A+ practice exams and realized that this test would be the equivilent of me graduating high school and then going back to 1st grade to prove to Mrs. Smith I can spell catt



I was hired after they learned PC know-how is my full time hobby and was able to demonstrate I could handle the job. I will get an A+ plus cert when they are distributed through gumball machines.


edit: small co.

[John Prophet]

(I knew there would be some form of rebuttal, lol)

Nope, A+ isnt for admin positions..its for entry level.

Are the mcse tests like childs play also? They say 70-216 and some of the others are not pushovers.

JP

What kind of company do you work for, just out of curiousity? Big company, small company?

[sKiT]

I haven't taken any of those either...heh but, I heard they are rather difficult.

[Dave Anderson]

I got my A+ for resume dressing. Nothing more, nothing less.

[DRF138]

I am begining to think that I am more the type that would benefit from taking the A+ cert. I have some gaps in my knowledge base, I haven't taken a computer calss in my life I don't even work with them at my current job. I have built many and fixed many, I just got out the screw driver and started asking questions and finding the answers, when they weren't obvious or my brain was blue screening...I guess that is what I'm doing in my "lab" is getting the experience and looking to solidify with the certification myself,though I have my own demons in regard to which certs to take...
I guess If I we're to answer your question in a sentence it would be-You don't have to be certified you just have to think logically and know the questions to ask and where to ask them, Though it does show a certain level of commitment and capability(you can start and finish something)