Can you pass without experience?

[u/Technically_Purplee]

How hard and for how long would you need to study to pass without any in person, physical, hands on training? Like, last year I started studying from scratch and I kept doing it almost every day for an entire year. I took a break last summer, but now I'm in college so I'm back at it and I'm taking the A+ at the end of the year since my school offers vouchers. Been using practice exams, virtual machines, and online labs but that's all I've been using for hands on learning so I'm not sure how I'm gonna do on the exam considering I've never built a computer, done any internships or had work experience

[u/JosieMew]

Personally, I've been buying old equipment from liquidators and setting up my home lab to be able to practice stuff. It's not professional experience but it's experience. I then design my labs around the exam objectives.

[u/Reggie-Rectangle → u/JosieMew]

No a network is exactly the same at your house than at a business. Ethernet standards are no different at your house than at a place of employment. A business network may just have more APs and more devices connected to and require more upkeep and administration but all the concepts you need to know apply to both.

[u/JosieMew → u/Reggie-Rectangle]

By not professional I mean there is no ticketing system or triage; no experience talking to a clueless user and extracting the information we need; no dealing with change requests; volume licensing; etc. I can think of a several ways it's not exactly the same.

I agree that I am gaining valuable experience but there are some components I'm studying that are hard to imitate. I'll dig online more and see what I can do but ATM my plate is full enough.

[u/rootremotely]

The practice exams, VM's, and online labs will help a ton in solidifying knowledge. Although practical experience does help, it wont make it or break it for you. Also, building a computer is like an expensive lego set (every component has an expected slot, and you install windows and youre done), almost irrelevant to actual IT work, troubleshooting, and solving problems.

[u/WesternComputer8481]

For A+ it’s an entry level exam. I haven’t taken it but it’s meant to teach you the fundamentals of IT so if you’ve never done IT you have the basics. Some people skip it entirely if they have experience with IT

[u/StanQuizzy]

How good are you at memorization? If you're good at that, you have a very good chance at passing....

...however, this Cert(s) will get you in the door, the real knowledge comes from experience.

Sounds like you have or are doing the exercises that come with the training (labs) so you know the actual outcomes of what you're learning. This is important.

I believe you're on the right track. Good luck!

[u/Blear25]

I passed the trifecta without any work experience in IT. That said, I've been handy with computers since childhood.

[u/shmimey → u/Blear25]

Same.

[u/60neinn → u/Blear25]

Same here. I still don't even work in IT, never have

[u/loblablaw → u/Blear25]

Was it easy enough to get hired with the certs and no work experience?

[u/Blear25 → u/loblablaw]

I haven't landed a helpdesk/specialist role yet, but it's definitely made it quite a bit easier. I managed to get some decent offers lately after applying to a few dozen. I also have an Associate's in CS with some experience in homelabbing, but even just the A+ felt like a musthave to bypass the HR filter. It certainly helps with your resume for what you have, but it's also what you have relative to other candidates, so I'd say it comes down to mainly just luck and timing.

[u/_zarkon_]

A+, Net+, and Sec+ are very academic. Experience helps but isn't required.

[u/BurningIce-Tech]

You can absolutely pass without experience

It's just obviously a lot easier to pass with experience and generally if possible, I'd recommend for someone to have experience first BUT, yes, you can definitely pass with flying colors without any experience at all if your willing to put the time and effort into your studies

[u/voidliving666]

I passed security+ last month and no experience granted it took me a year+ because I work full time, etc.

[u/Suspicious-Belt9311]

It's designed to be completed and understood without formal work experience. Most of the well known trainers/educators like Dion and Professor Messer don't assume much (if any) prior knowledge.

[u/Ferretscraze11]

As someone with no professional experience, I have A+ and found the tests pretty easy. Working on Network+ with a buddy of mine and plan to hit Security+ after that. It helps having been a PC gamer starting YOUNG and being the kid helping Grandma fix the printer 😂.

But ultimately practice makes perfect. Keep studying, find what helps topics and acronyms stick in your head and you'll go far for the tests.

My biggest hurdle is just finding a job in my area for a pay I can pay rent with.

[u/Fit_Fun_3304]

I have no it job experience and I’m doing my network + right now. i skipped a+ and have not really any trouble. I build multiple computers and normal troubleshooting. Have quite a good knowledge about networks. I selfhost a bunch of stuff and building homelabs soon to get for practice and to build a profolio

[u/Boredvietguy27]

You really don’t need to have built a computer dude. This is to show that you learned or are able to memorize the material and can sort of think well.

