Are you preparing for the CompTIA A+ certification exam? If so, you’re probably feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness, I know I am. The A+ certification is a highly respected and sought-after credential in the IT industry, and obtaining it can open up a world of career opportunities. However, the exam can be challenging and requires a significant amount of preparation.
In this blog post, I will be sharing the resources I have found to study for the CompTIA A+ certification exam. There are many resources available but some of them cost vast amounts of money. CompTIA has an Instructor + Prep bundle bundle that costs a whopping $3,999 and even with a discount code this is a steep price to entry. When looking for study material I focused on finding quality instruction at an affordable or free rate.
For anyone that simply wants to know the resources no fluff TLDR style I will list them below and if you would like to know more about any of them use this next list as a table of contents for the information that follows…
- The Google IT Support Professional Certificate on Coursera
- Professor Messor CompTIA 220-1101 and 220-1102 Youtube training course playlists
- Jason Dion CompTIA A+ (220-1101) and (220-1102) Core 1 & 2 Practice Exams
The Google IT Support Professional Certificate on Coursera is an online program designed to help individuals build a career in IT. It consists of a series of courses that cover a range of topics, including computer science fundamentals, networking, operating systems, system administration, and customer service. Upon completing the program, students will be prepared to take the Google IT Support Certification exam, which is designed to demonstrate proficiency in these areas. The program is aimed at individuals with little to no experience in IT, and is designed to be accessible to learners of all backgrounds. It is a self-paced program, allowing students to complete the coursework at their own pace and on their own schedule. This makes it a flexible option for those who may be working full-time or have other commitments. Overall, the Google IT Support Professional Certificate is an excellent opportunity for anyone looking to enter the IT field or advance their career in IT. As for using it to prepare for the CompTIA A+ Exam, at the end of the course and on the CompTIA website it’s explained that the course aligns with the CompTIA A+ objectives. I personally found that they can claim this because a lot of the additional reading goes into the detail needed to study for the test but if you are simply going through the videos in the course without diving fully into the additional reading its not a great study program for the CompTIA A+ objectives. I will say that I still found the course exceptionally informative especially when it came to real world application of the material covered. The Certification that you get for completing this course is well respected and if you pass this course and the CompTIA A+ exam you can claim a dual badge through Credly. At 30-60 dollars a month your overall cost is determined by how long it takes you to complete the course, and it is easy to complete it much faster than the 6 month time frame Google suggests you complete it in. Having completed the course and earned the Certification myself i can say that it is worth the effort, especially of you can dedicate a large chuck of your time to it and complete in before you are charged for too many months of access.
My favorite resource to study for the CompTIA A+ exams so far is Professor Messor’s YouTube Playlists on the subject. They are comprehensive and each video has the CompTIA A+ objective section in the title. This makes it easy to go through all the videos once then take a practice test and go back to the videos to review the sections you missed questions on. One thing I found annoying is YouTube does not list the total length of videos in a playlist. To find out how much time I would have to dedicate to the playlist i copied the URL into an online application built to calculate the total length of the playlist. One nice feature of the application is the automatic calculation for the length of the playlist at different playback speeds. Using this i was able to determine that the playlists were approximately 9.5 hours long each, but since I have a basic grasp of the topics I was able to cut the time down to approx. 6.5 hours at 1.5x playback. The application can be found at this URL https://ytplaylist-len.sharats.dev/. On a 6.5 hour timeline I was able to take a 10 min break at the top of each hour and fit each playlist into an 8 hour day of study/watching. This resource is free and therefore the most accessible resource for a tight budget on this list.
My final Study resource is Jason Dion’s CompTIA A+ (220-1101) and (220-1102) Core 1 & 2 Practice Exams. I found free Exams on the internet but I decided to grab these Exams on Udemy during one of their monthly sales. Udemy has a slightly scammy method of pricing their courses very high then offering a “sale” almost if not every month. There are online lists of every one of their regularly scheduled “sales” so be sure to check one of those out and plan your purchase accordingly. Jason Dions’s courses and practice test have very high reviews and closely follow the CompTIA A+ course objectives. I was able to purchase Core 1 & 2 practice tests for 9.99 a piece which I felt was a fair price for well curated tests. I am using these tests and the previously mentioned YouTube playlists to focus my preparations to take the exams.
The CompTIA A+ certification exam is a challenging but highly rewarding credential to earn. By following the tips and strategies outlined in this blog post, I hope to set myself up for success on exam day. For now i will keep studying, staying focused, and I will eventually reach my goal. If you read this and chose to use these resources I wish you good luck on your journey to CompTIA A+ certification! I will be keeping the blog up to date on my journey and feel free to leave a comment about your personal journey or with any resources you are using or have used to study for the CompTIA A+ Certification yourself.