CompTIA A+

Spring 2024 – January 2025

This was really my first serious step into the world of IT. Sure, I had already built my own PC a few years earlier — it’s been running strong for about three years now — but at the time, I was just following a YouTube tutorial. I didn’t truly understand what I was doing or why the components worked together the way they did. In fact, I even messed up the operating system installation and had to call in a repair tech to fix it. Turns out I installed the wrong OS version, which prevented my graphics card from being detected.

Fast forward to Spring 2024, I enrolled in a CompTIA A+ course through a school-sponsored program — completely free of charge. I didn’t even know what CompTIA A+ really was; I just knew it involved learning about computers. The class met Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 PM to 10 PM, and I was balancing that with college courses, a warehouse job, staying physically fit, and fulfilling my military duties. It wasn’t easy, but quitting never crossed my mind.

Looking back, the way the course was structured and taught didn’t exactly set me up for success. The instructor, while a great mentor, wasn’t the most effective teacher. His lectures were dry and lacked energy, which made it tough to stay engaged. After failing the first part of the exam by just a few points, I realized I needed to take matters into my own hands.

So I built my own study method. I leaned heavily on Professor Messer’s videos for each topic, and followed up with mock exam questions to get used to the style and wording of the real test. That strategy worked — I passed the first part, and eventually, the second. Earning my CompTIA A+ certification was a huge win.

Now that I’ve ‘cracked the code’ for how I learn best, I feel more confident than ever about pursuing my next certifications.

CompTIA Security+

In progress, estimated completion date – 08/2025

I am currently watching Professor Messer videos and creating mock questions for the exam.