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CompTIA A + has a total of four exams and sections to study, but your only requirement is to get certified in 2 for qualification purposes. Because of this, most training colleges stick to just two options. But allowing you to learn about all 4 options will help you to build a far greater perspective of it all, something you’ll appreciate as a Godsend in professional employment.

If you decide to become a student on the A+ computer training course you will learn how to build computers and fix them, and work in antistatic conditions. You’ll also cover fault finding and diagnostics, through both hands-on and remote access. If you aspire to looking after computer networks, add the very comprehensive Network+ to your training package. This will put you in a position to apply for more interesting jobs. Also look at the networking qualifications from Microsoft, i.e. MCP, MCSA MCSE.

A question; why should we consider commercial qualifications and not the usual academic qualifications gained through the state educational establishments? Vendor-based training (in industry terminology) is far more effective and specialised. The IT sector has acknowledged that specialisation is essential to service the demands of an acceleratingly technical world. Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe are the key players in this arena. Essentially, only required knowledge is taught. It’s not quite as straightforward as that, but the most important function is always to cover the precise skills needed (including a degree of required background) – without going into too much detail in all sorts of other things – in the way that academic establishments often do.

Think about if you were the employer – and your company needed a person with some very particular skills. What’s the simplest way to find the right person: Trawl through loads of academic qualifications from several applicants, trying to establish what they know and what vocational skills they’ve acquired, or pick out specific commercial accreditations that exactly fulfil your criteria, and then choose your interviewees based around that. You’ll then be able to concentrate on getting a feel for the person at interview – instead of long discussions on technical suitability.

How can job security really exist anywhere now? In the UK for instance, where business constantly changes its mind on a whim, it seems increasingly unlikely. But a marketplace with high growth, where there just aren’t enough staff to go round (because of a big shortfall of trained people), opens the possibility of true job security.

Investigating the Information Technology (IT) sector, the most recent e-Skills study brought to light a twenty six percent deficit in trained staff. It follows then that for every four jobs that exist across the computer industry, businesses are only able to locate properly accredited workers for three of them. This one concept in itself shows why the UK urgently requires many more new trainees to enter the Information Technology market. We can’t imagine if a better time or market conditions is ever likely to exist for gaining qualification for this quickly expanding and budding industry.

It’s not uncommon for companies to offer inclusive exam guarantees – inevitably that means paying for the exams at the start of your training. Before you get carried away with guaranteed exams, look at the following:

You’ll pay for it one way or another. You can be assured it’s not a freebie – it’s just been rolled into the price of the whole package. The fact is that if students pay for each examination, at the time of taking them, they’ll be in a better position to pass every time – since they’re aware of their investment in themselves and their application will be greater.

Don’t you think it’s more sensible to hold on to your money and pay for the exam when you’re ready, instead of paying a premium to a training company, and to do it locally – rather than in some remote centre? A lot of questionable training course providers net huge profits through getting in the money for examinations upfront then banking on the fact that many won’t be taken. Most companies will require you to do mock exams and hold you back from re-takes until you have proved to them you have a good chance of passing – so an ‘Exam Guarantee’ comes with many clauses in reality.

Splashing out often many hundreds of pounds extra on an ‘Exam Guarantee’ is foolish – when study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will really guarantee success.

The world of information technology is amongst the most exciting and ground-breaking industries you could be involved with. Being up close and personal with technology means you’re a part of the huge progress shaping life over the next few decades. We are really only just starting to get a handle on how all this will mould and change our lives. The way we interact with the world will be massively affected by computers and the internet.

Let’s not ignore salaries either – the income on average across the UK for a typical IT professional is significantly higher than average salaries nationally. It’s likely that you’ll receive a much greater package than you’d expect to earn doing other work. With the IT marketplace growing at an unprecedented rate, it’s predictable that demand for appropriately qualified IT professionals will continue actively for the significant future.

A fatal Faux-Pas that we encounter all too often is to choose a career based on a course, and take their eye off the end result they want to achieve. Universities are brimming over with unaware students that chose a program because it looked interesting – instead of what would yield an enjoyable career or job. Imagine training for just one year and then end up doing a job for a lifetime. Don’t make the mistake of opting for what may seem to be an ‘interesting’ course only to waste your life away with an unrewarding career!

