"A+ is Dying"

[ekÆsine]

I agree with mrdinkel. They should give testers a field test rather than a written test. I would not want a person fixing my PC who has intricate understanding of how a motherboard functions yet does not understand why the computer does not post and only the case fans spin when the power switch is pressed.

A person who has a lot of experience building and repairing a PC should know that one of the most valuable skills to have is a methodology to deduce where the problem is coming from so you don't spend too much time and money on it. It's that adaptability that separates them from freshly certified pc techs who will replace every part in a computer and reload the OS and device drivers numerous times because the video display intermittenly freezes every 10 seconds yet in the end it turns out to be that the fan on the video card stopped working. Experience cannot be tested through written examination

 

[Wisconsin9erfan]

Is the A+ really dead, well not for me anyways... the job that I am going for you need either a 2 year degree... or 2 years work experience plus A+ certification... and even if you have the 2 year degree you have to get the A+ within 15 months of employment. So to get a job that you are looking for, I would say that the A+ is not exactly dead.

 

[bla!!]

In that sense, the only reason it's not dead is because it at one point became an industry standard. The general public has heard about the A+ cert, and when they hear that someone has it they think "good thoughts". But the actual knowledge gained from it is not worth the money required to take the tests.