The CompTIA A+ course covers four specialised areas - you’ll have to qualify in just two sectors to be A+ competent. Because of this, most colleges only offer two of the 4 sectors. We consider that this will under prepare you - certainly you’ll have the qualification, but training on all 4 will set you apart in your working life, where knowledge of all four will be necessary. That’s why we believe you should train in the whole course.
Qualifying in CompTIA A+ without additional courses will set you up to repair and fix computers and Macs; principally ones that aren’t joined to a network - essentially the domestic or small business sector.
It could be a good idea to think about adding the CompTIA Network+ training as it will enable you to work with networks, and have a more responsible working role.
The perhaps intimidating chore of getting your first role in IT is often eased by some companies, via a Job Placement Assistance service. With the huge demand for appropriately skilled people in the United Kingdom right now, it’s not necessary to get too caught up in this feature though. It isn’t so complicated as you might think to get your first job as long as you’ve got the necessary skills and qualifications.
Nevertheless, avoid waiting until you’ve finished your training before getting your CV updated. The day you start training, list what you’re working on and get it out there!
A good number of junior support jobs have been offered to people who’re still on their course and haven’t got any qualifications yet. This will at least get you into the ‘maybe’ pile of CV’s - rather than the ‘No’ pile.
Generally, you’ll receive quicker service from a specialised and independent local recruitment service than you’ll experience from any course provider’s employment division, as they will understand the local industry and employment needs.
To bottom line it, if you put as much hard work into finding your first IT position as into studying, you’re not likely to experience problems. Some trainees inexplicably spend hundreds of hours on their course materials and then just stop once they’ve passed their exams and seem to suppose that interviewers know they’re there.
You should remember: the course itself or the accreditation isn’t the end-goal; a job you’re training for is. Too many training companies over-emphasise the certificate itself.
Never let yourself become one of those unfortunate people who choose a training program that seems ‘fun’ or ‘interesting’ - only to end up with a qualification for an unrewarding career path.
Spend some time thinking about how much you want to earn and the level of your ambition. This will influence which precise certifications you’ll need to attain and how much effort you’ll have to give in return.
Take advice from an experienced advisor, even if you have to pay a small fee - as it’s a lot cheaper and safer to find out at the start if you’ve chosen correctly, rather than find out after several years of study that the job you’ve chosen is not for you and have to return to the start of another program.
One area often overlooked by those weighing up a particular programme is the concept of ‘training segmentation’. Basically, this means how the program is broken down into parts for drop-shipping to you, which makes a huge difference to the point you end up at.
Usually, you’ll join a programme staged over 2 or 3 years and receive a module at a time. This sounds logical on one level, until you consider this:
Many students find that the trainer’s ’standard’ path of training isn’t as suitable as another. They might find varying the order of study will be far more suitable. And what if you don’t get to the end at the pace they expect?
For future safety and flexibility, many trainees now want to insist that all study materials are delivered immediately, and not in stages. That means it’s down to you in what order and how fast or slow you’d like to work.
People attracted to this sort of work can be very practical by nature, and won’t enjoy sitting at a desk in class, and endless reading of dry academic textbooks. If this is putting you off studying, opt for more involving, interactive learning materials, where learning is video-based.
We see a huge improvement in memory retention when all our senses are brought into the mix - educational experts have expounded on this for decades now.
The latest home-based training features interactive discs. Instructor-led tutorials will mean you’ll find things easier to remember by way of their teaching and demonstrations. Then you test your knowledge by interacting with the software and practicing yourself.
It would be silly not to view a small selection of training examples before you purchase a course. You should expect video tutorials, instructor demo’s and audio-visual elements backed up by interactive lab’s.
Pick CD and DVD ROM based physical training media every time. This then avoids all the potential pitfalls with broadband ‘downtime’ or slow-speeds.
Author: Scott Edwards. Try www.CareerRetrainingCourses.co.uk/ucareco.html or Website Design Course.
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