Courses for CompTIA A Plus
Training for your CompTIA A+ covers 4 different sectors – you’ll have to qualify in just two sectors to be considered competent in A+. You’ll find that many training establishments only offer two of the four areas. Our opinion is this will under prepare you – certainly you’ll have the qualification, but training on all 4 will set you apart in the workplace, where knowledge of all four will be necessary. So that’s why you need education in all 4 specialities.
If you decide to become a student on the A+ training program you’ll become familiar with how to build and repair PC’s and operate in antistatic conditions. Diagnostic techniques and fault finding are also on the syllabus, as is remote access. If you would like to be someone who is a member of a large organisation – fixing and supporting networks, build on A+ with Network+, or follow the Microsoft route – MCP’s, MCSA or MCSE as you’ll need a wider knowledge of the way networks work.
So if the UK computer industry grants so many phenomenal career possibilities for us – then which questions should we pose and which elements should we be considering?
An all too common mistake that potential students often succumb to is to choose a career based on a course, and not focus on the desired end-result. Universities have thousands of students who chose a course based on what sounded good – instead of what would yield the career they desired. It’s possible, in some situations, to get a great deal of enjoyment from a year of study and then spend 20 miserable years in a tiresome job role, as a consequence of not performing some quality research when it was needed – at the start.
Never let your focus stray from where you want to get to, and formulate your training based on that – don’t do it back-to-front. Keep on track – making sure you’re training for a career you’ll enjoy for years to come. It’s worth seeking guidance from a professional that understands the sector you’re considering, and who can give you ‘A day in the life of’ explanation for each job considered. These things are of paramount importance because you need to know if you’re going down the right road.
We can guess that you’ve always enjoyed practical work – the ‘hands-on’ person. Typically, the world of book-reading and classrooms would be considered as a last resort, but it’s not really your thing. So look for on-screen interactive learning packages if you’d really rather not use books. Memory is vastly improved when all our senses are brought into the mix – this has been an accepted fact in expert circles for as long as we can remember.
Modern training can now be done at home via interactive CD and DVD ROM’s. Real-world classes from the instructors will mean you’ll absorb the modules, one by one, through the expert demonstrations. You can then test yourself by utilising the practice lab’s and modules. Don’t take any chances and look at a small selection of training examples before you hand over your cheque. The minimum you should expect would be video tutorials, instructor demo’s and audio-visual elements backed up by interactive lab’s.
Purely on-line training should be avoided. Physical CD or DVD ROM materials are preferable where possible, so that you have access at all times – ISP quality varies, so you don’t want to be totally reliant on your broadband being ‘up’ 100 percent of the time.
An important area that is sometimes not even considered by those considering a training program is that of ‘training segmentation’. Essentially, this is how the program is broken down into parts for delivery to you, which completely controls where you end up. By and large, you will purchase a course requiring 1-3 years study and get posted one section at a time – from one exam to the next. While this may sound logical on one level, consider this: What if there are reasons why you can’t finish all the sections or exams? Maybe the prescribed order won’t suit you? Because of nothing that’s your fault, you may go a little slower and not receive all the modules you’ve paid for.
In a perfect world, you’d get ALL the training materials right at the beginning – meaning you’ll have all of them to return to any point – at any time you choose. This also allows you to vary the order in which you complete each objective if another more intuitive route presents itself.
Some training companies will only provide support to you inside of office hours (typically 9am-6pm) and sometimes a little earlier or later; not many go late into the evening (after 8-9pm) or cover weekends properly. Avoid those companies that use messaging services ‘out-of-hours’ – where you’ll get called back during standard office hours. It’s no use when you’re stuck on a problem and want support there and then.
The best training colleges utilise an online 24 hours-a-day package pulling in several support offices across the globe. You will be provided with a single, easy-to-use interface which switches seamlessly to the best choice of centres at any time of day or night: Support when you need it. Unless you insist on direct-access 24×7 support, you’ll very quickly realise that you’ve made a mistake. You may not need it late in the night, but you may need weekends, evenings and early mornings at some point
‘Exam Guarantees’ are often bundled with training offers – this always means exams have to be paid for upfront, when you pay for the rest of your course. Before you get carried away with this so-called guarantee, look at the following:
Everyone knows they’re still being charged for it – it’s obviously already been included in the overall price charged by the college. It’s certainly not free – don’t think these companies are so generous with their money! The honest truth is that when trainees fund each progressive exam, one at a time, they will be much more likely to get through on the first attempt – since they are conscious of their payment and their application will be greater.
Isn’t it in your interests to go for the best offer when you take the exam, not to pay any mark-up to a college, and also to sit exams more locally – instead of the remote centre that’s convenient only to the trainer? Why tie up your cash (or borrow more than you need) for exam fees when you didn’t need to? A great deal of money is made because training colleges are charging all their exam fees up-front – and hoping either that you won’t take them, or it will be a long time before you do. The majority of organisations will insist on pre-tests and with-hold subsequent exam entries from you until you’ve demonstrated an excellent ability to pass – so an ‘Exam Guarantee’ comes with many clauses in reality.
With average prices for VUE and Pro-metric tests costing in the region of 112 pounds in this country, it’s common sense to fund them one by one. Not to fork out thousands extra in up-front costs. Study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will really guarantee success.
Searching for your first position in IT can feel more straightforward with the help of a Job Placement Assistance facility. Sometimes, too much is made of this feature, for it is actually not that hard for a well trained and motivated person to get work in IT – because companies everywhere are seeking trained staff.
Advice and support about getting interviews and your CV is sometimes offered (if it isn’t, consult one of our sites). Be sure to you update that dusty old CV today – don’t wait until you’ve finished your exams! Quite often, you will be offered your initial position while you’re still a student (occasionally right at the beginning). If your CV doesn’t show your latest training profile (and it isn’t in the hands of someone with jobs to offer) then you won’t even be considered! Actually, a specialist independent regional recruitment consultancy – who make their money when they’ve found you a job – will perform better than any centralised training company’s service. It also stands to reason that they’ll know the local industry and employment needs.
Not inconsiderable numbers of students, so it seems, put a great deal of effort into their studies (for years sometimes), and just give up when it comes to looking for a good job. Promote yourself… Work hard to get yourself known. A job isn’t just going to bump into you.
Without a doubt: There’s very little evidence of personal job security now; there’s only market and business security – as any company can remove anyone when it meets the business’ commercial needs. However, a sector experiencing fast growth, with huge staffing demands (because of an enormous shortfall of properly qualified staff), opens the possibility of lasting job security.
The IT skills-gap throughout the UK clocks in at just over twenty six percent, as noted by the latest e-Skills study. Quite simply, we only have the national capacity to fill just three out of each 4 job positions in the computing industry. Attaining in-depth commercial IT certification is as a result a ‘Fast Track’ to realise a continuing and satisfying livelihood. Undoubtedly, now really is a fabulous time to consider retraining into Information Technology (IT).
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