Comments on the IT Fundamentals FC0-U61 Exam

By Bob Weiss

On Thursday August 10, 2023 I took and passed the CompTIA IT Fundamentals exam FC0-U61.  IT Fundamentals is a very entry level certification and would be a course to take if you were a complete and utter newbie to the world of computer technology.

It is designed to be taken before the CompTIA A+ classes and exams.  If you already are A+ certified, you do not need to go back and pick this one up.

So you may be asking why I took this exam, and the answer is that I am teaching a large group of Amazon warehouse employees who are training, at company expense, to become entry-level computer technicians.  I took the exam to be able to discuss what the exam entails, and help the students feel more prepared for their own certification exam.

My test was 65 questions.  I had 60 minutes to complete the exam.  I passed with a score of 720/900.  A score of 650/900 is required to pass.  All of the questions were single answer or multiple answer multiple choice questions.  All of the questions followed the typical CompTIA  construct of asking a question “based on a scenario.”

There were no Performance Based Questions (PBQs) on this exam.  Some of the topics that were included:

  • There were a surprisingly high percentage of software development and database questions.  One of the questions, for example, expected the test taker to know web design technologies such as CSS, HTML, and Java.
  • There were use-case scenarios and questions that required the test taker to choose the correct productivity application, such as spreadsheets, word processing, and presentation applications
  • There were a couple of troubleshooting and help desk type of scenarios.  Knowing the order of the CompTIA Troubleshooting Methodology is important for this exam and will appear again in A+,  Network+, and Security+.

Again, this is an early entry-level IT certification.  CompTIA says:

Who would benefit from CompTIA ITF+?

  • Students and career changers considering a career in IT.
  • Professionals working in fields that require a broad understanding of IT.
  • Marketing, sales, and operations staff who want to improve job performance, enhance technology skills, and rely less on IT support.

This is one of a handful of certifications that is good for life and does not have to be renewed every three years.

I have already taught this course once, and honestly it was harder and more technical than I expected.  For ITF+ students moving on to A+, you can expect to cover the same material, but at a much deeper and more technical level.

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About the Author:

I am a cybersecurity and IT instructor, cybersecurity analyst, pen-tester, trainer, and speaker. I am an owner of the WyzCo Group Inc. In addition to consulting on security products and services, I also conduct security audits, compliance audits, vulnerability assessments and penetration tests. I also teach Cybersecurity Awareness Training classes. I work as an information technology and cybersecurity instructor for several training and certification organizations. I have worked in corporate, military, government, and workforce development training environments I am a frequent speaker at professional conferences such as the Minnesota Bloggers Conference, Secure360 Security Conference in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, the (ISC)2 World Congress 2016, and the ISSA International Conference 2017, and many local community organizations, including Chambers of Commerce, SCORE, and several school districts. I have been blogging on cybersecurity since 2006 at http://wyzguyscybersecurity.com

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