So, I just finished up my latest class from Udemy on the Core 2 portion of the CompTIA A+ exam, and I’m excited to sign up for the second part of the exam next Friday. They let you take the exam online, which is great for me because I always hated going to test centers for a multitude of reasons that I’m sure everyone here understands (I hope).
For those of you who are not familiar with online tests, let me give you a quick rundown of my experience taking the Core 1 exam for the A+ certification. I took the Core 1 exam online about three weeks ago and decided to go with the online version. I signed up for Saturday morning, which was nice because it gave me a little bit of time to get coffee in my system and relax.
My apartment complex has an isolated dining room that you can reserve, which is pretty great. I was able to schedule it a few days beforehand with no problem, and it gave me a very isolated room free of distractions. If you read through the requirements of taking the online exam, you’ll notice that they’re pretty serious about no distractions and possible material within sight.
I definitely recommend getting everything set up a minimum of 30 minutes before the test time to make sure you have everything ready. The setup process didn’t take that long, and the proctor was very professional and informative on what I could and could not do. I was actually able to start a little earlier than the expected start time and managed to finish up the exam in a little less than an hour.
I don’t recall my score now, but I passed and felt like I passed when I finished up, so I’ll take it. The whole experience was pretty painless, and I will definitely be doing it again for Core 2. If anyone else is on the fence about it, I’d recommend it. My only warning is that you should thoroughly follow the rules outlining what you can and cannot do. I read a lot of posts from people who said they were automatically failed because they did one thing wrong. I tried really hard not to make any mistakes, and for the most part, it shouldn’t be that hard to do again.
So, round 2 is coming up, and I’m excited. I used the Total Seminar classes on Udemy for both Part 1 and 2. Overall, I would say about 70% of the material they covered was already pretty familiar to me from past studying or just experience, but there is definitely some material that I never really bothered to learn. I’m looking at you printers.
Everyone studies differently, and my preferred method of studying is visual. Udemy has been an awesome tool in this regard, as I feel like I’m back in school again with the huge advantage of not having to frantically write everything the professor says down. I have mixed feelings about the Total Seminar classes, but if you want a full overview of what could be on the exam, then it’s a pretty good class, and they have my recommendation.
Their instructors can be cringy at times, but I might just be a Judgy Mcjudgy Pants. Give it a shot if you’re on the fence. Exams have never really been difficult for me. I usually go into them pretty relaxed because I either know I know the material or know that I do not know the material. Either way, I tend not to be surprised by the result, and therefore, my stress levels tend to be pretty low.
So, how do I feel about this upcoming exam? Meh. About the same as I felt about the last one, so we’ll see, lol. I’ll let you all know how I do, but if all goes to plan, I can check that first certification off my list. I know it’s not a big one compared to the others out there, but even signing up for the exam was a big step for me. It was my commitment to this path and seeing where it will take me. I still don’t fully know what I want to do with my life, but this all seems pretty exciting, and getting this first certification helps me feel as though I’m not making a terrible mistake.
Thanks for reading and I’ll catch you all later,
sgtdiddlywink
