There are four specialist areas of training in a full CompTIA A+ program; you\’re qualified as an achiever in A+ when you\’ve passed the test for just two specialist areas. Because of this, it\’s usual for colleges to limit themselves to 2 study areas. The truth is it\’s necessary to have the information on each subject as industry will ask for an understanding of all four areas. You don\’t have to complete all 4 certifications, but it seems common sense that you at least have a working knowledge of every area.
Once on the A+ training program you\’ll become familiar with 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.
You may also want to think about adding the CompTIA Network+ training as it will enable you to take care of computer networks, which is where the bigger salaries are.
It\’s usual for students to get confused with one area of their training which doesn\’t even occur to them: The way the training is divided into chunks and physically delivered to you.
Often, you will join a program staged over 2 or 3 years and get posted one section at a time – from one exam to the next. This sounds logical on one level, until you consider this:
What if there are reasons why you can\’t finish every single section? And what if you find the order of the modules counter-intuitive? Because of nothing that\’s your fault, you may go a little slower and therefore not end up with all the modules.
For future safety and flexibility, it\’s not unusual for students to make sure that every element of their training is posted to them in one go, with nothing held back. That means it\’s down to you how fast or slow and in what order you\’d like to take your exams.
Commercial qualifications are now, undoubtedly, starting to replace the traditional academic paths into the industry – so why has this come about?
Vendor-based training (in industry terminology) is most often much more specialised. Industry is aware that this level of specialised understanding is vital to meet the requirements of an increasingly more technical workplace. Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA dominate in this arena.
Many degrees, for instance, often get bogged down in too much background study – with a syllabus that\’s far too wide. Students are then held back from understanding the specific essentials in enough depth.
When an employer is aware what areas they need covered, then they simply need to advertise for the exact skill-set required to meet that need. The syllabuses are all based on the same criteria and can\’t change from one establishment to the next (in the way that degree courses can).
A service offered by some training providers is a Job Placement Assistance program. It\’s intention is to help you find your first job in the industry. However sometimes there is more emphasis than is necessary on this service, for it is genuinely quite straightforward for any focused and well taught person to get a job in the IT industry – because there\’s a great need for qualified personnel.
Having said that, it\’s important to have help with your CV and interview techniques though; also we would encourage everyone to get their CV updated the day they start training – don\’t procrastinate and leave it for when you\’re ready to start work.
It\’s possible that you won\’t have even taken your exams when you land your first junior support role; yet this can\’t and won\’t happen unless you\’ve posted your CV on job sites.
The top companies to get you a new position are most often independent and specialised local recruitment services. Because they make their money when they\’ve found you a job, they have the necessary incentive to try that bit harder.
A common grievance for various course providers is how hard people are prepared to work to become certified, but how little effort that student will then put into getting the job they\’ve trained for. Don\’t give up when the best is yet to come.
Trainees looking at this market can be very practical by nature, and don\’t really enjoy classrooms, and poring through books and manuals. If you\’re thinking this sounds like you, use multimedia, interactive learning, where everything is presented via full motion video.
Learning psychology studies show that much more of what we learn in remembered when we involve as many senses as possible, and we get physically involved with the study process.
Start a study-program in which you\’re provided with an array of CD and DVD based materials – you\’ll start with videos of instructor demonstrations, with the facility to fine-tune your skills in fully interactive practice sessions.
It would be silly not to view some of the typical study materials provided before you sign on the dotted line. What you want are videoed instructor demonstrations and interactive modules with audio-visual elements.
Seek out CD and DVD ROM based physical training media wherever available. Thus avoiding all the issues associated with the variability of broadband quality and service.
(C) Jason Kendall. Hop over to LearningLolly.com for logical advice. CLICK HERE or Comptia A+ Courses.
26 Dec
