So I have an A+ certification...

Ok, so I just took and passed the A+ certification test at the end of January, but I'm having some trouble finding entry level jobs in the IT field. There seems to be quite a few people on CAG in the field, so I'm looking for any advice or suggestions on companies or positions to look for, things to put in a resume, etc.

[quote name='mrExtreme']Ok, so I just took and passed the A+ certification test at the end of January, but I'm having some trouble finding entry level jobs in the IT field. There seems to be quite a few people on CAG in the field, so I'm looking for any advice or suggestions on companies or positions to look for, things to put in a resume, etc.[/QUOTE]

It's all about connections. Certifications are nice and all, but employers want to know you can get the job done (self-starter, motivated, etc)

If you don't have experience, be prepared to start at a lower wage.

I don't have an A+ but have an Associates degree in computer tech and have been working at a related field job for 5-6 years now but I want more $$ and looking for a new job but I too am having trouble even getting a call or an interview.

Do you have any other certifications, experience, or education? A+ certification is a good start, but its not going to be easy finding even an entry level IT job with that alone. Of course I only have an associate's degree and an A+ certification and managed to get a good entry level job, but it took a year and a half to find it after getting my degree.

Unless you want to be an entry level repair monkey, why would you choose an A+ cert? Get your CCNA, that's a cert people actually respect. Then work on your CCNP or Security+ cert.

Yeah, an A+ cert isn't worth shit anymore. You might have luck getting a job a Geek Squad or something. Otherwise, get some education and better certs, then you might, might have better luck. Even still, it's hard out there right now.

I agree, A+ doesn't mean much... I got mine right out of college. Graduated with a BS in Hospitality Management and a Minor in IT. Cooked for two years, boss pissed me off, quit. Started looking for IT jobs, I lucked out and landed an internship with a small firm, they brought me on full time and now I'm getting more hands on experience than I know what to do with (AD, Exchange, infrastructure, etc.)

TL;DR don't turn your nose up at an internship. Try to find a tech focused temp agency, or any temp agency, let them know what you're looking for and try might be able to work with you.

Good luck, boss.

Internships? Good luck with that, seem to be even fewer opportunities there.

I'm not an IT or CIS major, but I have a friend who is one. Were both close and in school we always stress looking for internships. I'm about to finish my junior year and I'm doing my 4th one, my friend is doing his 3rd. Among other things internships definitely help fill up your resume. Hopefully I can secure a job this summer though before I graduate next year -_-.

I have a bachelor's degree and a postgrad certification, neither one is technology related however.

I've built my own PC before and fixed a YLOD on a PS3.

I've set up LANs before and done basic troubleshooting on PCs, printers, etc.

Why is the A+ cert frowned upon? One of my friends recommended me to get it. He works in IT.

Why is CCNA better than A+?

It really depends on experience & attitude.

Are you getting interviews at all? IF so, are you asking for a lot of money? You will most likely start with a low income and start on tier 1 help desk or a similar job.

I know my company is hiring now and they do look at certs but experience and the way the person interacts and answers the interview questions means A LOT more.

If someone doesn't have experience but they seem promising and are willing to learn they sometimes get picked over someone with experience who has a bad attitude.

[quote name='Superstar']It really depends on experience & attitude.

Are you getting interviews at all? IF so, are you asking for a lot of money? You will most likely start with a low income and start on tier 1 help desk or a similar job.

I know my company is hiring now and they do look at certs but experience and the way the person interacts and answers the interview questions means A LOT more.

If someone doesn't have experience but they seem promising and are willing to learn they sometimes get picked over someone with experience who has a bad attitude.[/QUOTE]

No, I haven't had any interviews yet. It seems every job I've found on craigslist and such require 2-3 years experience.

I'm not expecting to make a lot of money just starting off, nor am I asking for it. I really just want an entry level job to gain more experience regardless of pay.

A+ isn't really frowned on, it's a good "I know the basics of PCs" type certification, which will get you just that, a basic troubleshooting/repair job. It's a good start.

In the meantime, you should be studying for a CCNA/Net+ like others have mentioned. A+ won't get you far.

I've been working in IT after college for three years now. Got a bachelor's degree, A+, Net+ and Security+. At some point, I'll work through my Microsoft certs (as long as my work keeps paying for them). CCNA is prolly not in my future, but like others mentioned, it's a very valuable cert.

