As I explained in this post, in order to get your foot in the door with tech, CompTIA has developed a globally recognized and accredited IT certification called CompTIA A+. The actual certification consists of two separate exams, 220-901 and 220-902, and you can purchase vouchers on their website for each exam at $199 (-$39.80 using coupon code GETCERT2016, for a total of $358.20). After ordering the vouchers, go to their parent website Person VUE to schedule your exams (typically Mon-Fri), which I chose to take at a community college down the street. You don't have to take 220-901 and 220-902 on the same day, but I did just to get them done and out of the way.
I've never worked in tech before, much less IT, so I needed some way to learn the material and prepare for the exams. There are an exhaustive number of training programs for these certs, but luckily a friend recommended TestOut. The company offers certification training at a subscription of $79/month, which includes videos, practice questions, and interactive labs entirely from the web browser of your computer. Their training for the CompTIA A+ exams is called PC Pro and also prepares you for their in-house performance-based certification.
If you choose to go the TestOut route, I'd suggest planning your schedule ahead of time using their lesson plan (pdf). According to their calculations at the end of the plan, the PC Pro training should take approximately 111 hours, assuming that you watch the videos at 1x speed, answer 1 practice question every 1 minute, and complete labs in 5 minutes. Figure out your schedule and how much time you're comfortable with committing per week and set your certification exam dates accordingly. In 9 weeks I managed to finish 35 hours faster by watching the videos at 1.5x or faster speed, answering most practice questions in under a minute, and skipping over certain practice quizzes entirely in the final review sections. The labs are a different animal, however, and they can often get tricky - just make sure to read the directions and read the step-by-step instructions at the end if you screw up. Here were my weekly hours, and remember that I was working full-time and also learning Java:
Wk1: 5.5
Wk2: 13.0
Wk3: 5.75
Wk4: 2.5
Wk5: 13.75
Wk6: 3.25
Wk7: 8.25
Wk8: 10
Wk9: 13.75
Total: 75.75
By the time I reached the practice exams at the end of the training, I was getting between 65-85% of questions correct, which was sufficient in preparing me for the CompTIA A+ exams that I passed at around 85%. My learning method using Anki was a lifesaver, and my deck currently comprises a total of 561 flashcards that I review on a daily basis. During the PC Pro training I would take learning-based notes in my composition book, and at the end of each lesson I would go back and highlight those concepts and facts that had proved their importance in the videos, questions, and labs. Then I would take the highlighted information and formulate Anki flashcards, either as question-answer, back-and-forth term and definition, fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, picture-recognition, if-then, and so on.
My next step is to study for CompTIA Security+ with TestOut Security Pro. Why security? A few reasons. Firstly, analyzing job postings in my area reveals that most jobs that look for CompTIA A+ certification also want you to have Security+, which makes sense given my proximity to Fort Meade and the NSA. Secondly, my backup plan if I don't get accepted into graduate school for Computer Science is to go for an MS in Cybersecurity Technology from UMGC, and increasing my knowledge of security IT now would be helpful on that path. Lastly, after dipping my toes in security through reading Future Crimes by Marc Goodman and studying the basics in TestOut PC Pro, the field actually seems damn interesting and I want to learn more about it.
Unlike my 9 weeks studying for A+ (which TestOut estimated at 111 hours), time is ticking and I will be giving myself a mere 3 weeks for Security+ (estimated at 91 hours). After all, these certs should be done by the time I begin classes in the fall. At least this time I won't have to worry about learning Java too, and I'm much more familiar with my schedule and learning strategy with TestOut now that I have put them into practice once.
I will conclude this post with my updated IT certification timeline:
CompTIA A+ Training Birthline: Sunday, May 29CompTIA A+ Training Deadline: Thursday, July 21CompTIA A+ 220-901 Certification Exam: Friday, July 22CompTIA A+ 220-902 Certification Exam: Friday, July 22- CompTIA Security+ Training Birthline: Monday, July 25
- CompTIA Security+ Training Deadline: Sunday, August 14
- CompTIA Security+ SYO-401 Certification Exam: Monday, August 15
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