CompTIA is a well-known institution that offers certifications in various sectors of the IT domain. Obtaining a credential from CompTIA can assist people to break into the IT industry. Out of their various programs, the entry-level A+ badge is quite popular among candidates, as it helps you to launch a career in IT.
As you read on, we will explain all the details about the CompTIA A+ certification and its related exams, as well as what online resources, exam dumps, learning materials, and the like to use for the exam.
About CompTIA
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a reputed organization in the IT sector. Established back in 1982, CompTIA has been offering IT-related certification programs for decades. Their credentials are accepted and recognized globally, and they have helped thousands of people shape up their career in the core sector. Moreover, their badges are vendor-neutral which means that you can work with various technologies and get a position in any company you’d like.
What Is CompTIA A+ Certification?
The CompTIA A+ 220-1001 certification is proof of your skills that enables you to start a career in the computing industry. The best part is that there is only one prerequisite to sit for the exams for the A+: you should already have 9-12 months of practical experience.
So, receiving the CompTIA A+ certification will officially declare that the person has a sound basic knowledge of common IT-related topics. That is why it acts as a doorway for people to start as well as build a career in IT. It’s a great option for students who are interested in computing and dream of a future in the IT domain. Even professionals from other fields who want to change their line of work and enter the computing industry with a fresh start can benefit from this certification.
What Career Prospects Are Available After Obtaining the A+ Certification?
After successfully receiving your A+ credential, you may start looking for work opportunities. There are many openings that you can qualify for with your newly obtained CompTIA A+ certification such as Service Desk Analyst, Desktop Support Administrator, Help Desk Technician and Associate Network Engineer among others. The second option is to advance further and obtain higher certifications in specialized domains, such as networking, cloud computing, or cybersecurity.
CompTIA A+ Exam Details
To complete your CompTIA A+ certification, you need to pass 2 tests — Core 1 (220-1001) and Core 2 (220-1002). All questions in both exams are multiple-choice and are based on performance, meaning the questions start easier and get difficult as you solve more of them. Each exam contains 90 questions that you are to complete within 90 minutes. The pricing for each test is US$226.
Now, let’s go through the details of the contents of both exams.
Topics Covered in Core 1 Exam
In total, there are 5 topics covered.
1. Mobile devices
This topic includes different concepts such as installing and configuring the hardware and components of laptops and accessories of mobile devices, analyzing the characteristics of different devices, the basics of device network connectivity and application support as well as performing synchronization.
2. Networking
The concepts included in this topic are the knowledge of different ports and protocols, installing and configuring basic wired and wireless networks, using network tools, and analyzing different types of Internet connections among others.
3. Hardware
The concepts included in this topic are identifying basic cable and connector types, installing RAM types, installing and configuring storage devices as well as motherboards and CPUs, configuring the components for a custom PC configuration, installing and maintaining different printing devices, etc.
4. Virtualization and Cloud Computing:
Concepts included in this topic are the knowledge of cloud computing concepts along with setup and configuration of client-side virtualization.
5. Hardware and Network Troubleshooting
This topic includes the following concepts: knowing the problem-solving methodology; troubleshooting the CPU, motherboards, RAM, printers, hard drives, mobile devices as well as working with problems in wireless networks.
Topics Covered in the Core 2 Exam
The Core 2 exam consists of 4 total topics.
1. Operating Systems:
The concepts included in this topic are installing and configuring different OS (especially Microsoft and Linux); knowing trier types, purposes, and features; upgrade methods; using tools and utilities.
2. Security:
It includes the following topics: knowledge of security concepts, security protocols, using tools; securing workstations, devices, and networks; etc.
3. Software Troubleshooting:
The following concepts are involved in the topics: troubleshooting Microsoft Windows OS issues as well as problems with PCs, mobile devices and applications.
4. Operational Procedures
This topic includes the following concepts: knowledge of documentation types, disaster prevention, recovery methods, basics of scripting, remote access technologies.
CompTIA A+ Preparation Tips, Exam Dumps, Practice Material
To clear both the exams, you will need full preparation. As such, you have to collect the most helpful prep materials. There are many useful exam resources on the CompTIA’s official website, but it may not be sufficient if you want to give your best.
The best way to get familiar with the exam and its pattern is to practice a lot with exam dumps. They can give you a hands-on experience of the exam atmosphere due to the special VCE Exam Simulator designed by Avanset team to open such dumps.
One of the best sites for the latest practice questions and answers is Prepaway.com. Here, you can purchase bundles of study material, including expert-verified vce files, video lectures, and study guides for a reasonable price. For instance, such a bundle for two required exams will cost you US$69,94 (or US$39,97 each if you want to buy one separately). There are many free resources too at Prepaway so even those who don’t want to spend money will gain something from it.
By combining the materials from the CompTIA’s site and Prepaway you should be able to gather enough study resources for a thorough preparation for both exams.
Conclusion
If you have decided to go for the CompTIA A+ certification, it’s a smart choice since the IT industry is growing day by day. Computing skills are more relevant than ever in today’s world and it offers plenty of lucrative opportunities.
However, the certification exams are not that simple to clear, so you will have to build up the concepts from scratch and practice a lot with the help of exam dumps. We hope that the information we have provided in this post and the materials available at Prepaway will help you to successfully qualify through both exams.