Be honest with yourself about how much you want to earn and what level of ambition fits you. This will influence what certifications will be required and how much effort you’ll have to give in return. Talk to an experienced industry professional that knows about the sector you’re looking at, and is able to give you a detailed run-down of what you’re going to be doing in that job. Contemplating this long before beginning a study programme will prevent a lot of wasted time and effort.

The MCSA course is right for anyone hoping to work as a technician in network support. Whether you already have experience but want to add to that with a recognised qualification, or you are just getting into the world of computers, you should soon be able to select a course to suit your requirements. Find a training company that’s keen to understand you, and can help you work out the best route for you, prior to any discussions about the relevant training. You can also expect them to advise you where to commence dependent on your present knowledge and or lack of understanding.

Potential Students hopeful to start a career in computers and technology generally haven’t a clue what path to consider, or even which sector to obtain accreditation for. After all, if you don’t have any understanding of the IT industry, how are you equipped to know what someone in a particular field fills their day with? And of course decide on which training route is the most likely for a successful result. Getting to any kind of right choice can only grow via a systematic analysis covering many altering criteria:

* Your personality type and what you’re interested in – the sort of work-related things you enjoy or dislike.

* Why it seems right getting involved with computing – is it to overcome some personal goal like firing your boss and working for yourself for example.

* The income needs that guide you?

* Getting to grips with what typical IT areas and sectors are – and what makes them different.

* Taking a cold, hard look at what commitment and time you can give.

Ultimately, the best way of understanding everything necessary is through a long chat with someone that knows the industry well enough to give you the information required.

A lot of men and women assume that the tech college or university track is still the best way into IT. So why are qualifications from the commercial sector becoming more popular with employers? With 3 and 4 year academic degree costs spiralling out of control, and the IT sector’s growing opinion that corporate based study most often has much more commercial relevance, we have seen a large rise in CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA authorised training routes that create knowledgeable employees for much less time and money. Many degrees, for example, become confusing because of a great deal of background study – and a syllabus that’s too generalised. Students are then held back from learning the core essentials in sufficient depth.

As long as an employer is aware what work they need doing, then all they have to do is advertise for the particular skill-set required. Syllabuses are all based on the same criteria and can’t change from one establishment to the next (like academia frequently can and does).

Most trainers typically provide piles of reference manuals and workbooks. Learning like this is dull and repetitive and not ideal for achieving retention. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that getting into our studies physically, is proven to produce longer-lasting and deeper memory retention.

Search for a course where you’ll receive a selection of DVD-ROM’s – you’ll be learning from instructor videos and demo’s, and be able to use virtual lab’s to practice your new skills. It makes sense to see some examples of the kind of training materials you’ll be using before you sign on the dotted line. Always insist on videoed instructor demonstrations and audio-visual elements backed up by interactive lab’s.

Some companies only have access to just online versions of their training packages; and although this is okay the majority of the time, consider how you’ll deal with it when you don’t have access to the internet or you get intermittent problems and speed issues. It is usually safer to have physical CD or DVD discs that don’t suffer from these broadband issues.

Only consider training paths which will progress to commercially acknowledged qualifications. There’s a plethora of trainers offering minor ‘in-house’ certificates which will prove unusable when you start your job-search. From an employer’s viewpoint, only the major heavyweights like Microsoft, Cisco, Adobe or CompTIA (to give some examples) will get you into the interview seat. Anything less won’t make the grade.

Working on revolutionary new technology is about as exciting as it can get. You’re involved with creating a future for us all. We’re barely starting to understand how all this change will affect us. The way we interrelate with the rest of the world will be inordinately affected by computers and the web.

Wages in the IT sector aren’t to be ignored either – the income on average across the UK for an average man or woman in IT is noticeably better than in other market sectors. Odds are that you’ll earn quite a bit more than you’d typically expect to bring in elsewhere. The need for properly certified IT professionals is a fact of life for the significant future, because of the continuous development in this sector and the vast deficiency that we still have.

It’s really great that you’ve already got this far! A fraction of the population enjoy their work and find it stimulating, but a huge number simply moan about it and take no action. By looking for this it’s probable that you’re at least considering retraining, which means you’re already ahead of the pack. Now you just need to research and follow-through.

Prior to considering any career courses, look for an advisor who can talk you through the right type of training for you. Someone who can get to know your personality, and discover what job role you’ll be most comfortable with:

* Do you want to interact with other people? If so, do you like working with the same people or do you want to meet lots of new people? Maybe you’d rather be left alone to get on with things?

