A+ Certification, Your Reasons For Taking It, And Jobs...

I made this post to find out what A+ Certification means in the real world, and to find out why people get A+ Certified.

First, a little about me...

My personal reason for taking it is very simple. I had to drop out of college after getting an AS in Liberal Arts due to an illness.. (let's just say college got to me) It got to me so bad in fact, that the only place I saw aside from my home is the doctor's office for several years.

As I started getting somewhat better, I figured, since I don't go anywhere or do anything, I might as well do something useful while at home. (Getting back to college was not an option)

I stumbled upon some dude on the internet forum who had "A+ Certified" in his sig. I got interested, PM'ed the dude, and asked him to tell me a little about his cert. His reply was, YES, it CAN land you a job in the real world WITHOUT a college diploma, and if you are interested, study hard and you'll succeed. This was enough, and I got fired up. I love computers, and I already had some general PC knowledge...

A few weeks into my study process, I decided to do some research on random PC forums concerning A+ Certification. The replies were VERY negative. 99.9% of those who replied told me that I'm simply wasting my time. Some of the things said were "This cert is not SERIOUS", "It means nothing in the "real world"", "It's just a stepping stone for better certs, but means virtually nothing by itself", "It looks good on a resume, but only when it's next to a BA or MA", and "You CANT get a job just with this cert alone".

Only one guy replied saying that he knows a cable company in my area that hires just on the basis of having the A+ Cert. He said he'll PM with details, but never did. Another guy basically said that "nothing is a waste" when it comes to striving for something. And "you never know", when it comes to getting a job.

I was pretty disappointed and depressed when I saw these replies, but I figured it's too late to go back now since I spent all this time studying, and got my parents all hopeful... Besides, there's nothing better I could do while at home really. I pressed on, and finally, I passed the Essentials exam. (will be taking the 2nd Technician exam soon)

I read the sticky here concerning jobs, but if I understand it correctly, the guy is basically saying one more time, that NO, you cant really get a job with this cert alone. That is, you can, but you have to be very lucky to get it, and you cant expect anything "good".

The thing is, I don't want a high paying job, or a successful career as of now. All I want is ANY computer related job, that would pay "just enough" for me to finally move out of my parents app, and show to myself that I can get a job and be independent. I am trying to find out if the A+ Cert can help me accomplish that, by itself.

In the future, I might off course, consider getting back to college, if I feel like I can handle it.