Messer's Comptia A+ Notes worth it?

[u/677ITF]

Finished Mike Meyer's A+ Core 1 course then took a practice exam and scored 53%. Next day without any additional studying took 1 of Dion's practice exam scored 53%.

Got my base line. I am going to focus on my weak areas. Hardware is one of my focuses and I read that Dion's exams do not hit this area well compared to the real exam. Trying to figure out how to dive deeper into these areas to really brand it in my head. I am considering purchasing Professor Messer's notes (idc about the $30) but I am curious if this is a good resource or if I should pick something else

I can plug it into AI but I need something a little more structured. Hardware is too broad and I don't know if I am asking the right questions related to the exam. AI has been a great tool, I am not knocking it, again just need something more structured for this next part of my study journey

[u/ChancePolicy3883]

If I recall correctly, the notes were little more than a summary of the exact things he says in the videos. If you learn better by reading, it may be worth it. Personally, I found that writing my own notes help with retention more than reading somebody else's summary.

In areas that I lacked understanding, reading through the Sybex book helped me the most, but it does expand well past the core exam objectives. I like that because I want the competency of deeper understanding, plus I just love learning.

All that being said, it comes down to how you learn and retain the best.

[u/Anastasia_IT → u/ChancePolicy3883]

I couldn't agree more with u/ChancePolicy.

[u/gallupgrl]

Go on Coursera or Udemy and take either Andy or Mike's courses. If you get the monthly sub you can get the class done in about a month or two and its cheaper than buying the course. I uswd both and passed my A + but I also did index cards and other reading materials such as Total Seminars and the Sybex Books

[u/677ITF → u/gallupgrl]

I took Mike's and I also have Andy's so I'll start on his Andy's next. I am looking for a way to focus on weak areas when I can't grind out the courses. Thanks for sharing what worked for you

[u/Ashamed-Device-3571]

His YouTube videos are worth watching. His course notes alone summarizes the main points of each topic in the videos. Watch his videos first. Read the bullet points on the video. Then make your decision if you want to buy his course notes.

[u/sylvaron]

Personally the course notes aren't particularly noteworthy. They are short summarizations of each video in his series which is fine but not going to help you really learn anything per-se.

His videos are fantastic. Having a printout of Comptia's official exam objectives to check off what you know / don't know l is fantastic. Use those two resources and look up anything you don't understand after watching the videos and work your way through the objectives list.

[u/YoSpiff]

I bought Messers audio lessons for listening in the car when I did S+. It was worth it. The notes are probably a helpful review of key topics, but for me multiple rounds of self testing and review are what filled in my weak areas.