As school kicks off and my schedule ramps up, I finally have the chance to share some exciting news: I passed the CompTIA A+ 1101 exam! With weeks of studying behind me, followed by a well-deserved break to recharge and gear up for the new school year, it’s good to be back on the blog.
My Study Tools and Techniques
For my 1101 exam prep, I relied heavily on the Total Seminars course on Udemy. Given my background in building, using, and repairing personal computers, I found myself already familiar with many of the exam objectives. The hands-on tech projects I’ve tackled over the past few months, like tweaking my router settings, setting up Pihole, and managing my server, proved invaluable.
After completing the course, I consistently scored around 70% on practice tests. To close the gap, I dived into Mike Meyers’ book, taking detailed notes on areas I struggled with, especially printers. I also want to give a shoutout to mirandawallace on Reddit for sharing an incredibly helpful folder of A+ terms on Quizlet. It made a world of difference.
In addition to the coursework, I took on a couple of hands-on projects to boost my confidence: disassembling and reassembling an old laptop and replacing the screen on a Nexus 5 I rooted to install Kali Nethunter. While these tasks weren’t strictly necessary, they solidified my skills and gave me the extra assurance I needed before taking the exam.
What’s Next: Preparing for the 1102 Exam
This week, I officially began studying for the 1102 exam. A quick glance at the objectives shows that I have less familiarity with this material compared to 1101. Although I have tried my hand at each of the topics included in the objectives, they're the kind of things I would Google as they came up rather than know by rote. I skipped over a lot of the 1102-specific sections in Mike Meyers’ book, so I’ll need to go back and give those a thorough read.
To broaden my experience, I borrowed a MacBook from my sister-in-law, since my exposure to macOS is pretty limited. My goal is to be exam-ready by mid-October, during Fall Break. While the 1102 exam might demand more practice and memorization, I feel confident in the study groove I’ve developed. With nine weeks to go, I’m optimistic that I’ll be well-prepared.