Walk into any IT hiring conversation and CompTIA A+ shows up on the requirements list. It appears on roughly 1 in 5 entry-level IT job postings, and hiring managers in desktop support, help desk, and field tech roles treat it as the baseline credential before they look at anything else on a resume. The question most beginners ask isn't whether to learn CompTIA — it's how to do it without spending $500 on a bootcamp or $200 on a video subscription.
Professor Messer addressed that question in 2008, and his free training library has stayed current through every exam revision since. This article covers what his CompTIA A+ course actually contains, how it fits into a realistic study plan, and what to expect on exam day.
What It Means to Learn CompTIA A+
CompTIA A+ is a vendor-neutral certification covering the foundational skills for IT support work. It's not tied to Microsoft, Cisco, or any single platform — which is exactly why employers across industries use it as a screening filter. Passing it means you understand hardware, operating systems, networking basics, security fundamentals, and troubleshooting methodology well enough to handle a real help desk queue.
The certification requires passing two separate exams:
- Core 1 (220-1101) — mobile devices, networking, hardware, virtualization, cloud computing, and hardware troubleshooting
- Core 2 (220-1102) — operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome OS), security, software troubleshooting, and operational procedures
Each exam has up to 90 questions, a 90-minute time limit, and a passing score of 675 out of 900. Question types include multiple choice, drag-and-drop, and performance-based simulations where you complete an actual task in a simulated environment. Those simulations trip people up — they're not just reading comprehension, they require hands-on familiarity.
When you learn CompTIA A+ material, you're preparing for both exams simultaneously, since the content overlaps and builds on itself.
Who Is Professor Messer and What Does His Course Cover?
Professor Messer is the brand and persona of an IT instructor who has published free CompTIA study materials since 2008. His content lives at professormesser.com and on YouTube, and he updates it with every new exam revision — including the current 220-1101 and 220-1102 objectives.
The free course consists of video lessons organized to match the official CompTIA exam objectives. Every objective has its own video, typically 5–15 minutes long. That structure matters: when you're reviewing a topic the night before your exam, you can find exactly the segment you need without scrubbing through a 3-hour lecture.
What's covered across both exam versions:
- Hardware components — motherboards, CPUs, RAM, storage types (NVMe, SSD, HDD), power supplies, cooling
- Networking — TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, wireless standards (Wi-Fi 6/6E), ports and protocols, network troubleshooting
- Mobile devices — iOS and Android configuration, MDM, synchronization
- Operating systems — Windows installation, partitioning, command-line tools, macOS and Linux fundamentals
- Security — malware types, social engineering, physical security, data destruction, browser security
- Troubleshooting methodology — the CompTIA six-step process, which shows up on the actual exam
- Operational procedures — documentation, change management, ticketing, safety and environmental compliance
The free videos get you through the conceptual content. Professor Messer also sells supplemental study materials — a course notes PDF and practice exam sets — for around $30–40. Most people who use the free videos also buy the practice exams. Skipping them is a mistake; the performance-based simulations in particular require repeated exposure before exam day.
How Long It Takes to Learn CompTIA A+ Material
The honest answer varies considerably, but here's a realistic breakdown by background:
- Complete beginner (no IT experience) — 3 to 5 months studying 1–2 hours per day. The hardware section alone takes most beginners several weeks to absorb.
- Someone with informal IT experience (built PCs, done basic troubleshooting) — 6 to 10 weeks. You'll fill gaps rather than learn everything from scratch.
- Working help desk without certification — 4 to 6 weeks, mostly focused on the content you don't do daily (wireless standards, Linux basics, operational procedures).
The bigger mistake people make is underestimating Core 2. Core 1 is largely hardware and networking, which feels intuitive. Core 2 covers Windows administration, security concepts, and the operational procedures domain — dry material that requires deliberate memorization, not just conceptual understanding. Budget at least as much time for Core 2 as for Core 1.
A workable study sequence:
- Watch the Professor Messer videos for a domain
- Take notes on anything you don't already know cold
- Do 10–20 practice questions on that domain immediately after
- Rotate back to weak areas every week
- Do full 90-question timed practice exams in the final 2 weeks
Don't schedule your exam until you're consistently hitting 80%+ on full practice exams. CompTIA exams don't allow retakes within a 14-day window, and the exam fee is $253 per attempt.
Professor Messer vs. Paid CompTIA Courses
The honest comparison: the free Professor Messer videos cover the same exam objectives as paid courses on Udemy or LinkedIn Learning. The gap isn't in content coverage — it's in study aids and practice questions.
