Passing the A+ - CompTIA A+ 220-1101 - 220-1102 – 0.3

Let’s have a look at how to pass the A+ exam.

Exams
In order to get your A+ certification, you are required to pass two different exams. Previously, the exams were called “Hardware” and “Software”. The exams are now called “Core 1” and “Core 2”.

The first exam is 220-1101. You can see from the context that it is mostly hardware, but also covers topics like cloud and networking. This is probably why CompTIA dropped hardware from the title, as the exam context has become more diverse and goes beyond just covering hardware.

The second exam is 220-1102 or Core 2. This has more of a software focus but does also cover topics like operational procedures. Thus, you can understand that, although it focuses on software it covers more than just software.

You need to pass both exams, however, they can be passed in any order. There is no time limit between exams; however, you will need to pass both by the retirement date of the exam. At the time this video was created, the retirement date had not been set.

The CompTIA A+ certification is designed to validate your foundational knowledge and skills in IT. It is recommended for someone with 12 months of hands-on experience. It will be easier to pass if you have some knowledge of computers.

There is nothing stopping you from sitting the exam with no experience, in an attempt to get into the industry, but I would recommend that you set up a home lab to test out the topics in the course. This will give you a better understanding of how to support computers. Watching videos and reading books will unfortunately only get you so far.

What you need
To get started, I would recommend a course like this one. There are other courses, both free and paid for, that you may also want to consider. We hope to get this course completed, but it all depends on funding.

Completing a course will give you a lot of information, but I would also get a good reference book. Once you think you are ready for the test, try some practice exam questions. This will give you an idea of how ready you are and if there are any topics that you need to work on more.

How long will it take?
Many people ask how long it will take. This comes down to when you are ready to sit the exams and varies from person to person. The biggest two factors are prior knowledge and study commitment. If you have previously obtained your A+, and you’re just adding what is new to your knowledge, it should be a lot faster for you the second time around. How much time you spend studying and preparing will make a big difference. It is hard to find the time sometimes. Often, I will use dead time, such as traveling on public transport, to watch videos to increase my knowledge. The main thing is that once you start, keep consistently working on your preparation until you are ready to take the exam. If you start and stop all the time, in my opinion, it makes it harder.

Download exam objectives
You should also consider downloading the exam objectives. These are available from the CompTIA website. The exam objectives are subject to change. Hopefully they won’t change, but it is possible for minor changes to occur. Have a look and make sure you have covered everything.

I personally go through the exam objectives and tick off the ones that I know. If I find that there are ones that I don’t know, I will study up on those exam objectives. This forms a good final check for me before sitting the exam to make sure I have covered everything.

Taking the exam
When you are ready to take the exam, you will need to book it. To do this, go to the CompTIA web site, select “testing” and select “in-person” or “online” exam. In this case, I will select in-person. I will have a look at the online option in a moment.

There is a link to the testing policies on this page. It is not a bad idea to read through them. There are some accommodations if English is your second language, and the test is not available in your native language in your area.

Read through the other information on this page. CompTIA recommends that you arrive 15 minutes early for the test. The test center has some administration that needs to be completed before you can sit the test. This will give you enough time to complete it.

You are required to bring two forms of identification. Have a look at the ID policy to make sure that you have the right documents.

References

Credits

[djhonz]

This is absolutely amazing! Thank you for all your hard work!!

[realmartin.minkov]

You are explaining very well and in huge depth like no one else on YouTube thank you very much!

[cmasscmass]

I have no interst in working an inside job. Although, if I had a job where I'm outside more than inside; it's better for me. I will say, that I never looked at taking any test. But in the last few weeks, I've taken a lot of IT Admin Network Server examines. I'm only interested in knowing where I stand with any IT testing. I want to know what I have taught myself over the years of building servers and desktop computer systems for family and friends. What's helping me along the most is the ability of program coding. My interest was sparked by The Game makers of Half-Life decoding, editing, and remapping game codes when Hosting game servers. I never really knew what pictures I had been portraiting until others told me what they could see in my works. I save new Tech everyday, To One up anyone unless doing the same in tech.

[DarkTideOffroad]

Question #2 is ridiculous. Its sad that the questions are set up so that you can still get it wrong even though you know all the information. Its like they want you to be better at "taking tests" than being competent.