Hi All,

First of all thought I would just say Hi as new to the forum but regularly use the videos and join in on chat now and again.

So I have now been studying for A+ on and off for about 6 months and over the next 4 weeks plan to spend as much time as possible getting my head in the books and sitting the exams. My question is when reading all the posts in these forums I see a lot of people refer to practice exams. Where are these practice exams as I have tried google and dont seem to find anything. I do have some on the CD that came with the Mike Meyers book, Is this the sort of thing people are referring to???

Many Thanks
Mark

The official Comptia site has a practice exam (100 questions) for the 701 and the 702 exam.
http://certification.comptia.org/Traini ... tions.aspx
Study books indeed often include practice questions. There should be other (free) practice tests on the internet, but be carefull, some are pretty outdated (even those for the 701 and 702 series).

I'm studying for this exam and was wondering, how much this will improve my chance of getting a job in the IT fields.

Depends on many factors but if you're aiming for an entry level/Junior/1st Line Support role then yes it should help you a bit. It certainly will demonstrate your enthusiasm to learn as well as an understanding of many fundamentals across different areas. I would suggest that if you already have an A+ or are working towards it then to take the next step after this and do the Net and Security+ exams. These will definately help you get a job in IT, although again i'd recommend going further and doing other stuff. They are not too bad to study for and you will find if you do the A+ and then go straight onto one of those you'll find the concepts will come fairly quickly to you because you're in that learning mindset. Well at least this is what I experienced.

I agree with Fizzydizzy that the CompTIA exams are good entry points. Jumping immediately into the new Microsoft exams or any Cisco exam will be challenging to say the least. I hear that Cisco exams have always been hard to pass; and Microsoft has turned in that direction.

That's my two bits.

Oh man! yes the Cisco exams are indeed tough to pass as you correctly mentioned. Although if someone does the one exam track to a CCNA then it will easier. But still really tough.For example when I passed my ICND2 I finished the last question with just under 2 minutes to spare. Last year when I was doing my A+ and had no experience i'd never had dreamed that a year later i'd have racked up three Cisco certs but I have. And I think the main reason for this is because I've just kept going at it as my minds been conditioned to learn more. So yes my advice to anyone is just keep going at it. Don't worry if it takes a long time or if you can't dedicate much time to it. Eventually the hard work pays off and you'll thank yourself for not stopping at the A+ or even a Net+
Although remember to fact in breaks and stuff and give yourself a treat after you pass.