CompTIA Computer Training Clarified
CompTIA A + has a total of four exams and sections to study, but you’re just expected to pass two of them to be thought of as qualified. For this reason, the majority of training providers simply offer two. Yet learning about all 4 will equip you with a far deeper level of understanding of the subject, something you’ll appreciate as an important asset in the working environment.
CompTIA A+ without additional courses will set you up to fix and maintain computers and Macs; ones which are usually not part of a network – this generally applies to home use and small companies.
Perhaps you see yourself as a man or woman who works for a larger company – in network support, you should include CompTIA Network+ to your training package, or alternatively look at doing an MCSA or MCSE with Microsoft because it’s necessary to have a wider knowledge of the way networks work.
We can guess that you probably enjoy fairly practical work – a ‘hands-on’ type. If you’re like us, the world of book-reading and classrooms is something you’ll force on yourself if you absolutely have to, but you really wouldn’t enjoy it. Consider interactive, multimedia study if book-based learning really isn’t your style.
If we’re able to get all of our senses involved in our learning, then the results are usually dramatically better.
The latest audio-visual interactive programs involving demonstration and virtual lab’s will beat books every time. And they’re far more fun.
You’ll definitely want a study material demo’ from the training company. The materials should incorporate expert-led demonstrations, slideshows and fully interactive skills-lab’s.
Plump for actual CD or DVD ROM’s if possible. You can then avoid all the difficulties of broadband outages, failure and signal quality issues etc.
Validated exam preparation and simulation materials are vital – and really must be obtained from your course provider.
As the majority of examining boards for IT tend to be American, you’ll need to be used to the correct phraseology. It isn’t good enough just understanding random questions – they must be in an exam format that exactly replicates the real thing.
Ensure that you verify your knowledge through tests and simulated exams prior to taking the real thing.
An important area that is sometimes not even considered by trainees considering a training program is ‘training segmentation’. This is essentially how the program is broken down into parts to be delivered to you, which can make a dramatic difference to what you end up with.
Many companies enrol you into some sort of program spread over 1-3 years, and send out each piece as you complete each exam. This sounds reasonable until you consider the following:
What if you don’t finish each and every exam? And what if you find the order of the modules counter-intuitive? Without any fault on your part, you may go a little slower and consequently not get all your materials.
To provide the maximum security and flexibility, it’s normal for most trainees to make sure that every element of their training is posted to them in one go, with nothing held back. It’s then your own choice in which order and at what speed you want to work.
Locating job security nowadays is problematic. Businesses will drop us from the workplace at the drop of a hat – whenever it suits.
Whereas a marketplace with high growth, with a constant demand for staff (as there is a massive shortfall of commercially certified workers), opens the possibility of true job security.
A recent national e-Skills survey showed that over 26 percent of all available IT positions cannot be filled due to a chronic shortage of appropriately certified professionals. Basically, we can’t properly place more than 3 out of each four job positions in IT.
This disturbing truth reveals the requirement for more properly qualified IT professionals throughout the UK.
Actually, retraining in Information Technology throughout the next year or two is very likely the best choice of careers you could make.
Copyright Scott Edwards. Hop over to Comptia Certification or mcse-training-uk.co.uk.
