June 19-23, 2023
in Atlanta GA
For Contestants
We can’t wait to see you in Atlanta! As we count down to Nationals, here are a few helpful questions and answers to help you pack and prepare for the competition. To read our full list of FAQs, visit our FAQ page.
At the national contest, contestants take a real CompTIA A+ exam. This year, the A+ will be the 1101/1102 version.
WHAT TO BRING
- ID’s for CompTIA testing. You will need TWO FORMS OF ID to take the A+ exam. One ID must have a photo. Please see https://certification.comptia.org/testing/test-policies/candidate-id-policy for the full policy. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS TO THE ID POLICY
- Your resume. (If you’ve digitally submitted your resume, you don’t need to bring a paper copy). Remember to keep them to one page and if you need help getting started, check out The Balance Career’s article on how to write a strong, entry level technical resume.
- Official SkillsUSA uniform. Don’t forget your polo! For men, this means you’ll wear your official SkillsUSA white polo with black dress slack, socks and shoes. For women, this means you’ll wear your official SkillsUSA white polo with black dress slacks or a black knee-length skirt with either black or nude hose along with black dress shoes.
- Writing materials and scratch paper. While these are not required, you never know when you’ll need to take some notes. Having a few extra pens and scratchpads won’t hurt!
WHAT NOT TO BRING
- Personal Laptops or Computers. You will not need to bring your personal laptops or computers with you to the contest. The work stations for the contest will have all the hardware and software you need to compete! You will not be allowed to use other computers/devices other than the provided hardware.
- Software. The contest is run on a virtual machine, and accessed through a web browser. There is no way to move local software from the contest floor to the virtual machine. Some modules do have internet access, so you may download diagnostic software if that is the case. However, that software must be a freely distributed tool with an approved Open Source license. Use of any commercial/licensed software is prohibited.
- Classroom Textbooks – Books intended for use as a classroom text will not be permitted on the contest floor.
PREPARING FOR THE CONTEST
- Submit your registration. Please fill out the registration form so we can properly register you for the CompTIA A+.
- Read SkillsUSA ITS Skills Standards. This will give you a great place to start in understanding what the ITS contest will be focusing on and what skills you may be asked to demonstrate.
- Review the CompTIA A+ Material. As a reminder, you’ll be taking your A+ Certification test on-site at Nationals. Before making the trip, review the A+ Certification testing standards, protocols and questions.
- Try the sample module. The sample module gives you a taste for what the contest will be like.
- Learn how to get help or look things up in command line. You don’t (and shouldn’t!) need to memorize everything, but you should familiarize yourself with how to find options for commands. For example, we may ask you to perform a command with ipconfig. You should know how to look up how to use ipconfig (in this example, it would be: ipconfig /?)
- Talk to your advisor or past contestants. These people are great sources of knowledge about the process of the contest and what types of things helped them succeed.
- Check back into this page. Stay tuned for updates, helpful tips, and alerts about the contest on this website.
Interested in volunteering? Get involved by emailing us at skillsusaits@gmail.com