* Which criteria’s are fundamental with regard to the industry you’ll be employed in?

* Should this be the only time you will need more qualifications?

* Do you feel uncomfortable with regard to your possibilities of getting new work, and keeping a job until you plan to retire?

We would advise you to have a good look at the IT sector – there are increasingly more jobs than people to do them, and it’s a rare career choice where the sector is growing. Despite what some people would have you think, it isn’t a bunch of techie geeks staring at their computers the whole time (though naturally some jobs are like that.) Most positions are filled by people like you and me who like receiving larger than average salaries.

Looking around, we find an excess of employment in computing. Arriving at the correct choice in this uncertainty is a mammoth decision. Because with no commercial skills in computing, how should we possibly be expected to understand what a particular job actually consists of? Often, the key to unlocking this issue properly comes from a full talk over a variety of topics:

* The kind of individual you are – what kind of jobs you find interesting, plus of course – what makes you unhappy.

* Why you want to consider getting involved with Information Technology – is it to conquer a long-held goal like working from home maybe.

* Any personal or home needs you may have?

* Some students don’t fully understand the time required to attain their desired level.

* You should also think long and hard about the level of commitment that you will set aside for your training.

To bypass the barrage of jargon, and find what’ll really work for you, have an informal chat with an experienced professional; someone that appreciates and can explain the commercial realities while explaining each accreditation.

A sneaky way that colleges make more money is by adding exam fees upfront to the cost of a course and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams. It looks impressive, but is it really:

It’s very clear we’re still being charged for it – obviously it has already been included in the overall figure from the training provider. It’s absolutely not free – don’t think these companies are so generous with their money! The fact is that if a student pays for each examination, at the time of taking them, there’s a much better chance they’ll pass first time – since they’ll be conscious of what they’ve paid and their application will be greater.

Does it really add up to pay the training company at the start of the course for examinations? Go for the best offer when you’re ready, rather than pay marked up fees – and take it closer to home – rather than in some remote place. What’s the point in paying early for examination fees when you didn’t need to? Big margins are made by companies getting paid upfront for exams – and banking on the fact that many won’t be taken. Many training companies will insist on pre-tests and hold you back from re-takes until you’ve completely proven that you’re likely to pass – so an ‘Exam Guarantee’ comes with many clauses in reality.

With average prices for VUE and Pro-metric examinations coming in at around 112 pounds in the UK, the most cost-effective way to cover the cost is by paying when you need them. There’s no sense in throwing away maybe a thousand pounds extra at the start of your studies. A commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools are actually the key to your success.

A question; why should we consider commercial qualifications as opposed to more traditional academic qualifications obtained from schools and Further Education colleges? As demand increases for knowledge about more and more complex technology, industry has had to move to the specialised training only available through the vendors themselves – in other words companies like Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA. Often this saves time and money for the student. The training is effectively done through honing in on the skills that are really needed (alongside a relevant amount of associated knowledge,) as opposed to covering masses of the background non-specific minutiae that computer Science Degrees often do – to fill a three or four year course.

If an employer is aware what work they need doing, then they simply need to advertise for the particular skill-set required. Vendor-based syllabuses are set to meet an exact requirement and can’t change from one establishment to the next (in the way that degree courses can).

The old fashioned style of teaching, with books and manuals, is an up-hill struggle for the majority of us. If all this is ringing some familiar bells, dig around for more practical courses that are multimedia based. Where possible, if we can study while utilising as many senses as possible, then we normally see dramatically better results.

Locate a program where you’ll receive a selection of DVD-ROM’s – you’ll start with videos of instructor demonstrations, and be able to use virtual lab’s to practice your new skills. You’ll definitely want a study material demo’ from the training company. The materials should incorporate demo’s from instructors, slideshows and lab’s for you to practice your skills in.

Many companies provide just online versions of their training packages; while you can get away with this much of the time, consider how you’ll deal with it if you lose your internet access or you get a slow connection speed. It’s much safer to rely on DVD or CD discs that removes the issue entirely.

