There are a total of 4 specialist training sectors in the overall A+ programme, of which you’ll need certification in two subjects to gain A+ competency. But restricting yourself to two of the specialised areas is likely to leave your knowledge base somewhat light. At least learn about all four – for greater confidence in the world of work.

Once on the A+ computer training course you’ll be taught how to build, fix, repair and work in antistatic conditions. You’ll also cover fault finding and diagnostics, through both hands-on and remote access.

If you add Network+ training to your A+, you’ll also learn how to take care of networks, giving you the facility to expect a better remuneration package.

One crafty way that course providers make a big mark-up is by charging for exams up-front and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams. This looks like a great idea for the student, until you think it through:

You’ll be charged for it ultimately. It’s definitely not free – they’ve simply charged more for the whole training package.

It’s everybody’s ambition to qualify on the first attempt. Entering examinations one by one and paying for them just before taking them puts you in a much stronger position to qualify at the first attempt – you put the effort in and are mindful of the investment you’ve made.

Hold on to your money and pay for the exam when you’re ready, and hang on to your cash. You’ll also be able to choose where to do your exams – so you can choose somewhere closer to home.

A lot of current training course providers make huge amounts of money through getting in the money for exam fees early then hoping you won’t see them all through.

Don’t forget, with ‘Exam Guarantees’ from most places – they control when and how often you can re-take the exam. Subsequent exam attempts are only authorised at the company’s say so.

VUE and Prometric examinations are in the region of 112 pounds in Great Britain. Why spend so much more on fees for ‘exam guarantees’ (usually wrapped up in the course package price) – when good quality study materials, the proper support and a commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools are actually the key to your success.

The somewhat scary thought of finding your first job is often eased by some training providers because they offer a Job Placement Assistance service. With the huge skills shortage in the UK right now, it’s not too important to get too caught up in this feature though. It isn’t so complicated as you might think to secure your first job as long as you’re correctly trained and certified.

You would ideally have advice and support about your CV and interviews though; and we’d recommend everyone to work on polishing up their CV the day they start training – don’t procrastinate and leave it until you’ve graduated or passed any exams.

Various junior support jobs have been offered to trainees who’re still on their course 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.

If you don’t want to travel too far to work, then you may well find that a specialist locally based employment agency may serve you better than a national service, as they are much more inclined to be familiar with the local job scene.

A good number of students, it seems, conscientiously work through their course materials (for years sometimes), and just give up when it comes to trying to get a good job. Promote yourself… Do your best to put yourself out there. Don’t think a job’s just going to jump out in front of you.

Of all the important things to consider, one of the most essential is always full 24×7 support with professional mentors and instructors. Far too often we see trainers who only provide office hours (or extended office hours) support.

Don’t accept certification programs which can only support students with a call-centre messaging system when it’s outside of usual working hours. Companies will defend this with all kinds of excuses. Essentially – you need support when you need support – not when it’s convenient for them.

The very best training providers have many support offices across multiple time-zones. An online system provides an interactive interface to link them all seamlessly, no matter what time you login, there is always help at hand, avoiding all the delays and problems.

Never compromise when it comes to your support. The majority of IT hopefuls who give up, are in that situation because of a lack of support.

Commercial qualifications are now, without a doubt, already replacing the traditional routes into IT – why then has this come about?

Industry now recognises that to learn the appropriate commercial skills, official accreditation supplied for example by CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA often is more effective in the commercial field – for considerably less.

Many degrees, for instance, become confusing because of a great deal of loosely associated study – with much too broad a syllabus. This holds a student back from getting enough specific knowledge about the core essentials.

Put yourself in the employer’s position – and you required somebody who had very specific skills. What should you do: Go through loads of academic qualifications from graduate applicants, asking for course details and which vocational skills they have, or choose particular accreditations that perfectly fit your needs, and make your short-list from that. The interview is then more about the person and how they’ll fit in – rather than establishing whether they can do a specific task.

Author: Scott Edwards. Navigate to HTML Programming or Website Design Course.

Tags: Personal Development

Popularity: 51% [?]

Share This