# A+ Cert and IT career



## sigepsal (Feb 7, 2012)

Interested in some opinions of actual IT professionals. First off a little background, I have a BA, and I currently have a decent full time job. A friend approached me regarding a business idea. He currently owns a copier business and would like to offer IT help to his clients. He told me that many of his clients need IT help that he cannot provide, but it is very basic help they need. Just 'cleaning up' computers, networking help, ect. He would like to add me as a part of his business, incorporating an IT portion to his repertoire. 

He says the first step is to get A+ certified, that way I can say I'm certified when I go to fix the computers. So my first question is what is the fastest way to get this certification? If I read the books available on Amazon will that get me through the test? Should I take courses at the local JC to get me up to speed? The reason I ask is that most of the posts say that experience is the most important thing, so I would rather just get certified, and get out there and start working, rather than wait for the next semester to start, an then learn at the slow pace of a JC. 

Second, the idea is for this to be a little side venture for me, only doing work after hours at small businesses fixing their computers. How much can I except to make on little jobs like this (I'm in the LA area if that helps with rough estimates)? He is estimating it at $250 a pop, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. 

Thanks for any and all help provided!


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## micgerste (May 19, 2011)

Hi sigepsal
I started off doing COMPTIA A+ which took me a year at an adult education college although you could complete this a lot quicker i then spent 2 years doing my microsoft certs(mcitp mcsa mcse)
It depends on your knowledge at moment 
as looking back a lot of A+ is not relevant in real world 
e.g would you be able to install an OS and setup a small LAN
If you check A+ example questions and it will give you an idea of whether or not you need to do it
Whatever you do best of luck with your new venture or as we say in Ireland "go n-eiri an bothar leat"


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## BosonMichael (Nov 1, 2011)

I agree with Micgerste's assessment. Being A+ certified will certainly give potential clients more confidence that you can do a good job. But the services you will be able to provide will depend less on your A+ certification and more on what you already have experience doing.

Another thing to keep in mind is that merely having the A+ certification won't magically cause clients to beat a path to your door, and your friend needs to know this. Your friend will need to actively sell those IT services to his current customers.

The "going rate" for IT services varies depending on geographical location, competition, and experience level. In my experience, companies generally charge between $80 and $150 per hour (with larger companies sometimes going as high as $250 an hour for advanced tech support) with a one-hour minimum. These companies will often give discounted rates to regular customers or to customers who commit to a regular service contract.

I've seen individual techs charge much lower than that, sometimes as low as $20 per hour. However, I wouldn't recommend going that low - you should charge a fair price for what your service is worth. Charge too little, and customers will not believe that you offer professional service. Charge too much, and customers will go with a competitor. For what it's worth, I charge $100 per hour in the Nashville area for my personal clients (not operating as a business, just as an individual), and I've got many years of experience. I would guess LA would be more expensive than Nashville, but probably not $250 per hour, and certainly not for basic IT services.

Some companies and individuals offer flat-rate services. Unless you are absolutely *certain* that you are OK with working a potentially variable amount of time for a set amount of money, I would advise against offering services at a fixed rate. In my opinion, it is better to offer an hourly rate and cut the customer a break on the back end than promise a flat rate and spend an inordinate amount of time performing that service.

Some companies and individuals charge for travel time and incidental phone calls. I do not, and my previous employers did not. However, I would recommend charging for instances where travel is extensive or when phone calls become excessive.

Hope this helps give you some perspective. I wish you much success in your business venture!


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## sigepsal (Feb 7, 2012)

Thank you guys so much for the quick response, you have helped a lot. Couple follow ups.

Currently have have zero IT background. How long will it take me to get A+ certified, and in turn how long will it take me to get up and running as a basic IT professional?

I honestly wouldn't mind making the $75 to $100 an hour for a few hours a week on the side. It is just supplemental income. So this is sounding as if it might work out. Thanks again for all of your help.


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## BosonMichael (Nov 1, 2011)

Everyone is different. How long it will take you depends entirely on how well you study and how much you already know about computers. It could literally take you anywhere from a few hours to a few years - I've seen both extremes, literally.

If you don't have ANY experience building and troubleshooting your own computers, I would strongly encourage you to do that BEFORE embarking on a side job doing IT technical support. Getting A+ certified will NOT automagically prepare you to do IT support work. Keep in mind that you become somewhat responsible for the client's computer as soon as you start working on it, and that responsibility brings some degree of liability. In addition, a client isn't going to be happy if you're trying to research the answer to a problem while you're on the clock for them. The more experience you have, the less likely you are to mess something up and the more likely you are to already know the answer without having to look it up. 

Offering IT services without having any IT experience is not a good idea, in my opinion; it opens you and your friend's company to liability and negative opinion. But if you do have a bit of hands-on IT experience, by all means, go forth and conquer! 

Again, I hope this gives you good perspective on the issues.


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## sigepsal (Feb 7, 2012)

This is really great info. My first projects will be building my own computer piece by piece, and b) attempting to fix everyne and anyone's computer i know for free to get as much experience as possible. 

Thank you again for all of the info and tips.


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## micgerste (May 19, 2011)

I have to say that is excellent advice from BosonMichael
I really advise you to become confident with general computer maintenance on your own system before tackling other peoples or maybe take on work from relatives and close friends
This is what I did and am now fairly confident that I can tackle most hardware and software issues but in this industry I find I am constantly learning and adding to my knowledge base.
If you did want to complete A+ it would be a good first step.
I might move to USA if you can charge those rates,I replaced a laptop screen for a guy today and felt awkward charging him €40($53) lol.
Sigepsal if you decide to do the A+ and ever need any notes I will be happy to help you out.
Best of luck


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