IT Courses - Thoughts
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.
If you would like to be the person who works in a multi-faceted environment - fixing and supporting networks, build on A+ with Network+, or consider the Microsoft networking route (MCSA - MCSE) as you’ll need a deeper understanding of how networks work.
Getting your first commercial position can feel more straightforward if you’re supported with a Job Placement Assistance program. The fact of the matter is it’s not as hard as some people make out to secure the right work - once you’re trained and certified; the shortage of IT personnel in Britain looks after that.
You would ideally have CV and Interview advice and support though; also we would encourage all students to get their CV updated as soon as they start a course - don’t wait till you’ve finished your exams.
It’s not unusual to find that you will be offered your first role whilst still on the course (occasionally right at the beginning). If your CV doesn’t show your latest training profile (and it’s not being looked at by employers) then you won’t even be considered!
If you’d like to keep travelling time and costs to a minimum, then you may well find that a local (but specialised) recruitment consultancy may be more appropriate than a centralised service, for they’re far more likely to be familiar with local employment needs.
Many trainees, it seems, put a great deal of effort into their studies (sometimes for years), and then just stop instead of looking for a job. Sell yourself… Do your best to let employers know about you. Don’t expect a job to just fall into your lap.
A typical blunder that potential students often succumb to is to focus entirely on getting a qualification, and take their eye off the desired end-result. Schools are brimming over with students that chose an ‘interesting’ course - instead of what would yield an enjoyable career or job.
You may train for one year and then end up doing the job for 20 years. Avoid the mistake of finding what seems like a very ‘interesting’ program only to spend 20 years doing a job you hate!
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.
Before you embark on a study course, trainees are advised to chat over the specific job requirements with an experienced industry advisor, in order to be sure the retraining programme covers all that is required.
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:
What if for some reason you don’t get to the end of every exam? And what if you find the order of the modules counter-intuitive? Through no fault of your own, you might take a little longer and not receive all the modules you’ve paid for.
To be in the best situation you would have all the learning modules packed off to your address right at the beginning; the whole caboodle! Thus avoiding any future problems that could impede the reaching of your goals.
Traditional teaching in classrooms, involving piles of reference textbooks, is often a huge slog for most of us. If this describes you, look for learning programmes that are multimedia based.
Many studies have proved that memory is aided when we receive multi-sensorial input, and we take action to use what we’ve learned.
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.
You must ensure that you see examples of the study materials provided by your chosen company. Be sure that they contain video demo’s and interactive elements such as practice 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.
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