The Technician
Solid State Member
- Messages
- 19
- Location
- District of Columbia
Hey everyone!
First post, and I'm baring my ignorance to you all, so please go easy!
I'm a dead-end job guy, trying to get into the IT field and on track to a more stable and high paying career. I am self-studying for the CompTIA A+ exam, and let's just say it's not going as well as I'd like. I've been using computers all my life, and my father being an SMS systems admin for 25+ years, I did have a basic understanding of computers, hardware, windows, etc. going into this. So I'm not starting from scratch here.
I decided to use course materials from an online course offered through a county library for free. It turns out you get what you pay for, because the course material doesn't seem to be consistent with the info I'm getting from the CompTIA CertMaster study tools or any the Exam Force and Simulation Exams practice tests I purchased. For example, it told me the final step in the laser printing process was fusing. It also seems to have left out a great deal of specifics that these practice exams are asking me about. So, in short, after about 3 months of studying pretty consistently, I am still getting sub-par scores on practice exams, because I'm still reversing the damage from the online course.
I have made up a ton of flashcards. I have the CertMaster stuff, and the Simulation Exams practice exam (the Exam Force one won't let me use it anymore, even though I purchased the full version). I am trying to find internships or any other way of getting hands-on experience with this stuff, but without experience, that's not working. I do have a few desktop machines to fumble with, but they only have XP on them, and I can't afford to buy a Vista/7/8 installation for them. I also need a monitor for them, which is coming soon enough. And I'm reluctant to go messing with my laptop as it is my only functioning computer to study with.
I know that my problem is likely one of study habits/techniques more than it has to do with the A+ subject matter. It's been 13 years since I last had to study for anything, and I was never any good at it back then either - which is mostly why I dropped out of high school. And if I want to make up for that poor choice and get out of dead-end jobs and into a more stable career, I need to figure this out.
I would ask for specifics, but I wouldn't know what to ask. So, any advice from anyone who's passed the A+ exams, or anyone who's struggled with studying in general, OR any advice that I wouldn't know to ask for, would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers!
P.S. My 801 exam is scheduled for 9/22, which I already postponed once due to this issue. I know I should have waited until I was getting great practice scores, but I thought 3 months would be enough. Lesson learned. Hopefully 5 more weeks will be enough time for me to get my scores above 80, and I can always postpone it again.
First post, and I'm baring my ignorance to you all, so please go easy!
I'm a dead-end job guy, trying to get into the IT field and on track to a more stable and high paying career. I am self-studying for the CompTIA A+ exam, and let's just say it's not going as well as I'd like. I've been using computers all my life, and my father being an SMS systems admin for 25+ years, I did have a basic understanding of computers, hardware, windows, etc. going into this. So I'm not starting from scratch here.
I decided to use course materials from an online course offered through a county library for free. It turns out you get what you pay for, because the course material doesn't seem to be consistent with the info I'm getting from the CompTIA CertMaster study tools or any the Exam Force and Simulation Exams practice tests I purchased. For example, it told me the final step in the laser printing process was fusing. It also seems to have left out a great deal of specifics that these practice exams are asking me about. So, in short, after about 3 months of studying pretty consistently, I am still getting sub-par scores on practice exams, because I'm still reversing the damage from the online course.
I have made up a ton of flashcards. I have the CertMaster stuff, and the Simulation Exams practice exam (the Exam Force one won't let me use it anymore, even though I purchased the full version). I am trying to find internships or any other way of getting hands-on experience with this stuff, but without experience, that's not working. I do have a few desktop machines to fumble with, but they only have XP on them, and I can't afford to buy a Vista/7/8 installation for them. I also need a monitor for them, which is coming soon enough. And I'm reluctant to go messing with my laptop as it is my only functioning computer to study with.
I know that my problem is likely one of study habits/techniques more than it has to do with the A+ subject matter. It's been 13 years since I last had to study for anything, and I was never any good at it back then either - which is mostly why I dropped out of high school. And if I want to make up for that poor choice and get out of dead-end jobs and into a more stable career, I need to figure this out.
I would ask for specifics, but I wouldn't know what to ask. So, any advice from anyone who's passed the A+ exams, or anyone who's struggled with studying in general, OR any advice that I wouldn't know to ask for, would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers!
P.S. My 801 exam is scheduled for 9/22, which I already postponed once due to this issue. I know I should have waited until I was getting great practice scores, but I thought 3 months would be enough. Lesson learned. Hopefully 5 more weeks will be enough time for me to get my scores above 80, and I can always postpone it again.
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