As far as A+ goes, it's a very low-level/basic cert. It's not bad to have, but, it's really not worth much, IMO. Interviewers usually see it and think "that's nice", but, a bunch of other applications will also have the cert. A degree and more higher level certs will help you out.

Also, kinda stinks that you didn't make the January 1 lifetime cutoff. Your A+ expires in three years now, correct? I studied and took my Net+ and Security+ last November-December just to take them and get them for life.

In general, work is hard to find right now. There could be a large number of people out of work with higher levels of experience. Good luck.

My A+ is scheduled for next week. Was it tough?

And yeah, A+ is just the intro. Sec+ and net+ should be the next ones to knock off and soon.

[quote name='dohdough']My A+ is scheduled for next week. Was it tough?

And yeah, A+ is just the intro. Sec+ and net+ should be the next ones to knock off and soon.[/QUOTE]

IMO, A+ was fairly easy. I completed it back in 2008 though.
Two coworkers just went and took it in November. One had a background in IT; the other did not. Both scored pretty well, and both passed.

For me, Network+ was actually the most difficult. Even it wasn't too bad, and, I got a pretty good score (mid-800 something). Security+ was extremely easy to me and I only studied for a few weeks. Really wanted to beat that January 1 deadline on all three.

\\I passed this afternoon. WOOHOO. Now onto net+.

I got my A+ certification back in 1999. It was a good foot in the door at the time since I didn't have my degree yet. I then added on a MCSE in NT 4.0 & Novell CNA certs and finished up my degree. I've since upgraded my Microsoft certs to MCITP in Windows 2008 and Windows 7. I've also added Security+. I'll be taking my Exchange 2010 cert exams later this month as well. My work requires the certs, but they look for 4 year degrees first.

It is tough getting your foot in the door these days though. If you have a friend that can help you get your foot in the door, that is the best way. I got 3 friends hired on at my old place of employment and they are still going strong. I've also gotten another friend hired on where I work now.

Sign up on LinkedIn and make some contacts. Go to tech expos. If you have a computer training center near you, talk to some people there and see if they know of any businesses looking for entry level tech positions. In the meantime, just keep trying to increase your knowledge. Download Microsoft Virtual PC or something similar and get the 60-day trial of Windows 2008 or a random flavor of Linux and play around with it. Get as familiar as you can with as much as you can.

As a supervisor of data services for a fortune 1000 data center and hire techs in 4 different states, the A+ does not speak volumes to me. Not bad mouthing it or anything but it is not the cert it once was. Net+ is also nothing spectacular as it was a few years back. If you are thinking about a Net+ next just take the CCENT which is test 1 for the CCNA. It's basically the same thing but it has Cisco on it. Companies like that.

Also, should of pushed to take that A+ in December, at least then it would not expire. Your A+ now expires every two years. The same for Net+ and Security+. I was trying to push to get my Security+ done by December and never happened so I pushed it off and looking for my VCP. (VMware is going to be one of those next big certs.)

[quote name='Lokki']I got my A+ certification back in 1999. It was a good foot in the door at the time since I didn't have my degree yet. I then added on a MCSE in NT 4.0 & Novell CNA certs and finished up my degree. I've since upgraded my Microsoft certs to MCITP in Windows 2008 and Windows 7. I've also added Security+. I'll be taking my Exchange 2010 cert exams later this month as well. My work requires the certs, but they look for 4 year degrees first.

It is tough getting your foot in the door these days though. If you have a friend that can help you get your foot in the door, that is the best way. I got 3 friends hired on at my old place of employment and they are still going strong. I've also gotten another friend hired on where I work now.

Sign up on LinkedIn and make some contacts. Go to tech expos. If you have a computer training center near you, talk to some people there and see if they know of any businesses looking for entry level tech positions. In the meantime, just keep trying to increase your knowledge. Download Microsoft Virtual PC or something similar and get the 60-day trial of Windows 2008 or a random flavor of Linux and play around with it. Get as familiar as you can with as much as you can.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the advice. I know someone that's the mgr of an IT dept and has some contacts that he's going to help me with.

I"m not sure how LinkedIn can help considering I don't have any professional experience. I do have 25 years experience tinkering and building computers though. I was messing with computers before Windows came out.

[quote name='qwikstreet']As a supervisor of data services for a fortune 1000 data center and hire techs in 4 different states, the A+ does not speak volumes to me. Not bad mouthing it or anything but it is not the cert it once was. Net+ is also nothing spectacular as it was a few years back. If you are thinking about a Net+ next just take the CCENT which is test 1 for the CCNA. It's basically the same thing but it has Cisco on it. Companies like that.

