by Jason Kendall
A+ consists of four exams and areas of study, but you only need to achieve certification in two to qualify for your A+. Because of this, many educational establishments restrict their course to just 2 areas. But allowing you to learn about all 4 options will provide you with a far deeper level of understanding of it all, something you’ll discover is vital in the working environment.
Once on the A+ computer training course you’ll become familiar with how to build and repair PC’s and operate in antistatic conditions. You’ll also cover fault-finding and diagnostic techniques, both remotely and via direct access.
If you would like to be the kind of individual who works in a multi-faceted environment - fixing and supporting networks, you should include CompTIA Network+ to your training package, or consider the Microsoft networking route (MCSA - MCSE) because it’s necessary to have a wider knowledge of the way networks work.
Getting into your first IT role can be a little easier if you’re offered a Job Placement Assistance service. But don’t place too much emphasis on it - it’s quite easy for companies marketing departments to overplay it. At the end of the day, the huge shortage of staff in the UK is what will make you attractive to employers.
Help and assistance with preparing a CV and getting interviews should be offered (alternatively, check out one of our sites for help). Make sure you bring your CV right up to date straight away - not when you’re ready to start work!
Quite often, you’ll secure your initial job while you’re still a student (even when you’ve just left first base). If your CV doesn’t say what you’re learning (and it isn’t in the hands of someone with jobs to offer) then you won’t even be considered!
Normally you’ll get better performance from an independent and specialised local recruitment consultancy than any training company’s national service, as they will understand the local industry and employment needs.
Fundamentally, if you put the same amount of effort into getting your first IT position as into studying, you’re not going to hit many challenges. Some men and women strangely put hundreds of hours into their learning program and do nothing more once qualified and appear to be under the impression that jobs will come to them.
A question; why is it better to gain commercially accredited qualifications rather than the usual academic qualifications taught at the state educational establishments?
Vendor-based training (in industry terminology) is far more specialised and product-specific. The IT sector has realised that a specialist skill-set is what’s needed to cope with an increasingly more technical commercial environment. Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA dominate in this arena.
In essence, only that which is required is learned. It’s slightly more broad than that, but the most important function is always to focus on the exact skills required (including a degree of required background) - without going into too much detail in everything else - in the way that academic establishments often do.
In simple terms: Authorised IT qualifications provide exactly what an employer needs - the title says it all: i.e. I am a ‘Microsoft Certified Professional’ in ‘Windows XP Administration and Configuration’. Therefore companies can look at their needs and what certifications are needed for the job.
For the most part, a everyday trainee doesn’t have a clue how they should get into a computing career, let alone which market they should look at getting trained in.
Scanning lists of IT career possibilities is a complete waste of time. The majority of us don’t even know what our own family members do for a living - so we’re in the dark as to the intricacies of a particular IT career.
The key to answering this dilemma in the best manner stems from a thorough talk over several areas:
* Personalities play a starring part - what gets you ‘up and running’, and what are the areas that put a frown on your face.
* What is the time-frame for retraining?
* What are your thoughts on salary vs the travel required?
* Because there are so many markets to choose from in computing - you will have to achieve some background information on what separates them.
* How much effort you’ll have available to put into the training program.
Ultimately, your only chance of checking this all out is via a good talk with an experienced advisor that through years of experience will give you the information required.
Many commercial training providers only provide basic 9am till 6pm support (maybe a little earlier or later on certain days); It’s rare to find someone who offers late evening or full weekend cover.
Don’t accept training courses that only support you with an out-sourced call-centre message system after 6-9pm in the evening and during weekends. Companies will defend this with all kinds of excuses. Essentially - you want to be supported when you need the help - not when it’s convenient for them.
The best trainers use multiple support centres around the globe in several time-zones. They use an online interactive interface to seamlessly link them all together, any time of the day or night, help is just seconds away, with no hassle or contact issues.
You can’t afford to accept less than this. Direct-access 24×7 support is the only viable option with computer-based courses. Maybe burning the midnight-oil is not your thing; usually though, we’re out at work when traditional support if offered.