Computer training for CompTIA A+ covers four specialised areas – you’ll need exam certification in two of these areas to be competent in A+. This is why, the majority of colleges simply provide 2 of the four in the syllabus. Our opinion is this is selling you short – sure, you can pass an exam, but knowing about the others will prepare you more fully for when you’re in the workplace, where you’ll need a more comprehensive understanding. So that’s why you deserve training in everything.
Passing the A+ exam on its own will give you the ability to mend and maintain computers and Macs; ones that are most often not part of a network – essentially the domestic or small business sector. If you would like to be a man or woman who is a member of a large organisation – supporting, fixing and maintaining networks, you’ll need to add CompTIA Network+, or consider an MCSA or MCSE with Microsoft to give you a wider knowledge of how networks work.
Consider only training courses that’ll move onto industry accepted qualifications. There are way too many trainers pushing unknown ‘in-house’ certificates which will prove unusable when it comes to finding a job. If the accreditation doesn’t feature a company like Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA or Adobe, then you may discover it will have been a waste of time – as it’ll be an unknown commodity.
It’s likely that you probably enjoy fairly practical work – the ‘hands-on’ person. Typically, the trial of reading reference books and manuals is something you’ll make yourself do if you have to, but you really wouldn’t enjoy it. So look for on-screen interactive learning packages if learning from books is not your thing. Memory is vastly improved when multiple senses are involved – this has been an accepted fact in expert circles for many years.
Locate a program where you’ll receive a library of CD and DVD based materials – you’ll be learning from instructor videos and demo’s, with the facility to use virtual lab’s to practice your new skills. All companies should be able to show you some simple examples of the type of training materials they provide. Expect video tutorials, instructor led classes and a variety of interactive modules.
It’s folly to opt for on-line only training. Because of the variable quality and reliability of the ISP (internet service provider) market, it makes sense to have physical media such as CD or DVD ROM’s.
Far too many companies are all about the certification, and completely avoid what you actually need – which is a commercial career or job. Always start with where you want to get to – too many people focus on the journey. It’s common, in many cases, to thoroughly enjoy one year of training and then find yourself trapped for decades in a job you hate, entirely because you stumbled into it without the correct research when it was needed – at the start.
Take time to understand your leanings around career development, earning potential, and how ambitious you are. It makes sense to understand what will be expected of you, what particular exams are needed and in what way you can develop commercial experience. Have a chat with someone that understands the work you’re contemplating, and who’ll explain to you detailed descriptions of what you actually do in that role. Contemplating this well before you start on any learning path will prevent a lot of wasted time and effort.
It’s essential to have authorised exam simulation and preparation programs included in the package you choose. Ensure that your practice exams are not just posing the correct questions from the right areas, but also asking them in the way the real exams will ask them. This completely unsettles people if they’re met with completely different formats and phraseologies. Be sure to have some simulated exam questions that will allow you to verify your knowledge at all times. Simulations of exams prepare you properly – then you’re much more at ease with the real thing.
The way a programme is physically sent to you isn’t always given the appropriate level of importance. How is the courseware broken down? What is the order and what control do you have at what pace it arrives? Individual deliveries for each training module stage by stage, as you pass each exam is the typical way that your program will arrive. This sounds logical, but you should take these factors into account: Maybe the order of study prescribed by the provider doesn’t suit you. It may be difficult to get through every element within the time limits imposed?
To be honest, the very best answer is to have their ideal ‘order’ of training laid out, but get everything up-front. You’re then in possession of everything if you don’t manage to finish at their required pace.
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