If your advisor doesn’t ask you a lot of questions – it’s more than likely they’re really a salesperson. If they wade straight in with a specific product before looking at your personality and current experience level, then you know it’s true. Where you have a strong background, or perhaps a bit of live experience (maybe some existing accreditation?) then it’s likely the level you’ll need to start at will be quite dissimilar from someone who is just starting out. For students starting IT studies and exams for the first time, it can be helpful to break yourself in gently, kicking off with user-skills and software training first. This can easily be incorporated into most accreditation programs.

Should you be looking for certified training from Microsoft, then you’ll naturally expect training companies to offer a wide range of the most superior training courses to be had. In addition, you may hope to get advice on the jobs to be had once you’ve qualified, and which personalities such a career may be appropriate for. Most students feel happier if they can be advised on what the best route is for them. Training courses should be designed to match your current skills and aptitude. So, having worked out the best kind of work for you, you’ll then need to look at what is the most applicable training course that will equip you for the role.

Considering how a program is ‘delivered’ to you can often be overlooked. How many parts is the training broken down into? What is the order and at what speed is it delivered? Typically, you will purchase a course that takes between and 1 and 3 years and get posted one section at a time – from one exam to the next. It seems to make sense on one level, but consider these issues: What if for some reason you don’t get to the end of every single section? And what if the order provided doesn’t meet your requirements? Due to no fault of yours, you may not meet the required timescales and therefore not end up with all the modules.

In a perfect world, you’d get ALL the training materials right at the beginning – giving you them all for the future to come back to – irrespective of any schedule. This also allows you to vary the order in which you complete your exams where a more intuitive path can be found.

One feature provided by many trainers is a programme of Job Placement assistance. It’s intention is to help you find your first job in the industry. With the huge demand for appropriately skilled people in Britain today, it’s not too important to place too much emphasis on this feature however. It’s actually not as hard as some people make out to secure a job once you’re trained and certified.

One important thing though, avoid waiting until you’ve completed your exams before bringing your CV up to date. As soon as your training commences, list what you’re working on and place it on jobsites! Being considered a ‘maybe’ is more than not being regarded at all. Often junior support roles are got by students who are still at an early stage in their studies. Generally, a specialist independent regional employment agency (who will get paid by the employer when they’ve placed you) should get better results than any division of a training company. Also of course they should know the local industry and employment needs.

Various trainees, it would appear, conscientiously work through their course materials (sometimes for years), and then just stop instead of looking for the right position. Sell yourself… Do your best to get yourself known. A job isn’t just going to bump into you.

Sometimes students are under the impression that the traditional school, college or university route is the way they should go. Why then are commercial certificates becoming more in demand? With 3 and 4 year academic degree costs spiralling out of control, together with the IT sector’s general opinion that accreditation-based training often has more relevance in the commercial field, we’ve seen a great increase in Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe authorised training routes that supply key solutions to a student for considerably less. This is done through honing in on the particular skills that are needed (along with an appropriate level of related knowledge,) instead of covering masses of the background ‘padding’ that degrees in computing can get bogged down in – to pad out the syllabus.

Imagine if you were an employer – and you wanted someone who could provide a specific set of skills. What is easier: Wade your way through a mass of different academic qualifications from various applicants, having to ask what each has covered and what vocational skills have been attained, or choose particular accreditations that specifically match what you’re looking for, and then select who you want to interview from that. The interview is then more about the person and how they’ll fit in – rather than on the depth of their technical knowledge.

Remember: a course itself or the accreditation isn’t the end-goal; the job or career that you’re getting the training for is. Many trainers unfortunately put too much weight in just the training course. It’s not unheard of, for instance, to find immense satisfaction in a year of study only to end up putting 20 long years into something completely unrewarding, as a consequence of not performing some quality research when you should’ve – at the outset.

You’ll want to understand what industry will expect from you. Which precise qualifications they will want you to have and how to gain experience. It’s also worth spending time assessing how far you think you’ll want to build your skill-set as often it can present a very specific set of qualifications. Sense dictates that you always seek guidance and advice from a professional advisor before making your final decision on some particular learning path, so there’s little doubt that a program provides the skill-set required for your career choice.

Incorporating examinations as an inclusive element of the package price then giving it ‘Exam Guarantee’ status is common for a good many training companies. But let’s examine why they really do it:

Patently it isn’t free – you’re still coughing up for it – it’s just been included in your package price. Evidence shows that when trainees fund their own exams, one at a time, the chances are they’re going to get through on the first attempt – since they’re aware of the cost and therefore will put more effort into their preparation.

