How would you rate the CompTIA A+ certificate in terms of "expertise"

[meanderer]

In my opinion, A+ is a piece of paper that gets you IN. What happens afterward would have nothing to do with that piece of paper.

If you are looking for a job in particular, then you REALLY SHOULD get A+ at least to prove that you know the BASICS. In fact, any place that involves the big companies and governments would require it.

If you start your own shop, it should HELP greatly to establish your creditability. However, it is NOT ABSOLUTELY necessary if you truly know your stuff and be able to convey the message that you are a competent tech. I am still working on the A+ but no one ever asked me if I have anything *shrug.

In closing, I think that A+ is good, but not good enough.

I have a 4 year CompE degree myself, but none of the tech stuff I use to run my business is taught there XD

 

[parttimetechie]

The A+ cert is a good entry level cert, but without much experience it really isn't worth anything. The A+ cert is good for getting the experience, but standing on its own it is worthless.

 

[it.guy1]

exam experience

One aspect of the A+ exam that has been overlooked is that it introduces the person to the process of certification. I would agree that the certification itself hold little technical value, but can assist one begin a certification path that can lead to valuable certs. (If done honestly)

 

[MobileTechie]

In respect to the original question, I'd rate it at about 2 out of 10 for expertise.

 

[ATTech]

I agree. But you have to look at the A+ for what it is. It is the Basic Intro Certification. It is not meant to be the Top of the Line Cert. All of CompTIA Certifications are the Basic Intro Certs. Take the Network +. You wouldn't take that Cert and expect to get a Network admin job. You would need to get higher level experience and higher level Certs. Like someone said before before. The A+ is like the GED of certifications.

At that point, you may as well go for a college degree. Even if it's just a two year degree, it's going to be valued more than a bunch of certs.

 

[vdub12]

Hey now.....

I get what your saying. But I think it's when someone flashes an A+ cert AND has no experience. I got mine back in 2001, seemed like a bigger deal back then. But I'd hate to be knocked back to 'noob' status every my cert gets noticed..... sort of like a reset button?

LOL. I am talking more about someone with just a cert and no experience.

A+ is the tech equivalent of a GED. It's entry-level certification.

Thats exactly what I believe.

It all depends. I went to a tech school for 9 months, and then got the A+. The A+ was a joke to get as far as I was concerned, and it turned out that my expensive education ($10k) was terribly inadequate. I found myself learning on the job because NOBODY would hire me, it turns out that employers don't like grads of private schools, and the community colleges in my area didn't offer computer training beyond a few programming classes. So I was stuck. I find myself having to learn DC jack repair from the internet because nobody teaches it where I live. In fact, there are few computer repair classes of any kind in my area beyond those private schools that everybody hates.

I found myself claiming "20 years expertise" just so I wouldn't get ignored by all the people looking for "experts". I hated it, but the sad fact is that if you don't claim to be an "expert" nobody will hire you. I can't find any used laptops to practice on because they go for $100 each on ebay, which is absolutely stupid. So I find myself having to work on machines without any experience, because nobody at all will give me the time of day. Can't get hired, can't get experience, can't practice. I don't know what to do.

I don't know why you have a problem getting doner notebooks. I have people giving them to me all the time. I have 2 right now. An old Toshiba and a MAC G5. A while back I had a lady that could not afford to pay me so traded me 2 17" LCD's and a dual core AMD notebook. The notebook had a broken screen but I swapped it and gave it to my dad. Its a great notebook, he still uses it.

 

[AdamsAPlus]

At that point, you may as well go for a college degree. Even if it's just a two year degree, it's going to be valued more than a bunch of certs.

For the most part - Yes. It depends on the interviewer, the job and the cert in question. Most people will look at the Cisco CCIE cert higher than a 2 year degree. But they will look at a 2 year degree much higher than the A+. Then some interviewers look highly at certs and some do not think they are worth much.
When I was chasing jobs in the IT field I was trying to get as much of all 3 things the interviewer would look for. College, Certs, and Experience. But running my own business is a whole different story. The Certs are good to hang up in the shop, to get customers to trust you more than the guy with nothing. They look good when going after small businesses as Customers. But the most important thing when running a business is your Experience and good Customer Service.

