The A+ certification is issued by CompTIA upon completion of two exams. As of the time of this writing, there is one required exam and three elective exams.
Required:
220-601 A+ Essentials Exam
Electives:
220-602 A+ Information Technology Technician
220-603 A+ Remote Support Technician
220-604 A+ Depot Technician
The idea behind this test structure is that those who wish to specialize in certain types of work, ie. working in a call center or working in a computer shop, have specialized examinations (and thus employers can require the different electives, forcing A+ techs with the wrong test to spend more money to get the right one). Instead, now very few companies are even willing to hire A+ techs unless they have work experience or more advanced certifications.
My recommendation? Spend less and get your CCNA, much more likely to get you a job.
BQ2009