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| Author |
Message |
Joe Silver
Guest
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 Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2003 7:05 pm Post subject: Taking Both Exams Together vs. Separately |
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Hi,
I have about nine months experience as a tech (I left this job
voluntarily), and I'm currently in the beginning stages of studying
for the A+ exams (using Michael Meyers' "All-in-One A+ Certification
Exam Guide, Fourth Edition") in the hope of finding another tech
position. I have purchased vouchers for the two exams, but have not
yet made an appointment to take them.
I had originally intended to take both exams on the same day, in the
interest of getting them over with. However, I've read posts in this
newsgroup from people who have taken them separately, and I have now
begun to consider the merits of this approach. I suppose it might be
helpful to have to study for only one exam at a time.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the advantages of one or the other of
these approaches to taking the A+ exams? Is there a method that "most"
people use, or is it pretty evenly divided between the
separate/together approach?
Thanks! |
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mark mandel
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2003 8:57 pm Post subject: Re: Taking Both Exams Together vs. Separately |
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Well, in this one "hands on" course I just took(and left because I've found
a better deal elsewhere), the instructor recommended taking the test right
after completing the first half of the program which deals with the hardware
related stuff(the core exam). But when I mentioned that to the guy who's
running the new school I'm now attending he disagreed saying it's better to
take them the same time so go figure...........
And they're both well qualified based on their backgrounds and how they
teach.
Mark Mandell
"Joe Silver" <joesilver@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:98f2df24.0308210605.477de79@posting.google.com...
| Quote: | Hi,
I have about nine months experience as a tech (I left this job
voluntarily), and I'm currently in the beginning stages of studying
for the A+ exams (using Michael Meyers' "All-in-One A+ Certification
Exam Guide, Fourth Edition") in the hope of finding another tech
position. I have purchased vouchers for the two exams, but have not
yet made an appointment to take them.
I had originally intended to take both exams on the same day, in the
interest of getting them over with. However, I've read posts in this
newsgroup from people who have taken them separately, and I have now
begun to consider the merits of this approach. I suppose it might be
helpful to have to study for only one exam at a time.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the advantages of one or the other of
these approaches to taking the A+ exams? Is there a method that "most"
people use, or is it pretty evenly divided between the
separate/together approach?
Thanks! |
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Andy Barkl
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2003 9:00 pm Post subject: Re: Taking Both Exams Together vs. Separately |
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"Joe Silver" <joesilver@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:98f2df24.0308210605.477de79@posting.google.com...
| Quote: | Hi,
I have about nine months experience as a tech (I left this job
voluntarily), and I'm currently in the beginning stages of studying
for the A+ exams (using Michael Meyers' "All-in-One A+ Certification
Exam Guide, Fourth Edition") in the hope of finding another tech
position. I have purchased vouchers for the two exams, but have not
yet made an appointment to take them.
I had originally intended to take both exams on the same day, in the
interest of getting them over with. However, I've read posts in this
newsgroup from people who have taken them separately, and I have now
begun to consider the merits of this approach. I suppose it might be
helpful to have to study for only one exam at a time.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the advantages of one or the other of
these approaches to taking the A+ exams? Is there a method that "most"
people use, or is it pretty evenly divided between the
separate/together approach?
Thanks!
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Only wimps take the exams separately! |
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Dex
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2003 9:54 pm Post subject: Re: Taking Both Exams Together vs. Separately |
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I took both exams separately and recommend doing so. Reason being is that
while niether exam is very hard, they both cover pretty broad area's of
expertise.
I'm a network admin that's been doing IT work for about 5 years and finally
decided to start getting some papers to decorate my walls with. Anyhow, like
I said above the topics covered on either tests are pretty diverse and a
fair amount to remember. So, I recommend taking the tests one at a time.
There is no harm in doing so, and lets you be better prepared.
