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.
Qualifying in CompTIA A+ without additional courses will allow you to fix and maintain stand-alone PC's and MAC's; principally ones that aren't joined to a network - essentially the domestic or small business sector.
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.
Many training companies will provide a useful Job Placement Assistance program, to assist your search for your first position. With the growing demand for appropriately skilled people in Great Britain right now, it's not too important to make too much of this option though. It's not as difficult as you may be led to believe to find the right work once you're properly qualified.
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!
It's not uncommon to find that junior support jobs have been bagged by students who're still on their course and haven't even passed a single exam yet. This will at least get you on your way.
Generally, a local IT focused recruitment consultancy (who will get paid commission to place you) will perform better than any sector of a centralised training facility. They should, of course, also be familiar with the area and local employers better.
Do ensure you don't invest a great deal of time on your training course, just to give up and expect somebody else to find you a job. Stand up for yourself and get on with the job. Channel the same focus into securing your new role as it took to get qualified.
Qualifications from the commercial sector are now, very visibly, already replacing the more academic tracks into IT - so why is this happening?
With university education costs spiralling out of control, alongside the IT sector's recognition that corporate based study most often has much more commercial relevance, we've seen a big surge in CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA accredited training courses that create knowledgeable employees at a fraction of the cost and time involved.
Clearly, an appropriate degree of associated information has to be taught, but essential specialised knowledge in the exact job role gives a commercially trained person a distinct advantage.
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.
To get through to the essence of this, we need to discuss a variety of different aspects:
* Personalities play a starring part - what gets you 'up and running', and what are the areas that put a frown on your face.
* Is your focus to obtain training for a particular motive - e.g. are you pushing to work based at home (self-employment possibly?)?
* What are your thoughts on salary vs the travel required?
* Learning what the main Information technology roles and markets are - including what sets them apart.
* How much effort you'll have available to put into the training program.
For most of us, dissecting these areas tends to require the help of a professional who knows what they're talking about. Not only the accreditations - you also need to understand the commercial needs and expectations of industry too.
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.
Avoid, like the plague, any organisations who use 'out-of-hours' call-centres - with the call-back coming in during office hours. This is useless when you're stuck and need help now.
Top training providers opt for an internet-based 24x7 service utilising a variety of support centres over many time-zones. You'll have a single, easy-to-use interface which seamlessly selects the best facility available any time of the day or night: Support available as-and-when you want it.
If you fail to get yourself online 24x7 support, you'll quickly find yourself regretting it. It may be that you don't use it during late nights, but consider weekends, early mornings or late evenings. - 29852
Qualifying in CompTIA A+ without additional courses will allow you to fix and maintain stand-alone PC's and MAC's; principally ones that aren't joined to a network - essentially the domestic or small business sector.
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.
Many training companies will provide a useful Job Placement Assistance program, to assist your search for your first position. With the growing demand for appropriately skilled people in Great Britain right now, it's not too important to make too much of this option though. It's not as difficult as you may be led to believe to find the right work once you're properly qualified.
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!
It's not uncommon to find that junior support jobs have been bagged by students who're still on their course and haven't even passed a single exam yet. This will at least get you on your way.
Generally, a local IT focused recruitment consultancy (who will get paid commission to place you) will perform better than any sector of a centralised training facility. They should, of course, also be familiar with the area and local employers better.
Do ensure you don't invest a great deal of time on your training course, just to give up and expect somebody else to find you a job. Stand up for yourself and get on with the job. Channel the same focus into securing your new role as it took to get qualified.
Qualifications from the commercial sector are now, very visibly, already replacing the more academic tracks into IT - so why is this happening?
With university education costs spiralling out of control, alongside the IT sector's recognition that corporate based study most often has much more commercial relevance, we've seen a big surge in CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA accredited training courses that create knowledgeable employees at a fraction of the cost and time involved.
Clearly, an appropriate degree of associated information has to be taught, but essential specialised knowledge in the exact job role gives a commercially trained person a distinct advantage.
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.
To get through to the essence of this, we need to discuss a variety of different aspects:
* Personalities play a starring part - what gets you 'up and running', and what are the areas that put a frown on your face.
* Is your focus to obtain training for a particular motive - e.g. are you pushing to work based at home (self-employment possibly?)?
* What are your thoughts on salary vs the travel required?
* Learning what the main Information technology roles and markets are - including what sets them apart.
* How much effort you'll have available to put into the training program.
For most of us, dissecting these areas tends to require the help of a professional who knows what they're talking about. Not only the accreditations - you also need to understand the commercial needs and expectations of industry too.
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.
Avoid, like the plague, any organisations who use 'out-of-hours' call-centres - with the call-back coming in during office hours. This is useless when you're stuck and need help now.
Top training providers opt for an internet-based 24x7 service utilising a variety of support centres over many time-zones. You'll have a single, easy-to-use interface which seamlessly selects the best facility available any time of the day or night: Support available as-and-when you want it.
If you fail to get yourself online 24x7 support, you'll quickly find yourself regretting it. It may be that you don't use it during late nights, but consider weekends, early mornings or late evenings. - 29852
About the Author:
(C) Jason Kendall. Pop over to LearningLolly.com for great advice on A+ Certification and Comptia A+.