In the End it doesn't matter how you got your knowledge, If you know your stuff and you treat the Customers right your business will grow. (At least that is what I believe)

 

[Mulga]

I agree that the A+ on its own is very much only a starting point. I am Australian and have an AQF Certificate1V (PC Support) which is pretty much equivalent to the A+, one difference is that you have to do a formal course to get the cert1V which is about 850 hours face to face.

Now I got this nearly 15 years ago so you can imagine how much of what I learned then is relevant today, even when I first got it I knew just enough to know that I did not know enough. However I now have that 15 years of hands on experience in the field which is where I truly learned my trade.

I am self employed and work with home users and a couple of small businesses so have never felt the need for any extra industry certifications, I do spend a lot of time though keeping up with what is happening in the game via websites, mags etc.

 

[Jake77444]

I'd say at most the A+ or any certification for that matter will help you get an interview but your knowledge will get you the job.

In my interview for my current full time position(Network and System Administrator) they asked if I had any certifications. I informed them I did not. I still was offered and accepted the position because of what I did have, the knowledge and experience.

If you can convey your knowledge certifications are not always necessary, but they definitely can not hurt.

 

[iptech]

A+ hands-down beats 'the Google' which many now sadly seem to rely upon as their source of wisdom.

 

[MSgherzi]

Funny story about experts:

My girlfriend's Dad had some remote service done on her laptop by Linksys because their Internet wasn't working. They mentioned that she had a lot of malware, which I already knew about and was going to work on come Christmas break.

The guy calls back and tries to sell him a service that allows their "experts" to work on the machine remotely for $50.00. He said that it was "the greatest offer of [his] life" and that their experts knew EVERYTHING there was to know about computers. I was listening and was having a nice laugh. Sadly, most people would think that's actually true.

You can know a lot, but you can never know everything.

 

[AdamsAPlus]

A+ hands-down beats 'the Google' which many now sadly seem to rely upon as their source of wisdom.

I would agree with you there. Kind of like people becoming home doctors through WebMD.com

 

[piloteer]

IMHO A+ means absolutely zero in term of expertise. Even lots of experience can add up to squat. A person can have 20 years experience but have only 1 month repeated 240 times. What does count is: competency and the ability to apply and correlate knowledge, experience and gut feeling. I don't intend to demean anyone who has the certification at all. But the A+ means you know how to put on your underwear and tie you shoelaces. That's it.

 

[AdamsAPlus]

I have to wave the BS flag on this one.

But the A+ means you know how to put on your underwear and tie you shoelaces. That's it.

I have my A+ and I still don't know how to tie my shoelaces. My wife does it for me.

 

[ajc196]

In all honesty, the A+ is a joke. Sure it's the starting point and the first cert you get, but enough lucky guesses can pass that test. And CompTIA and others can say what they want, but simply having an A+ does not give you "real world knowledge". Real experience and practice is what counts, all else is just a formality.

 

[Jsch38]

Thoughts from new person in the field

I am studying for the A+ exam. I am a novice with litte hands on experience. The A+ plus is a good foundation for understanding the basic components of a computer. However, you must have on hands experience to be of any real value to a company or to start a business. My own hands experience is coming from the work I do for a nonprofit that accepts donations of used/dead computers. We rebuild the machines, load software, bench test and then give the reburished systems to families and individuals that do not have a home computer. I have been this for a short time (2 years) with 2000 hours of volunteer. I am always learning something new. I suggest you work in an established shop to build your skills and then decidie if you want to start your own business.

 

[CompuMedics PC Repair]

I don't have an A+ cert, and most of my Clients came to me because some "expert" messed something up the first time, be it Best Buy, or some local shop. I have become known, as the guy who fixes things others can't. This is a bit of a hassle, because the guy before me usually messes something else up for me to fix.

I am toying with the slogan "When others can't, I can."

 

[sct]

I work as a Computer Tech at a college and for myself. I have had to work with 3 different people with A+ in my time here at the college. One can't burn or make an ISO, the other could not setup a network printer, and the last one was an intern I had who had a great aptitude. He knew the A+ was just a piece of paper and hands on was how he was going to get better. I'm the lead tech here and the one who gets all the problems. I myself do not have the A+. Maybe one day I will however my boss has no idea what it is. He has heard Microsoft and Linux both have one. If you want to show off a Cert go get Brainbench or Expertrating. They are a lot cheaper. The 2 best techs I have ever worked with never went to school for computers and had no Certs.