Going go to Kansas City?

First, here's your schedule:

Tuesday: 

Orientation: Tuesday, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m., 2102A, Bartle Hall 
Don't miss this meeting, no matter what. It is mandatory! If you cannot attend this meeting you need a very good reason, and I need to hear this reason from your state director or national SkillsUSA staff.

This is where I split the contestants into four groups, and give each of you a number. I will tell you everything you need to know about how the contest works, and answer as many questions as possible.  

Wednesday:

Competition: Group 1, Wednesday, 8 am to ~4:00pm, 2501A (New Ballroom)

A+ Certification Testing: Group 2, Wednesday, 8 a.m.–4:00 pm, specific schedule provided at orientation.

Thursday:

Competition: Group 2, Thursday, 8 am ~4:00 p.m., 2501 (New Ballroom)

A+ Certification Testing: Group 1, Thursday, 8 am–4:00 pm, specific schedule provided at orientation.

Friday:

Debriefing: Friday, 11:30 a.m., 2210, Bartle Hall
This meeting is optional, some of you might be doing a service project.

How can you increase your chances of winning the CMT contest?

Nail the A+ Certification Exam

The bottom line is A+ Certification. And we don't simply mean being able to answer the questions through a rigorous memorization program. (don't even get me started on that...) The certification is designed to prove the competency of a service tech with six months experience. That means hands-on skills, not just the book and question stuff.

The importance of A+ Certification is unquestioned in the IT industry. Unfortunately there are many preparation tools that do no more than help you memorize the topics on the exam. Prep tools help you with the exam, but not with the rest of the contest. Because I played a role in its development, I say Heathkit's prep tool is the best available for the exams. 

Have Great Hands-on Skills

Every year some contestants perform well on the A+ exam, only to fall short during the hands-on skill contests. To wear a medal onstage at Kemper Arena, you'll need knowledge, solid hands-on skills, and the ability to think under pressure.

To prepare, read the leading PC repair and upgrading texts, and try out some of the techniques described. Practice repairing PCs, and dealing with their problems, challenges, and intricacies. Don't rely on any single manufacturer's book to be the final word. The people who write technology books for a living are the best....Meyers, Mueller, Minasi, Bigelow, Andrews, Norton and McFedries make up part of our list. (Leo Laporte has some fun stuff, too.) 

Real-world skills will be presented at the contest. You must know your command line, you must know what breaks in Windows and how to fix it. You won't have time to figure out the problems, you'll have to know how to solve them beforehand; there won't be enough time to use much trial-and-error. For the most part, the medalists already have jobs as computer technicians, but not always... Remember, this is the national contest. So far the winners have been good, and I mean really good...)

Be Aware of New Technology

The A+ exam will focus on widely accepted technologies, not the state-of-the-art. Why? Because new and exciting technologies don't always become mainstream. (Can you say Rambus?) However, you are likely to be asked about them by friends, colleagues, and customers who see you as an authority. You won't be asked to install a 3.5 GHz AMD chip in Kansas City, nor will you be expected to tells us exactly why DDR2 exists and why it is different than DDR. But we may ask you "What's the deal with this RDRAM/Rambus thing?"

Be aware of the new technologies, those that may affect the future of PCs. Aware, not expert. Get a subscription to one of the major PC periodicals, or sign up for the email newsletters. These will keep you posted on the new stuff, and aware of what the industry is doing. There are many good online sources for information as well. 

The keys to winning are to be a master of the fundamentals, have plenty of hands-on real-world experience, a bit of luck on your side, and plenty of rest while in KC. (rest? are you serious?) Well, at least try to get some rest, OK? 

Know all about Older Technology

"Legacy hardware." Businesses don't throw away older equipment just because there's a newer technology available. This still true in 2008. Does the cost of the new hardware, the cost of the time to install and configure the new hardware, the cost of the downtime while that new hardware is installed, and the cost of training the user about the new hardware, make up for what might be a 15% performance increase? And just how long will it take to recover that investment? That's how large businesses make the decision. Can you say Vista? 

You will see older hardware and software when you begin to work for some companies. Older companies tend to have older hardware being used where it makes sense. If the old stuff works, and it has proven itself to be reliable and to perform at an acceptable level, then the old stuff is unlikely to be replaced until it breaks beyond repair. Same goes for software. 

Be aware of the older technologies, and remember that the entire world is NOT Plug and Play...intelligent life existed before PCIe and eSATA. ;-)

Is the Contest Too Tough?

Making the trip to KC is a big deal. There are ~45 high school contestants and ~30 college contestants. CMT is one of the Big Ones, there are just a few non-team contests bigger than CMT. Whatever happens when you see the contest problems, do your best because you will remember this day for the rest of your life! Have a good time, make some new friends from the other side of the country, and just keep smiling. :-)