Passed Core 2 yesterday and am officially A certified!

About a month ago, I decided to make a career shift and go into IT. After doing some research, I told myself I could learn the content and pass the A within one month. I have been unemployed during this time and have been able to dedicate 4–8 hours a day for the past four weeks. I want to share my experience here in hopes that it may be helpful to some of you currently in the process.

I broke the process into two, focusing on Core 1 first (two weeks), passing that test, then transitioning to Core 2 (two weeks). I watched all of Professor Messers videos first, taking notes. Then I would take a Jason Dion practice test on Udemy, scoring around a 60%. I would use this to tell me where I needed to study more and read through all the answers, taking notes and making flash cards on the content I needed to learn.

Whenever I didn't understand something so well, I would get on Google and YouTube to learn more about the topic before proceeding. I found a YouTube channel called PowerCert Animated Videos that was really helpful for this.

I don't think I ever took Dion's 6th test, as it became a bit repetitive and taking the tests is pretty time consuming. Studying the answers was the most helpful part of this for sure.

I also decided to purchase a physical book, to give me another medium to work with. I found David Prowse's book Exam Cram with Practice Tests to be very helpful. I used this to reference when I needed to deepen my understanding in a certain area. I also used the practice tests here, which were a bit different from Dion's. There is a "cheat sheet" in this book that is really helpful, and you can tear it out to carry around with you.

There is a podcast by Third Leg Technologies on Spotify that I found very helpful as well. I would listen to it sequentially throughout my day on my runs, walks, drives etc. Whenever I felt burnt out, but still wanted to focus on IT and progressing, I would get on YouTube and watch Network Chuck. I find him very entertaining and inspiring, and definitely learned a lot from him.

Overall, I found the process quite enjoyable and constructive. I started applying for jobs after I passed Core 1, putting that on my resume and setting a date for completing Core 2. I did find that it was important for me to set a date for taking the test about a week beforehand. It is easy to feel like you are never truly prepared, so to get over that, just schedule the test. I bought my vouchers from Voucher Plex, where I got a really big discount. It did take four days for me to get my codes, though, so plan accordingly here.

I took my tests online as well, which I found quite preferable. It allowed me to take the test in the same environment that I study in, and gave me more flexibility. Just make sure you understand and follow all the rules, and you likely won't have a problem. I read stories about people having long lines to wait, but I didn't have this problem. It could be because I took the test in the afternoon when there is less congestion. I checked in right as I could, 30 minutes early, and moved quickly through the check in, which I think is important to beat the line. I wanted to get started right away!

Wishing everyone else a positive experience through the process. Good luck on your journey, and it doesn't stop here. Now, time for a little break and then on to Net !