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By: Author is associated with ProProfs CompTia A+ School
Walking The Talk Of A+
Employment opportunities & your future after the CompTIA APlus Exam
The IT field has a virtually limitless arena for the serious individuals that obtain certification.
- Manufacturing
- Field Service Technician
- In-House PC Technician
- Data Warehousing
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- Internet Helpdesk
- In-House Training
- Programmer
- Network Design
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- Freelancer
- Business Owner
- Teacher
- Network Administration
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The technician is not only limited to the field of computer science.
There are other areas of employment where basic electronics knowledge gained
through training can be useful. Telephone, cable, satellite, high speed
data, and security systems installation are just a few of these fields.
Let's take a look at my career for example.
Living in one of the larger metropolitan areas can make for
a challenging search. Networking with friends and peers is an invaluable
tool. Soon after passing the CompTIA A+ exam a friend of mine told me about my first job lead. I managed
to land a position with a local computer recycling company as their printer
repair technician. While this was not the corporate Chief Information Officer
(CIO) position I had
hoped for, at least it was a beginning. If only I had paid attention to
the section on printers. Fortunately for me the lead technician was very
willing to spend some extra time with me, and as it turns out printers are not
that complex. The top 5 problems I experienced with laser printers are:
- Bad feed rollers (you know, the stupid machine won't grab the paper)
- Bad Fuser (the printer spits out paper and the black toner just falls off
the paper, what a mess)
- Bad AC module (dull print or half fused)
- Bad DC module (wavy or lined print)
- Bad Corona Wire (no print at all - the -5000 volt charge wasn't present to
get the toner on the paper before fusing)
Every now and then you could rub a compound called "ephedrine" on the feed
roller to make it sticky again but this is only a short-term resolution.
Bad AC/DC modules had very similar printing errors and troubleshooting these
components is not easy. Luckily we had two full boxes of each from other
recycled printers, so I usually just replaced both parts.
During my short stint in printer repair, one of the local cable companies
started the first pilot program for high-speed data (otherwise known as cable
internet). With screaming page loads and download speeds I could not
turn down the opportunity to be a high-speed cable installation technician.
My recent experience combined with my A+ certification were definite assets here, and the cable company knew it. When you
can open any computer case you want to and not worry about the "warranty" tag,
it is awesome. Face-to-face interaction with clients is a delicate skill
that you must acquire somewhere along your IT journey.
My next position was manufacturing PC's for Compaq Computer Corp (before
the HP merger). After 2 short weeks I was offered an assistant team lead
position, and shortly after that I was asked to work in special projects.
There is nothing like having 8 processors with 16 gigabytes of ram and 2
terabytes of 10,000 RPM SCSI hard drive to play with. While working 12hr
shifts I decided to take my hobby to the next level. I was beginning to
take my IT career seriously and decided to pursue an Associates degree.
Working at Compaq during this time was a great opportunity. I had access
to hardware and software that few of my fellow classmates had.
Needless to say, knowledge is power. I managed to use my CompTIA APlus as "applied knowledge" and test out of the
beginning class saving myself $2,400 tuition. I must say, knowing that I
had passed the A+ exam was a good morale booster when it came to advancing my
education and career. Part of my curriculum revolved
around the Microsoft Networking track and not only did I graduate with a 3.8
GPA, I re-entered the career search with an Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator
card. MCSA at the time was a new offering from Microsoft and the APlus
certification wasn't being applied toward the exams. That's 4 MCP tests (I
passed them all on the first try).
With my new found Degree and a fancy $400 MCSA card in my wallet I left
Compaq in search of the ultimate CIO position. This is where it gets tough.
With a failing economy and the corporate initiative to save a dollar,
outsourcing was at its peak. Even with my extensive hardware background,
I was still considered a "paper" MCSA due to the fact that I had no actual
"real-world" experience managing a medium to large size network.
I used my skills as a field service representative for a computer repair
company, but fixing Mary Jane's USB printer still wasn't the CIO position I
had hoped for. Possessing the A+ certification did however lead to
having a great advantage over other non-certified technicians who had applied
for the position. I must say though, the face-to-face interaction with
clients in the field was priceless experience for my next position.
Inbound technical support for Earthlink was definitely challenging. When
you get a call from "blind" Sue and she has to yell your directions to deaf
"George", you know you have made it into the real trenches of the IT world.
My previous hardware and field service experience led to me being offered
another "special-projects" mission with Earthlink. (I could tell you, but I'd
have to kill you LOL)
Then one day I called an old friend just to chit-chat and he said "Hey, Do
you want to build my website?". Why not? I wasn't really doing anything
in the evenings anyway. I discovered, upon logging into the web site
control panel, that the hosting provider was using this thing called
PHP/MySQL. I had tinkered with Access and Oracle, but I still had no
real knowledge of scripting (PHP), short of good old MS DOS batch files. And I
definitely had no knowledge of databases.
GOOGLE to the rescue ! I spent the next 5 days huddled in my little
corner trying to get a hold on my friends website. The "if at first you
don't succeed" motto paid off. On the sixth day I had a working
PHP/MySQL content management system. It seems I had the developing bug.
After 2 more years of hammering PHP/MySQL I landed my first professional
contract with the largest newspaper in the city. 8 weeks of intense
PHP/SybaseSQL with some XML thrown in for good measure, and I had completed my
contract on time and on budget.
Here I am, 4 years later. An A+ certified computer technician with an
Associates degree in computer science and an MCSA. Doing web development and involved with content creation for ProProfs A+ certification school. It just goes to show that you never know which
direction your IT career is going to go.
And that is the story of my career path. My experience with employers
regarding the A+ certification thus far has been that most employers know what the
certification is and relish the fact that you have one. While this is a 50/50 coin toss, I can say from my experience that
having the CompTIA A+ certification is an advantage. Not only is it a
great entry-level moral booster when preparing for further educational and
career moves, it will always put ahead of your non-certified competitors in the
job market.
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