"Joe Silver" <joesilver@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:98f2df24.0308210605.477de79@posting.google.com...
| Quote: | Hi,
I have about nine months experience as a tech (I left this job
voluntarily), and I'm currently in the beginning stages of studying
for the A+ exams (using Michael Meyers' "All-in-One A+ Certification
Exam Guide, Fourth Edition") in the hope of finding another tech
position. I have purchased vouchers for the two exams, but have not
yet made an appointment to take them.
I had originally intended to take both exams on the same day, in the
interest of getting them over with. However, I've read posts in this
newsgroup from people who have taken them separately, and I have now
begun to consider the merits of this approach. I suppose it might be
helpful to have to study for only one exam at a time.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the advantages of one or the other of
these approaches to taking the A+ exams? Is there a method that "most"
people use, or is it pretty evenly divided between the
separate/together approach?
Thanks! |
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Jerry
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2003 11:00 pm Post subject: Re: Taking Both Exams Together vs. Separately |
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I agree with Andy. If you know your stuff then there is no reason to take
them separately. Just take them together and get it over with in one shot.
That way you only have to get all worked up one time.
"Joe Silver" <joesilver@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:98f2df24.0308210605.477de79@posting.google.com...
| Quote: | Hi,
I have about nine months experience as a tech (I left this job
voluntarily), and I'm currently in the beginning stages of studying
for the A+ exams (using Michael Meyers' "All-in-One A+ Certification
Exam Guide, Fourth Edition") in the hope of finding another tech
position. I have purchased vouchers for the two exams, but have not
yet made an appointment to take them.
I had originally intended to take both exams on the same day, in the
interest of getting them over with. However, I've read posts in this
newsgroup from people who have taken them separately, and I have now
begun to consider the merits of this approach. I suppose it might be
helpful to have to study for only one exam at a time.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the advantages of one or the other of
these approaches to taking the A+ exams? Is there a method that "most"
people use, or is it pretty evenly divided between the
separate/together approach?
Thanks! |
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Barry Watzman
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2003 11:05 pm Post subject: Re: Taking Both Exams Together vs. Separately |
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These are short exams, only 20 to 30 questions, and most people finish
them in well under 30 minutes. You should know the stuff well enough to
take them at the same time. The issue that may arise is that if you
fail the first exam (and note, you can take either exam first), you may
be sufficiently bummed out and psychologically shake that it causes you
to fail the 2nd exam that you would otherwise have passed.
But, on the other hand, there is a reverse effect, that is, success
breeds success. You will be on a "high" if you pass the first exam, and
that can also impact your performance on the 2nd exam.
People do it, and recommend it, both ways. In the end, it's your call,
but I did it all at once.
Joe Silver wrote:
| Quote: | Hi,
I have about nine months experience as a tech (I left this job
voluntarily), and I'm currently in the beginning stages of studying
for the A+ exams (using Michael Meyers' "All-in-One A+ Certification
Exam Guide, Fourth Edition") in the hope of finding another tech
position. I have purchased vouchers for the two exams, but have not
yet made an appointment to take them.
I had originally intended to take both exams on the same day, in the
interest of getting them over with. However, I've read posts in this
newsgroup from people who have taken them separately, and I have now
begun to consider the merits of this approach. I suppose it might be
helpful to have to study for only one exam at a time.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the advantages of one or the other of
these approaches to taking the A+ exams? Is there a method that "most"
people use, or is it pretty evenly divided between the
separate/together approach?
Thanks! |
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Tom MacIntyre
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2003 1:45 am Post subject: Re: Taking Both Exams Together vs. Separately |
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On 21 Aug 2003 07:05:23 -0700, joesilver@hotmail.com (Joe Silver)
wrote:
| Quote: | Hi,
I have about nine months experience as a tech (I left this job
voluntarily), and I'm currently in the beginning stages of studying
for the A+ exams (using Michael Meyers' "All-in-One A+ Certification
Exam Guide, Fourth Edition") in the hope of finding another tech
position. I have purchased vouchers for the two exams, but have not
yet made an appointment to take them.
|
I took both betas together in June, 2000. I had about 13 years of
sporadic experience at the time; I was never doing PC stuff 40 hours a
week, but I was always doing something every week, either at work, at
home, or for friends and family. My opinion...
