Clarke Moyer CompTIA A+ Certification Passing Guide
🎓 WGU Degree Program Context
Clarke obtained this certification as part of completing his BS-IT (Bachelor of Science in Information Technology) at Western Governors University (WGU). WGU's IT degree program integrates industry certification preparation directly into the curriculum — students can earn both the degree and the certifications simultaneously. This is why Clarke holds multiple foundational certifications from the same 2008–2009 period. If you're considering WGU, the built-in cert prep is a significant part of the value.
⚠️ A Note From Clarke: I no longer recommend pursuing CompTIA certifications as a primary certification track. If your goal is DoD 8570/NICE compliance or a career in cybersecurity, go directly to the CISSP track — it carries significantly more weight and longevity. CompTIA certs are accepted as DoD 8570 baseline qualifiers but the CISSP supersedes them. See the CISSP Passing Guide to start there instead. This guide remains here for those already committed to the CompTIA path.
📋 Active CE Renewal
Clarke actively maintains this certification through CompTIA's Continuing Education (CE) program — which is why you'll see the "ce" suffix (e.g., A+ce) in his credentials. While Clarke no longer recommends this as a starting path, he keeps it current as part of his professional maintenance discipline. An active CE certification requires ongoing education and renewal — it's not a one-time achievement left to expire.
BLUF: To pass the A+, do 4 things
- Create a public contest with another person — compete to finish before they do. The accountability accelerates everything.
- Go audio-first: get the audiobook version and study while walking, driving, or doing household tasks. Passive absorption adds up.
- Practice tests are the core. Buy the book primarily for access to the digital test bank — that’s the real product.
- Don’t over-study. Run all questions once, rerun wrong ones until zero, then restart with a real-test mix until you hit 90%+. Test at 80% — the re-take voucher is your safety net.
I passed the CompTIA A+ in August 2008 — it was my first CompTIA certification and the starting point of a run that included Network+ and Security+ within the same year. A+ is two exams (Core 1 and Core 2), which makes the test strategy below even more important: don’t over-prepare for either one.
Obtained: August 15, 2008 | License: COMP001007606759
Study Method
1. Create Competition
Find someone — a colleague, study buddy, anyone — and make it a race. Announce it publicly if possible. The social pressure of a competition is more powerful than any study schedule. Even if you lose the race, you both pass. That happened to me with the CISSP and it still worked.
2. Audio First
A+ covers an enormous breadth of hardware, software, networking, and troubleshooting topics. Audio study is ideal for the vocabulary-heavy portions — component names, connector types, OS features. Use your commute and downtime. By the time you hit the practice tests, the terminology should feel second nature.
3. Practice Tests Are the Core
Buy the study guide primarily for the digital test prep access that comes with it. Mike Meyers publishes separate Core 1 and Core 2 guides — each includes online test access. That test bank is the real product. The book is a reference.
4. Don’t Over-Study
Run all questions once. Rerun the ones you got wrong until you score zero wrong. Then switch to a real-test mix (random, timed) and keep going until you hit 90%+. Schedule when you’re at 80% — you have a re-take available. Repeat for both Core 1 and Core 2 independently.
Books / Materials
Mike Meyers CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1101) ← Must Buy
Covers hardware, networking, mobile devices, virtualization, and cloud computing. Buy for the online practice test access included with the book.
Mike Meyers CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1101) ↗
Mike Meyers CompTIA A+ Core 2 (220-1102) ← Must Buy
Covers operating systems, security, software troubleshooting, and operational procedures. Same approach — buy it for the online test bank.
Mike Meyers CompTIA A+ Core 2 (220-1102) ↗
Test Strategy
A+ is two separate exams: Core 1 (220-1101) and Core 2 (220-1102). Each is 90 questions, 90 minutes, with a passing score of 675 and 700 respectively (on a 100–900 scale). Both include performance-based questions — flag them and return at the end.
You can take them in any order. Some people knock out Core 1 first since it’s hardware-heavy and tends to feel more concrete. Either way, apply the same practice-test methodology to each exam independently. Don’t blur the two objectives together while studying.
A+ satisfies DoD 8570 IAT Level I (along with Network+ and a CE designation). If you’re on a DoD contract that requires it, earn it and move on. Long-term, the CISSP is the credential with the most leverage.
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