Also, should of pushed to take that A+ in December, at least then it would not expire. Your A+ now expires every two years. The same for Net+ and Security+. I was trying to push to get my Security+ done by December and never happened so I pushed it off and looking for my VCP. (VMware is going to be one of those next big certs.)[/QUOTE]
Haha...sounds like you don't think very highly of it at all.

The certs are good for 3 years, but are renewed through professional development or higher certs, which are not a huge deal to me. Keeping pace is becoming increasingly more important with every hw/sw release.

For me, this was more of a confidence builder and first step. I've heard that CCNA is the thing to go for nowadays and am going to be looking into it. I'll be dropping OSI layer jokes before you know it...hehe.

For myself I had a BA in a non IT related field and I had experience which led me to a mid level contract IT job and then another Tier II support job later on I think a Net+/Security+ or even a CCNA could greaty benefit me. How much is a CCNA?

Knowing someone that works in IT is another great thing and going to expos/career fairs. Around where I live there's lots of government/state money and there will always be a need for IT.

I know a few guys that have some exp, with an A+ that have jobs, most of its low level stuff.

[quote name='kube00']For myself I had a BA in a non IT related field and I had experience which led me to a mid level contract IT job and then another Tier II support job later on I think a Net+/Security+ or even a CCNA could greaty benefit me. How much is a CCNA?

Knowing someone that works in IT is another great thing and going to expos/career fairs. Around where I live there's lots of government/state money and there will always be a need for IT.

I know a few guys that have some exp, with an A+ that have jobs, most of its low level stuff.[/QUOTE]
A CCNA will run about $200-$250 depending on which route you take. You could do it A+ style and have 2 tests or 1 all-inclusive test for more money. That is if you get a discounted voucher.

But yeah, A+ is pretty much for desktop jockeys and even then, it's lost street cred because more people have them now...kinda like college degrees.

[quote name='Rig']IMO, A+ was fairly easy. I completed it back in 2008 though.
Two coworkers just went and took it in November. One had a background in IT; the other did not. Both scored pretty well, and both passed.

For me, Network+ was actually the most difficult. Even it wasn't too bad, and, I got a pretty good score (mid-800 something). Security+ was extremely easy to me and I only studied for a few weeks. Really wanted to beat that January 1 deadline on all three.[/QUOTE]

DoD standard is 3 years current, that's why they aren't lifetime certs anymore. If you work anywhere where they care about those certs, they will make you bridge your lifetime certs and you'll be in the same boat. I used to work for Lockheed Martin, trust.

Good information going to tag this for future reference since I'm currently working on my degree.

So if they expire does that mean retaking the test every 3 years or just paying to get it renewed?

[quote name='Clak']So if they expire does that mean retaking the test every 3 years or just paying to get it renewed?[/QUOTE]
You can take bridge exams, re-take, teach a class, take a class, or get a higher cert. Best and easiest way is to just take a course at a state school and have work pay for it. Easy peasy.

I can kind of understand it on one hand, since years after you get certified things have changed a good amount, but then why haven't they always done it that way?

[quote name='xilly']DoD standard is 3 years current, that's why they aren't lifetime certs anymore. If you work anywhere where they care about those certs, they will make you bridge your lifetime certs and you'll be in the same boat. I used to work for Lockheed Martin, trust.[/QUOTE]

I've worked for a couple places (one full-time and one as a support specialist) that didn't ask/need/require the certs to be re-certified. If you had them, they put the trust behind you that you were keeping up with the trends through work anyway.

Yes, most places would probably ask you to bridge the exams if you had older lifetime certs. But, I still think the effort to get the lifetime cert was the best way to go. At least for me, it gave me a nice bonus this year.

[quote name='Clak']I can kind of understand it on one hand, since years after you get certified things have changed a good amount, but then why haven't they always done it that way?[/QUOTE]
More tests=more moneyz.

I think there are a few factors besides the joke one. Technology is being improved at an increasingly faster pace, regulating/limiting the number of a certified workforce to maintain wages/importance of specific certs...those are the only two I can think of now.

I'll never forget talking to this guy I had a class with about certs. He had mentioned he'd never actually seen the inside of a computer and I said something about people who are certified on paper but have no experience, then he showed me his A+ cert. :lol:

I've taken some practice A+ test back in 2004 and didn't fair to well. Kept getting scores in the 60's. I still have my A+ book given to me by the tech school I attended but is probably outdated since given to me in the fall of 2003.

