A reader named Priya emailed me last spring with a familiar story. She had two kids, a full time job at a call center, and a printout of the CompTIA A Plus objectives that she described as looking like a foreign language. She had three months and one shot, because the two exam vouchers were the only money she could spare that quarter.
Twelve weeks later she passed both Core 1 and Core 2 on the same Saturday. She was not a genius. She did not quit her job to study. She followed a plan, stuck to it on the nights she did not feel like it, and walked into the testing center knowing exactly what to expect.
That plan is what I want to hand you here. The A Plus is two exams (Core 1, which is 220-1101, and Core 2, which is 220-1201), and you need to pass both to earn the certification. Let me walk you through the same sequence I gave Priya.
Read the exam objectives before you buy anything
Before you spend a dollar on a course or a book, download the official exam objectives PDF from CompTIA. It is free, and it is the actual blueprint your exam is written from.
Print it. Read every bullet out loud. You will not understand half of it yet, and that is fine. What you are doing is taking inventory so nothing surprises you later.
The A Plus sits at the front of the pack among the strongest entry level tech certifications, which is exactly why the objective list is so broad. Hardware, networking, mobile devices, operating systems, security, and troubleshooting all live inside it.
Highlight every objective that uses the verb "given a scenario." Those are the topics most likely to show up as performance based questions, and they deserve extra hands-on time later.
Pick one main resource and stop shopping
The biggest time sink I see is course hopping. People buy a video series, watch two hours, read a forum post saying a different book is better, and start over. Three weeks vanish with zero progress.
Choose one video course and one practice question bank. That is it. A well reviewed video series paired with a solid bank of practice questions is enough to pass, full stop.
Save the second and third resources for later. If you finish your primary material and still have weak spots, then go shopping. Not before.
Build a realistic study calendar
Open a calendar and block specific study times, not vague intentions. "I will study after work" fails. "Tuesday and Thursday, 7 to 8:30 PM, plus Saturday morning" works.
For most people studying part time, plan on roughly 8-12 weeks total. That usually lands around 80-120 hours of real study across both exams. Adjust up if hardware is brand new to you, down if you already fix computers for friends and family.
Two weeknight sessions of 90 minutes for new material, one weekend session of 2 hours for hands-on practice and review. That is roughly 5 hours a week, which clears the A Plus in about three months without burning you out.
Schedule a buffer week before each exam date. Life happens, and a sick kid should not derail your whole plan.
Learn by touching things, not just watching
You cannot pass the A Plus by watching videos alone. The exam wants to know if you can actually do the work, so your study has to involve your hands.
Open the case on an old desktop and identify the components. Build a virtual machine and install Windows on it. Get into the BIOS, change a boot order, and put it back. Set up a free tier cloud account and click around so the abstract terms become real.
If you want to see how the cloud pieces connect, comparing offerings like the ones in this look at AWS versus Google Cloud certification tracks will give you useful context for the cloud and virtualization objectives, even though the A Plus stays vendor neutral.
Cheap ways to get hands-on
- A retired laptop from a relative, even a broken one, for disassembly practice.
- Free virtualization software like VirtualBox to spin up test operating systems.
- Your own phone and home router for the mobile and networking objectives.
Common mistake to avoid
Do not skip Core 2 software topics because hardware feels more fun. Most first time failures I see come from underestimating command line tools, Windows settings, and security concepts. Give the boring parts equal time.
Use practice exams as a diagnostic, not a trophy
Take a timed practice exam early, even before you feel ready. A low score is not a verdict, it is a map. It shows you exactly which objectives need more work.
After every practice test, do not just note your score. Write down each question you missed and the reason. Was it a knowledge gap, a misread question, or a careless click? Each reason gets a different fix.
Memorizing the answers to a single practice bank is a trap. You will recognize the questions and feel ready, then meet fresh wording on exam day and freeze. Aim to understand why an answer is correct, not which letter it is.
When you are consistently scoring in the mid 80s or higher on fresh questions, you are close. Mix in topics from broader skill lists, since strong fundamentals overlap with many of the most in demand skills employers are hiring for right now.
Handle the week before each exam
The final week is for review and logistics, not cramming new material. Re-read the objectives PDF and rate your confidence on each line from one to five. Spend your remaining time only on the ones, twos, and threes.
Confirm the practical details now. Know whether you are testing at a center or online, what ID you need, and how performance based questions work so they do not rattle you. CompTIA front loads those simulations, so expect to see them first.
Rate every objective, drill your weak spots, confirm your test logistics and ID, take one last full practice exam two days out, then rest the night before. A tired brain misreads questions.
Win on exam day
Eat something real and arrive early. A rushed, hungry start costs you points before you read a single question.
When the performance based simulations appear first, do not sink twenty minutes into one. If a simulation is fighting you, flag it, move to the multiple choice questions where points come faster, and return with your remaining time.
Read each question fully before looking at the answers. The A Plus loves to add one extra word, like "best" or "first," that changes the entire correct choice. Eliminate the two obviously wrong options, then reason between the last two.
The exam is not testing whether you are perfect. It is testing whether you can think like a technician under a little pressure. Slow down, read carefully, and trust the work you put in.
Use every minute. Flag anything you are unsure of, answer everything (there is no penalty for guessing), and review your flagged items before you submit.
Do I need to pass both exams on the same day?
No. You can take Core 1 and Core 2 weeks apart. Many people pass Core 1 first, take a short break, then sit Core 2. You just need both within three years to earn the certification.
How long does studying really take with a full time job?
For most working learners, around 8-12 weeks at roughly 5 hours a week is realistic. If computers are completely new to you, give yourself closer to the upper end and add hands-on practice.
What if I fail one of the two exams?
It is not the end. You can retake it, and you only repeat the exam you missed, not both. Review your weak objectives, take fresh practice tests, and rebook once you are consistently scoring well.
Priya texted me a photo of her two passing score reports the same afternoon she took them. The thing she said stuck with me: it felt hard right up until it felt doable, and the plan was what carried her across that gap. Start with the objectives, pick your resources, touch the hardware, and show up rested. You have got this, and I am rooting for you.