If you buy nothing else, buy his practice exam pack ($30). If you want a more structured experience with a single-platform interface, paid courses from Jason Dion or Mike Meyers (Total Seminars) on Udemy typically run $15–20 during a sale and add full-length practice exams, downloadable resources, and a more polished production quality.
For people who want a physical textbook alongside their video study: Mike Meyers' CompTIA A+ Core 1 & Core 2 All-in-One Exam Guide is the most comprehensive print resource and covers everything on both exams.
The case for staying free: people pass this exam every day using only the Professor Messer videos plus his practice exams. The production quality is lower than paid alternatives, but the content accuracy is high and the exam alignment is tight. If money is a constraint, the free path is legitimate.
Top Courses to Build on Your IT Learning
Once you clear CompTIA A+, the logical next steps are CompTIA Network+ and Security+, which stack directly onto the A+ foundation and qualify you for roles with higher pay ceilings. The courses below are among the highest-rated on major learning platforms and represent strong options as you expand beyond hardware support:
Neural Networks and Deep Learning
Taught through Coursera with a 9.8 rating, this course is the entry point to AI/ML skill sets that increasingly intersect with IT infrastructure work — particularly if you're heading toward cloud or data center roles.
Structuring Machine Learning Projects
A 9.8-rated Coursera course that covers how organizations actually deploy ML projects — useful context for IT professionals working in environments where automation and AI tooling are part of the infrastructure stack.
Learning to Teach Online
Rated 9.8 on Coursera, this is worth considering if you're thinking about turning your CompTIA study experience into content — a path several IT professionals use to build audiences while reinforcing their own knowledge.
Applied Machine Learning in Python
This 9.7-rated Coursera course covers practical ML implementation, relevant for IT professionals moving toward data engineering or MLOps support roles.
FAQ: Learn CompTIA
Is Professor Messer's free course enough to pass CompTIA A+?
For most people, yes — if you combine it with practice exams. The videos cover all exam objectives accurately. What the free content doesn't include is structured practice testing. Buy the Professor Messer practice exam pack or use Jason Dion's practice tests alongside the free videos. Watching videos without doing practice questions consistently produces exam failures, regardless of which course you use.
Do I need prior experience to learn CompTIA A+?
No prior experience is required to sit the exam. That said, people with zero hands-on exposure to computers often need the full 3–5 month runway. If you've never opened a desktop PC, installed Windows, or configured a home router, budget extra time for the hardware and networking domains. Watching videos is not a substitute for touching the hardware — set up a home lab with an old machine if you can.
How much does it cost to learn CompTIA A+ and take the exam?
Study materials can cost nothing (Professor Messer's videos are free) to $30–50 with practice exams. The exam itself is $253 per attempt, and you need to pass both Core 1 and Core 2 — so budget $506 minimum in exam fees, plus retake costs if needed. Total cost for most people including materials: $550–650. Community colleges sometimes offer vouchers that reduce exam fees.
What jobs can I get after learning CompTIA A+?
CompTIA A+ qualifies you for entry-level roles including help desk technician, desktop support specialist, field service technician, and IT support analyst. Starting salaries range from $38,000 to $52,000 depending on location, with higher ranges in metro areas and federal contracting roles (which specifically require CompTIA A+). It's a floor credential, not a ceiling — most people stack Network+ or Security+ within 12 months to break the $60,000 range.
How long is CompTIA A+ certification valid?
Three years. After that, you renew through CompTIA's Continuing Education (CE) program, which requires earning 20 CEUs over the three-year period through activities like taking higher-level CompTIA exams, completing training, or participating in professional development. You do not need to retake the A+ exams to maintain the certification.
What's the difference between CompTIA A+ Core 1 and Core 2?
Core 1 (220-1101) focuses on hardware, networking hardware, mobile devices, and cloud/virtualization concepts. Core 2 (220-1102) focuses on operating systems (primarily Windows), security, software troubleshooting, and operational procedures. You can take them in any order, but most people start with Core 1 since the hardware content is more concrete and easier to visualize. Both must be passed to earn the certification.
Bottom Line
If you want to learn CompTIA A+ without spending money you don't have, Professor Messer's free video library is the most reliable starting point available. It's current, it's organized by exam objective, and it's been accurate across multiple exam revisions. The one investment worth making alongside it: a set of quality practice exams, either from Professor Messer himself or from a third-party provider like Jason Dion.
The certification is worth pursuing. It won't get you to $80,000 on its own, but it opens the doors that are otherwise closed to candidates without credentials. Pair it with Network+ within 12 months and you'll have a meaningful enough credential stack to compete for roles that pay significantly more than the help desk floor.
Set a realistic timeline based on your current experience level, run full timed practice exams before you book your testing appointment, and don't skip the performance-based question types in your practice sessions. That's the part most people underestimate.