As I stated before, I have an Associates Degree with 5 years of work experience in Computer Hardware, but most jobs I've been looking up are asking for A+ or MCSE. Which are the top certs worth getting? I'm kinda now interested in getting me some now.

And to add to my post earlier, certs are great but it does help to know someone. Almost twelve years ago when I started here I didn't even own a computer other that the one my dad got for work growing up. I knew how to use one but it was mostly for audio editing I was doing for a rock station. We did a live broadcast at this data center and I started shooting the sh*t with the owners and two weeks later they called me up and asked if I wanted a full time gig. Of course I curse them some days because they are long gone, the company is now publicly traded, and I am sold with acquisitions like a piece of furniture.

But it's a job.

(Anyone live near Rochester, NY? I hear our NOC is hiring about 200 techs this spring because they are closing and relocating some midwest offices. Company is PAETEC. If I had some data center openings open I'd let you know. So far I have my hands in centers near Boston, 2 in East PA, and Richmond VA.)

This thread reminds me of an ad on the buttrocker meathead radio station.

"...I didn't need an associate's or a bachelor's degree and didn't have 2 or 4 years to get there... what I needed was A JOB!"

:lol::lol:

I am in the IT field - have been for 3-4 years; right out of college. Got a bachelor's in Business Management in college. I was bartending at a country club bar and one of the members thought I was great with customer service - asked if I wanted to come on doing internal sales for IT equipment. That evolved into basic troubleshooting and eventually learning more and more with hands on training. I've always been familiar with computers; but everything else was new to me. It's all about being able to adapt and willing to problem solve and find the answer.

Any chimp can learn IT, but there is a lot more that goes into it.

I've noticed a lot of IT people are arrogant and angry. I've never met one that was patient.

I try to be as patient as possible when dealing with my customers, most of them are old ladies who have worked at doctor's offices for 50 years and are being forced into Electronic Medical Records after hand writing everything. My job is basically "Geriatric Computing 101" most of the time, teaching the user the absolute basics of computer use. Last night, I spent 30 minutes walking a doctor through an RDP connection and a bulk of our time was spent defining what the hell the "desktop" is.

The IT field is really a winless job. For every issue resolved, there will be more. Users will still get viruses for browsing shit they shouldn't be. People are still going to be lazy and blame their issues on the computer when 90% of the time, it is a user issue.

[quote name='2DMention']I've noticed a lot of IT people are arrogant and angry. I've never met one that was patient.[/QUOTE]

You spend 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, tethered to a phone telling people that their modem has to be plugged into the wall to actually work, for a few years and then come back with that statement.

It's not that we're angry or arrogant, it's that dealing with supporting people who have no interest in what they're doing, that continually insist on telling you how wrong you're doing your job, starts to grate on your nerves after a while. Find someone in IT who's never done end user support, and you'll find all sorts of "patient" and calm people.

[quote name='E_Man']I've taken some practice A+ test back in 2004 and didn't fair to well. Kept getting scores in the 60's. I still have my A+ book given to me by the tech school I attended but is probably outdated since given to me in the fall of 2003.

As I stated before, I have an Associates Degree with 5 years of work experience in Computer Hardware, but most jobs I've been looking up are asking for A+ or MCSE. Which are the top certs worth getting? I'm kinda now interested in getting me some now.[/QUOTE]
Check these tests out:http://www.proprofs.com/certification/comptia/a-plus/exams/index.shtml

I was just screwing around the first one and passed.

[quote name='xilly']You spend 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, tethered to a phone telling people that their modem has to be plugged into the wall to actually work, for a few years and then come back with that statement.

It's not that we're angry or arrogant, it's that dealing with supporting people who have no interest in what they're doing, that continually insist on telling you how wrong you're doing your job, starts to grate on your nerves after a while. Find someone in IT who's never done end user support, and you'll find all sorts of "patient" and calm people.[/QUOTE]
Patience works both way too, because users expect you to work miracles and fix shit immediately. Which if you're paying for it that's one thing, when you're bringing it to your work's IT department, you'll get it when we're finished.

I got an email about this:

http://www.preplogic.com/products/specials/view-kindle-cloud-pack.aspx

Not a bad deal if you are looking to take one of the exams and want a Kindle.

That's kind of a cool idea, but seems like a waste considering a Kindle is 139.99 and those are just some test prep materials, nothing fancy. IE: They're charging you for the Kindle and 20 bucks for their stuff.