This thirteen-week course will help you acquire the skills you need to be a great asset in your family, home business, or computer career. The knowledge you gain will save you financially as you learn to troubleshoot computer problems and do hardware upgrades. We encourage every high school student to take this course.
A+ is designed to prepare you to become comfortable working on computers. For those wishing to enter the IT career field, it is a foundational credential to have. It covers hardware, repair, maintenance, operating systems, software, networking and security. A+ comes to life as students study their course materials, watch weekly webinars, and apply what they’ve learned through practical hands-on experience.
Nathan’s mentoring will guide students through this course and prepare them to take the exams at the end of the course. The substantial exam fees, as well as books, are included in the course cost.
Age Recommendation: 15 and up.
Candidate job roles include enterprise technician, field service technician, PC or support technician and IT administrator. CompTIA A+ is part of the certification track for corporations such as Microsoft, HP and Cisco. Other technology companies, including Dell, Intel, Lenovo and Ricoh, have made CompTIA A+ certification mandatory for their service technicians. The U.S. Department of Defense recognizes CompTIA A+ and the Department of Homeland Security requires it as part of their computer forensics program.
-- CompTIA.org
From a student's perspective:
I have had so much fun! I never realized how much satisfaction there is in knowing exactly how something works. Thus far, the material is very comprehensible, and while challenging, it is also a brain stretching exercise, which I enjoy. I am very happy, and at peace, because for the first time in a very long time, I have found a purpose in doing something that I was meant to do and that the Lord has given me a talent in. -- Henry
Mentored by: Nathan Maxwell
Nathan began his IT career providing software instruction in a small training environment in Leavenworth, KS. From there, he moved into a contracting role as a desktop support technician. As his skill set grew, he began working with the company's servers as well. A few days after that contract ended, he was offered a desktop support/network admin role at another organization. After working there a number of years, the company was largely shut down, and the remaining IT needs were to be covered by their parent company, out of state.
Nathan felt God's leading into small business IT support. This was his launching point. In 1999, Nathan became an independent IT professional, serving small businesses and non-profits throughout the greater Kansas City area. While supporting a client base of roughly 30 organizations, he has deployed over a thousand PCs, 50+ servers, and countless network components and PC peripherals. In the majority of his projects, Nathan fulfilled the role of not only implementer, but also architect, buyer, integrator and follow up support.
Tied closely to his role in businesses, was home support. Nathan would frequently be asked to visit the homes of employees and help with computer issues. He’s spent many hours setting up home networks, configuring remote corporate access, printer sharing, trouble shooting internet access, and addressing a myriad of questions on both PCs and Macs.
From designing and integrating a network at a new building to meet a client's need, to providing organization infrastructure upgrades, with minimal downtime, he’s sought to blend technology with each client's unique needs. Now, he's excited to be a part of ITonRamp and what God is doing here.
Nathan's certifications:
Microsoft Certified IT Professional
Server Administrator – 07/01/2009
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist
Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuration – 12/05/2008
Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure, Configuration – 12/05/2008
Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuration – 12/05/2008
Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 – 02/12/2004
Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator: Messaging
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 – 02/12/2004
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 – 09/30/2004
Microsoft Windows 2000 – 10/16/2003
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 – 06/08/1998
Microsoft Certified Professional
MCP 2.0 – Certified Professional – 04/12/1997
CompTIA A+ – 10/13/2004
CompTIA Network+ – 11/21/2003
CompTIA Security+ – 8/30/2005
Mac OS X Support Essentials v 10 – 07/2009
Certified Novell Administrator
IntraNetware 4.11 – 01/2000
Certified Novell Engineer – 01/2000
Netware 5.0 – 01/2000
