I've worked in customer service for all of the jobs l've had, and for the last year or so I have been looking into IT. I have set up certification courses to start soon (A+,CCNA, and sec+) and I would love to hear your experiences with these certs.

Hi guys, I want to get into IT. I know how to build computers. I’ve been building PCs for about 10 years and also do troubleshooting from time to time for friends and family.

I’d say my biggest weakness is configuring the BIOS. I rarely touch it, and I’m kind of scared to mess around with it.

I want to start getting some certifications, but I’m not sure where to start. Based on my research, it seems like I should start with CompTIA A+, even though I already have the basics of building and troubleshooting PCs.

The thing is, there are so many books and videos out there, and some of them have mixed reviews. Some people say they helped them pass, while others say they didn’t help much at all.

So, what books or videos would you recommend for someone with my experience? Also, how do I know when I’m ready to take the test, and where should I take the certification exam?

For now, I want to start with help desk and work my way up from there. I’m not sure if I’m ready to aim for something like a cloud engineer yet, so I’d rather start with the basics and build my experience.

Btw: does this COMPTIA certification expire like you have to renew/retake a test for certain number of years.

Thank you!

Is it a good option to take practice tests for the A+ exams?

I haven't taken Network+ yet, but I have been studying daily around 10 minutes a day, to 8 hours a day.

I've really ramped up my study because I just want to get it done. I've gone through all of the content, and I just took my first practice exam.

I may have well taken a Japanese test because nothing from what I did made any sense. I don't know where they came up with these questions, but I feel like the last few months/weeks have been wasted.

I'm a late learner (45yo) and passed A+ without too much difficulty.

I am so lonst and discouraged. Even AI hasn't helped me with analogies and simple explanations. The issue there is that I have no idea what concept/acronym/example/analogy they are talking about!

It seems like everything is talking about the exact same thing.

Oh, and I don't even want to talk about the trauma of the PBQ practice. I have NEVER seen any of those interfaces before, so I don't even know where to begin.

I'm so lost.

I won't say much but if you been following along, you can see the easter eggs. End of the road for me. I've got enough certs.

Hello,

Looking to renew my Security+ SY0-701 which expires Jan 31st 2027.

With SY0-801 releasing next month, will that come with a new certmaster for SY0-701 renewal?

Thanks in advance.