If your knowledge base is primarily from experience, do them together;
if you have a course which teaches the two A+ areas sequentially, do
them while the information is fresh in your head, unless you either
have experience anyway, or you will be getting hands on with the first
area taught while you are studying the second area. In other words...
It all depends... :-)
Tom
| Quote: |
I had originally intended to take both exams on the same day, in the
interest of getting them over with. However, I've read posts in this
newsgroup from people who have taken them separately, and I have now
begun to consider the merits of this approach. I suppose it might be
helpful to have to study for only one exam at a time.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the advantages of one or the other of
these approaches to taking the A+ exams? Is there a method that "most"
people use, or is it pretty evenly divided between the
separate/together approach?
Thanks! |
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Joe Silver
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2003 11:22 pm Post subject: Re: Taking Both Exams Together vs. Separately |
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Thanks to everyone for your helpful comments. After reading and
deliberating, I think I'm going to go with "separate" - even if it
makes me a "wimp" in Andy Barkl's eyes!  A lot of this information
is new to me, and I think it makes sense to study and absorb the
material for one exam first, then take that exam, before moving on to
the next one.
If the exams were free, or were less costly than they are, it might be
a different story. If that were the case, I might say "Hey, why not
give it a shot?" However, I don't want to risk blowing the price of
one exam (or two exams). I'd rather take things a bit slower for the
sake of having a better chance of passing both tests. |
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Pat
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2003 2:39 am Post subject: Re: Taking Both Exams Together vs. Separately |
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"Joe Silver" <joesilver@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:98f2df24.0308221022.7fbda6fa@posting.google.com...
| Quote: | Thanks to everyone for your helpful comments. After reading and
deliberating, I think I'm going to go with "separate" - even if it
makes me a "wimp" in Andy Barkl's eyes! A lot of this information
is new to me, and I think it makes sense to study and absorb the
material for one exam first, then take that exam, before moving on to
the next one.
|
Not to dog on you, but "I have about nine months experience as a tech" and
this seems rather telling, the tests are geared towards six months of
experience, though it would vary considerably based on exactly what you do.
The two exams do cover quite different areas, which is probably why they
were split up.
Someone doing strictly builds for years wouldn't be likely to be much help
with software problems, and the tests also don't focus specifically on the
newest hardware. They can't expect experience getting an old 8-bit seagate
drive bios to recognize two 20MB MFM drives, chasing sporadic reboots not
related to heat but to a flaky contact on the board, and installing the old
sound cards with their four IRQ's, four addresses, and two DMA channels, all
set with jumpers. Plug and play now makes things far simpler, though
knowing what's going on is important, and can be even more so if you ever
venture away from modern windows platforms. New machines are all but
color-coded and numbered for assembly so lots of people call themselves
techs based on a few upgrades or putting a pile of new parts together.
That's all well and good, but it makes for rather large piles of unwanted
applications for jobs where they aren't intending to train someone.
Most of my callouts are to businesses with an onsite tech, or someone who
talked well enough to be hired as one. Those and the places with servers
and when you ask who the network administrator is, it's the receptionist by
default since she's the one the contractor handed whatever data sheet they
had on their way out the door. |
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Joe Silver
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2003 7:25 am Post subject: Re: Taking Both Exams Together vs. Separately |
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"Pat" <kasar@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<04w1b.171789$cF.59008@rwcrnsc53>...
| Quote: | Not to dog on you, but "I have about nine months experience as a tech" and
this seems rather telling, the tests are geared towards six months of
experience, though it would vary considerably based on exactly what you do.
The two exams do cover quite different areas, which is probably why they
were split up...
Most of my callouts are to businesses with an onsite tech, or someone who
talked well enough to be hired as one. Those and the places with servers
and when you ask who the network administrator is, it's the receptionist by
default since she's the one the contractor handed whatever data sheet they
had on their way out the door.
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Not to dog on you, but what are you trying to say? |
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