Can You Get Free A+ Certification Training?
Yes, you can get free A+ training if you play your cards right.
The A+ is a trusted IT certification that covers a vast range of topics and represents all the skills a person should have as they start an IT career. The A+ is the all-purpose, entry-level IT cert. It covers managing hardware in computers and network devices, handling software, applications, and operating systems, and doing basic maintenance on devices.
But it also costs $506 to take the two A+ exams. If you're getting started in a new career, you probably don't have that sort of money just sitting around. Besides, that $506 only gets you the exams – what about prep and training? Books, videos, training – those all cost even more.
What you need is free A+ certification training.
The company that issues the A+ is CompTIA. CompTIA is not-for-profit, but they have to stay in business somehow – which is why the A+ certification isn't free. The A+ has two exams: 220-1101 and 220-1102. Both cost $253 to take, and you have to pass them both to earn an A+. That means it costs at least $506 to earn the A+, and that's before you study and prepare for the test.
The A+ might be entry-level, but it's not easy. Its exams are vendor-agnostic, which means you need to demonstrate skills and knowledge with hardware, operating systems, software troubleshooting, networking, security, mobile devices, and cloud computing – regardless of what software or hardware you're using.
But, between CompTIA's free practice exams and trial memberships, it's possible to prepare for the A+ certification if you're very good with your time.
A+ Certification Requirements
The A+ is one of CompTIA's entry-level certifications. That means CompTIA designed it to represent foundational competency in IT, and earning it means someone is up to the basic tasks an entry-level IT professional should know.
There are no prerequisites to earn the A+ – no courses to take or other certifications you need to hold before you can attempt its two exams. Nevertheless, CompTIA recommends having a year of first-hand experience working in the field before attempting the two A+ exams, 220-1101 and 220-1102.
That means that even though it's an entry-level certification, earning the A+ is hard if you don't have first-hand experience.
The information covered by the A+ applies to jobs like help desk technician, IT specialist, field service technician, IT support manager, business analyst, and tech support specialist.
Having the A+ can help you land one of those jobs, but ironically enough, having one of those jobs can also help you earn the A+. This dilemma often causes problems for newcomers to the IT field and people looking for a better job. You need work experience to earn an entry-level cert, but most entry-level jobs want you to have a cert before they give you the job.
That is why the more familiarity you have with the material on the A+, the easier it is to find free A+ training.
Free A+ Certification Study Resources
Free A+ certification training and study materials aren't easy to find. It's a popular certification, so many training centers, online schools, and even colleges and universities offer courses to help you prepare — for a cost.
It's a long test that covers a lot of information, so no school can afford to offer a completely free A+ course. The way to find free A+ certification training is to be cunning and fast.
CompTIA offers free practice tests for all their certifications. These free study resources won't teach you the information you need to pass, but they will give you a sense of what sorts of questions are on the exams and how the tests are structured. Plus, if you take those 220-1101 and 220-1102 free practice tests, you can start to identify the sections where you're weak.
Keep in mind that A+ covers topics from basic computer theory to cybersecurity and networking. Start with free entry-level training that covers every basic IT topic. With a free introductory course, you can learn what parts of IT you're familiar with and which areas you need to focus on when you dive deeper.
From there, there are tons of free A+ training options on YouTube. The challenge is sifting the high-quality results from the bad. Many so-called professionals make a living on how many views their videos get, so they're incentivized to make long videos you'll have to re-watch.
Between the free practice tests, free entry-level training that covers the basics, and YouTube videos, you should have a decent foundation in IT principles. From there, you'll be ready to tackle real A+ training in its entirety.
To get additional effective A+ training, take advantage of the two A+ courses from CBT Nuggets. These aren't short courses! The videos alone from each course would take upwards of 50 hours to watch non-stop. And that's before you include the time virtual simulations, labs, quizzes, and practice exams will take.
But CBT Nuggets doesn't charge per course, they're a subscription service – you pay for access to the course library, and a membership unlocks every course.
Here are the steps to follow for the best A+ certification training:
Start with CompTIA's free practice exams. Use those to learn what areas of the test you're ready for and which areas need more work.
Search YouTube for basic primers in the areas you're weak on.
Once you have a good sense of what you can safely skip and what you need to focus on, sign up for courses with CBT Nuggets.
You can prepare for the A+ certification exam for free, or at least as cheaply as possible.
If you can focus your time and attention with CompTIA's free practice exams and YouTube supplements, you can prepare for the A+ with your CBT Nuggets membership.
What are the A+ Exams Like?
The two A+ exams, 220-1101 and 220-1102, are both 90-minute exams. You'll face a maximum of 90 questions on each exam, and the questions are either multiple-choice or performance-based. There are 900 possible points on the exam, and 675 is the passing score (which comes out to 75%).
Since you'll only have 90 minutes to answer 90 questions, you're going to want to know what's on it ahead of time. The A+ covers the most important skills someone would gain with about a year's worth of experience in a help desk support technician, desktop support technician, or field service technician job role.
The hardware section deals with components and devices related to on-premise networks as well as technology that enables remote workforces. The OS section covers familiarity with installing, maintaining, and navigating Linux, Mac OS, Chrome OS, and Android.
For the software troubleshooting section, you'll need to accurately identify PC and mobile issues caused by various issues. The networking section covers the basics of networks and connections like TCP/IP, wifi, and SOHO. The security section is about basic security vulnerabilities and configurations.
There's a section on mobile devices, where you'll need to install and configure laptops and mobile devices while maintaining connectivity. The virtualization section tests cloud computing concepts and familiarity with implementing client-side virtualization.
Last, the section on operational procedures covers a range of professional best practices.
Final Thoughts
The A+ is a large and complicated certification. No course can afford to provide that much content entirely for free. But if you combine free CompTIA practice exams with CBT Nuggets training, you can prepare for the A+ on a budget.
Want to learn more about CompTIA certs? Look at all our CompTIA Training!
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