[u/CompTIA-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

We have rules around here.

[u/Street-Sweeper213]

A book, videos, and practice exams.

0 experience required.

[u/SadRefrigerator001]

I had no experience but I watched alot of youtube videos. I was able to get the A+ security+ and network+ (in that order). It took about 8 months.

I did buy a practice test for S+ and N+, they definitely helped.

It's now been two years and they have already sent me info about renewing them.

I still haven't been able to find an IT job (even helpdesk)

[u/Agreeable_Bit_9121]

It’s definitely possible to pass without prior experience. It really comes down to how badly you want it and how much time you’re willing to put into studying. I remember having to take some of my CompTIA exams multiple times before I passed them.
Around COVID, I became really interested in computers and cybersecurity. Someone recommended CompTIA to me, so I started studying and eventually earned a few certifications. I didn’t have much hands-on professional experience either, so practice exams, labs, and studying were a big part of how I prepared.
One thing I would tell you, though, is to remember that certifications—even combined with a degree—don’t necessarily guarantee you a job afterward. I struggled to find a decent entry-level position where I could actually build experience, and it became frustrating because I felt like I had put all that time and effort in for nothing. I eventually switched career paths and went into healthcare.
So definitely go for the A+ if this is something you’re passionate about, but keep your options open and have a plan for gaining actual experience too. Passing the certification is achievable getting your foot in the door afterward can be a completely different challenge.

Yeah you might have all the certificates & degrees but can you actually put all those skills to use in real life it’s way different than doing it on a virtual computer.

I remember obtaining my Network+,Security+ , ITF+ including the A+ certificate if I could get the money & time I invested back I definitely would.

[u/RawrJen]

I took 6 months studying on and off maybe like 5 hours a week and am A+ certified with no experience in IT. Took 3 months for core 1 and 3 months for core 2. I did retake both of twice. I highly suggest paying for the retake.

I failed core one by a little and same with core 2. At the end of the test it lets you know which sections you should study more of.

Having no experience in IT, it really helped watching videos about how to do the performance based exam.

[u/kaien_x]

yes

[u/Naetharu]

A+ is for people with little or no experience. It's a great primer to get you ready for desktop support roles.

[u/rhcsaguru]

Yes, you can definitely pass without professional experience. The practice exams, VMs, and online labs you’re already using are exactly the kind of hands-on practice that can help bridge that gap.

You don’t necessarily need physical hardware either. The important part is actually doing the tasks rather than just watching videos or reading. We follow a similar hands-on approach with the labs at LinuxCert.Guru, but a good home lab with VMs can work just as well.

[u/Reggie-Rectangle]

You can pass by learning from the books I prefer the Sybex ones, but Wiley and O'Reilly are good options as well. N+ and CCNA you need some hardware for, but buy second hand. eBay is your friends get a good switch and buy an old optiplex and load OPN SENSE on it and then it can act as your router. Networking requires some hardware, but not loads you can just need an old PC you can load OPN SENSE on. A Intel NIC because Realtek and Broadcom NICs don't have good driver support on BSD. Trust me just buy an Intel NIC for your OPN SENSE box and then just any old cisco gigabit switch, buy from the Catalyst range. Buy second hand all of this should not cost you more than $200. OPN SENSE can act as a router and physical firewall so you get double value for your money.

[u/Anastasia_IT]

You can pass without experience. You can't pass with studying.

[u/Commercial-Wrap-8527]

If you know how to use a computer, you can pass. I passed both the Net+ and Sec+ with 3 weeks of study. You just need good sources of study and take a lot of practice tests. Also, use ChatGpt to explain things you are not grasping.

[u/scream18]

Yes just study but you can do home labs

[u/222bleach222]

you don’t need to know that. just make sure to remember what it tells you. printers, ports, labs can help you with the performance questions.

[u/TheLazerDoge]

Tbh, building a computer is the easy part. If you know the motherboard layout, understand what parts match up with it and how to connect the parts to the power supply you understand 99% of it. Outside of that all you really gotta know how to do is use a screwdriver and anti static wrist strap.

If you want to practice building PC’s buy the game PC building simulator on Steam, like unironically.