CompTIA A+ Exam Success: My Study Journey and Tips

In case you haven't seen the objectives, I highly recommend reading through them as it will greatly aid your preparation for passing the exam. It is important to understand what each objective means and the overall layout of the exam.

I would like to share my experience and methods for passing the CompTIA A+. I found a lot of helpful information on the CompTIA subreddit, where I spent time reading through multiple write-ups and engaging in study groups. I also joined the CompTIA Discord server, which was another valuable community that answered my questions and provided me with excellent study partners.

For the Core 1 (220-1001), I watched all of Professor Messer's 1001 Course videos and took notes while also researching topics that I didn't understand. I scored in the 80%-90% range on the practice tests provided by ExamCompass and Crucial Exams. I also utilized Percipio by Skillsoft, a free platform that provided a lot of books, including the Wiley test app that came with the Wiley books. I did a few practice questions every day to test my knowledge. Finally, I attempted Dion's tests, which are known for their realism compared to the exam. I got a 90% on the first test and a 77% on the second test, and I read through all of Dion's answers to understand them.

For the Core 2 (220-1002), I watched only Professor Messer's videos and did a lot of practice questions, around 2 hours every day, using the Wiley Sybex app included with the Percipio trial, as well as ExamCompass and Crucial Exams. I got a 70% on Jason Dion's test, which made me sad, but I continued studying harder and made notes on topics I got wrong. I also watched Jason Dion's PBQ videos and made notes on them. After failing the second Dion test with a 71%, I read through all the answers and tried to understand everything. Finally, I retook the practice tests and scored an 85% on the first one and a 95% on the second one. With these methods, I passed both tests.