Don’t you think it’s more sensible to go for the best offer when you’re ready, instead of paying a premium to the training college, and to do it locally – rather than in some remote centre? Buying a course that includes payments for exams (and if you’re financing your study there’ll be interest on that) is madness. Resist being talked into filling the training company’s account with extra money of yours only to please their Bank Manager! There are those who hope that you won’t get round to taking them – but they won’t refund the cash. Re-takes of any failed exams with training course providers who offer an ‘Exam Guarantee’ are tightly controlled. They’ll insist that you take mock exams first till you’ve proven conclusively that you can pass.

Exams taken at local centres are approximately 112 pounds in this country. Why pay exorbitant ‘Exam Guarantee’ costs (most often hidden in the package) – 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.

If your search is for Cisco training and you haven’t worked with routers before, what you need is the CCNA. This training program has been put together to teach individuals looking to have a commercial knowledge of routers. Many large organisations that have several locations use them to join up their various different networks of computers to allow their networks to keep in touch. The Internet also is based on huge numbers of routers.

It’s very probable you’ll get a job with an internet service provider or a big organisation that is spread out geographically but needs regular secure data communications. Both types of jobs command good salaries.

Achieving CCNA is where you should be aiming; at this stage avoid being tempted to do the CCNP. Once you’ve worked for a few years, you’ll find out if it’s relevant for you to have this next level up. If you decide to become more qualified, your experience will serve as the background you need to master your CCNP – which is quite a hard qualification to acquire – and ought not to be underestimated.

Proper support is incredibly important – locate a good company that provides 24×7 direct access, as anything else will annoy you and definitely put a damper on the speed you move through things. Many only provide email support (too slow), and phone support is often to a call-centre which will make some notes and then email an advisor – who will call back over the next day or so (assuming you’re there), at a suitable time to them. This is no good if you’re lost and confused and have a one hour time-slot in which to study.

Top training providers opt for an online access 24×7 system combining multiple support operations throughout multiple time-zones. You get a simple interface that seamlessly selects the best facility available irrespective of the time of day: Support available as-and-when you want it. Find a training school that cares. As only round-the-clock 24×7 support gives you the confidence to make it.

Can job security honestly exist anymore? In the UK for instance, with industry changing its mind on a day-to-day basis, it seems increasingly unlikely. However, a marketplace with high growth, where there just aren’t enough staff to go round (as there is a big shortage of properly qualified staff), enables the possibility of proper job security.

Offering the IT business for example, a key e-Skills analysis demonstrated a skills shortage in the United Kingdom of over 26 percent. To put it another way, this reveals that the UK only has three qualified staff for each 4 job positions that exist currently. Highly skilled and commercially grounded new workers are as a result at an absolute premium, and in all likelihood it will stay that way for a long time. With the market increasing at the speed it is, there really isn’t any other market worth taking into account for retraining.

It’s essential to have authorised exam simulation and preparation programs included in the package you choose. Confirm that the practice exams haven’t just got questions from the right areas, but are also posing them in the same way that the proper exam will formulate them. It completely unsettles trainees if the phraseology and format is completely different. For many reasons, it’s essential to ensure that you are completely prepared for your actual certification exam before taking it. Rehearsing mock-up exams will help to boost your attitude and saves you time and money on failed exams.

Only consider retraining programs which will grow into industry accepted qualifications. There are way too many minor schools offering their own ‘in-house’ certificates which are worthless when you start your job-search. If your certification doesn’t come from a major player like Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA or Cisco, then chances are it won’t be commercially viable – because no-one will recognise it.

Potential trainees hoping to start a career in IT normally haven’t a clue which direction to follow, or even what area to get qualified in. As having no solid background in IT, in what way could we be expected to know what someone in a particular job does? The key to answering this question properly lies in a thorough chat, covering a variety of topics:

* Your personality can play a major role – what gets you ‘up and running’, and what are the activities that really turn you off.

* What is the time-frame for retraining?

* What are your thoughts on travelling time and locality vs salary?

* There are many areas to train for in the IT industry – it’s wise to achieve some background information on what differentiates them.

* Taking a good look at what commitment and time that you’re going to put into it.

For most of us, sifting through all these ideas tends to require the help of an experienced pro who can investigate each area with you. And not just the certifications – you also need to understand the commercial needs and expectations besides.