Psychology Online

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.
As well as learning about building and fixing computers, students on A+ courses will have instruction on how to work in antistatic conditions, as well as diagnostics, fault-finding and remote access. Should you want to work towards maintaining networks, you should add CompTIA Network+ to your A+ course. Taking this course as well will prepare you to command a more senior job role. Also look at the Microsoft networking qualifications (MCP, MCSA and MCSE).
Which questions do we need to be asking if we want to arrive at the understanding necessary? Since it seems there are some rather superb opportunities for us all to think about.
Don’t put too much store, as many people do, on the certification itself. You’re not training for the sake of training; this is about gaining commercial employment. Begin and continue with the end in mind. It’s an awful thing, but a large percentage of students start out on programs that sound spectacular from the syllabus guide, but which delivers a career that is of no interest. Speak to a selection of university leavers for a real eye-opener.
You’ll want to understand what expectations industry may have of you. What precise exams they will want you to have and how to gain experience. It’s definitely worth spending time setting guidelines as to how far you’d like to progress your career as often it can control your selection of exams. Prior to embarking on a particular study program, it’s good advice to talk through the specific market requirements with an experienced industry advisor, to make sure the training programme covers all that is required.
The classroom style of learning we remember from school, using textbooks and whiteboards, can be pretty hard going sometimes. If all this is ringing some familiar bells, look for learning programmes which have a majority of interactive, multimedia parts. Learning psychology studies show that we remember much more when we use all our senses, and we get physically involved with the study process.
Interactive full motion video involving demonstration and virtual lab’s will forever turn you away from traditional book study. And they’re far more fun. It’s very important to see the type of training provided by each company you’re contemplating. It’s essential they incorporate instructor-led video demonstrations with virtual practice-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 an ideal situation, you’d get ALL the training materials right at the beginning – meaning you’ll have all of them to return to any point – whenever it suits you. Variations can then be made to the order that you complete each objective where a more intuitive path can be found.
It’s so important to understand this key point: Always get full 24×7 support from professional instructors. You’ll severely regret it if you don’t. Never buy certification programs which can only support you with an out-sourced call-centre message system outside of normal office hours. Trainers will defend this with all kinds of excuses. The simple fact of the matter is – you want to be supported when you need the help – not at times when they find it cheaper to provide it.
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
One crafty way that colleges make a big mark-up is through up-front charges for exams then giving it ‘Exam Guarantee’ status. This looks like a great idea for the student, till you look at the facts:
They’ve allowed costings for it one way or another. You can be assured it’s not a freebie – they’ve simply charged more for the whole training package. Trainees who take each progressive exam, funding them one at a time are far more likely to pass first time. They’re thoughtful of the cost and so are more inclined to be ready for the task.
Take your exams as locally as possible and don’t pay up-front, but seek out the best deal for you when you’re ready. Is there a good reason to pay interest on a bigger loan than is necessary because you’ve paid early for examinations when there was no need to? A great deal of money is netted by organisations charging all their exam fees up-front – and then cashing in when they’re not all taken. Also, exam guarantees often have very little value. Many training companies won’t be prepared to pay for you to re-take until you’re able to demonstrate an excellent mock pass rate.
The cost of exams was around the 112 pounds mark last year via UK VUE or Prometric centres. Therefore, why splash out often many hundreds of pounds extra to get ‘Exam Guarantees’, when it’s obvious that the best guarantee is consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software.
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.
One important thing though, don’t wait till you’ve passed your final exams before updating your CV. As soon as your training commences, mark down what you’re doing and tell people about it! A good number of junior support roles have been offered to people who are still learning and have yet to take their exams. This will at the very least get your CV into the ‘possible’ pile and not the ‘no’ pile. Generally, a specialist locally based employment service – who make their money when they’ve found you a job – is going to give you a better service than a sector of a centralised training facility. Also of course they should be familiar with 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.
It’s clear nowadays: There really is no such thing as personal job security available anymore; there can only be market and sector security – as any company can fire a solitary member of staff if it suits the company’s commercial needs. We can however hit upon security at market-level, by looking for areas that have high demand, together with shortages of trained staff.
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).

By: Jason Kendall

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After 2 Decades in IT, Jason Kendall has focused himself on computer training consultancy in the UK. To find out more on Comptia Training, visit LearningLolly Computer Training.

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