There are four A+ exams and specialised sectors, but you're just expected to achieve certification in two to be thought of as qualified. Because of this, a great number of colleges restrict their course to just 2 areas. But giving you all four options will provide you with a far greater perspective of the subject, which you'll come to realise is essential in professional employment.
Once on the A+ computer training course you'll be taught 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.
If you add Network+ training to your A+, you'll also learn how to take care of networks, giving you the facility to expect a better remuneration package.
One crafty way that course providers make a big mark-up is by charging for exams up-front and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams. This looks like a great idea for the student, until you think it through:
Patently it isn't free - you're still paying for it - it's just been wrapped up in the price of the package.
If it's important to you to get a first time pass, then you should avoid exam guarantees and pay when entering exams, focus on it intently and be ready for the task.
Don't you think it's more sensible to hold on to your money and pay for the exam at the time, not to pay the fees marked up by the training company, and to do it locally - instead of the remote centre that's convenient only to the trainer?
Why tie up your cash (or borrow more than you need) for examination fees when you didn't need to? A lot of profit is made because training colleges are getting money in early for exam fees - and then cashing in when they're not all taken.
Most companies will insist that you take mock exams first and not allow you to re-take an exam until you've demonstrated an excellent ability to pass - which actually leaves you with no guarantee at all.
On average, exams cost approximately 112 pounds twelve months or so ago via Prometric or VUE centres around the United Kingdom. So why pay hundreds or thousands of pounds extra to have 'an Exam Guarantee', when common sense dictates that the responsible approach is study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams.
Finding your first job in the industry sometimes feels easier to handle if you're offered a Job Placement Assistance service. It can happen though that too much is made of this feature, because it's relatively easy for any motivated and trained individual to secure work in the IT environment - as employers are keen to find appropriately skilled employees.
Advice and support about getting interviews and your CV might be provided (if not, see one of our sites for help). It's essential that you update that dusty old CV straight away - don't leave it till you pass the exams!
Various junior support jobs have been offered to trainees who're still on their course and have yet to take their exams. This will at the very least get your CV into the 'possible' pile and not the 'no' pile.
If you don't want to travel too far to work, then you may well find that a specialist locally based employment agency may serve you better than a national service, as they are much more inclined to be familiar with the local job scene.
A big frustration for a number of course providers is how hard trainees are prepared to study to get qualified, but how ill-prepared they are to market themselves for the job they've acquired skills for. Get out there and hustle - you might find it's fun.
Student support is absolutely essential - locate a good company offering 24x7 direct access to instructors, as anything less will not satisfy and will also hamper your progress.
Avoid, like the plague, any organisations that use messaging services 'out-of-hours' - where an advisor will call back during office hours. This is useless when you're stuck and need an answer now.
The very best programs tend to use an online access 24x7 facility utilising a variety of support centres throughout multiple time-zones. You'll have an environment which switches seamlessly to the best choice of centres irrespective of the time of day: Support when you need it.
Never compromise when it comes to your support. The majority of IT hopefuls who give up, are in that situation because of a lack of support.
Now, why is it better to gain qualifications from the commercial sector as opposed to familiar academic qualifications gained through the state educational establishments?
As demand increases for knowledge about more and more complex technology, industry has been required to move to the specialised core-skills learning that the vendors themselves supply - in other words companies such as CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA. This usually turns out to involve less time and financial outlay.
Vendor training works through focusing on the particular skills that are needed (alongside an appropriate level of background knowledge,) rather than spending months and years on the background 'padding' that academic courses can get bogged down in - to pad out the syllabus.
If an employer understands what they're looking for, then they just need to look for a person with the appropriate exam numbers. The syllabuses are set to exacting standards and aren't allowed to deviate (like academia frequently can and does).
Once on the A+ computer training course you'll be taught 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.
If you add Network+ training to your A+, you'll also learn how to take care of networks, giving you the facility to expect a better remuneration package.
One crafty way that course providers make a big mark-up is by charging for exams up-front and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams. This looks like a great idea for the student, until you think it through:
Patently it isn't free - you're still paying for it - it's just been wrapped up in the price of the package.
If it's important to you to get a first time pass, then you should avoid exam guarantees and pay when entering exams, focus on it intently and be ready for the task.
Don't you think it's more sensible to hold on to your money and pay for the exam at the time, not to pay the fees marked up by the training company, and to do it locally - instead of the remote centre that's convenient only to the trainer?
Why tie up your cash (or borrow more than you need) for examination fees when you didn't need to? A lot of profit is made because training colleges are getting money in early for exam fees - and then cashing in when they're not all taken.
Most companies will insist that you take mock exams first and not allow you to re-take an exam until you've demonstrated an excellent ability to pass - which actually leaves you with no guarantee at all.
On average, exams cost approximately 112 pounds twelve months or so ago via Prometric or VUE centres around the United Kingdom. So why pay hundreds or thousands of pounds extra to have 'an Exam Guarantee', when common sense dictates that the responsible approach is study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams.
Finding your first job in the industry sometimes feels easier to handle if you're offered a Job Placement Assistance service. It can happen though that too much is made of this feature, because it's relatively easy for any motivated and trained individual to secure work in the IT environment - as employers are keen to find appropriately skilled employees.
Advice and support about getting interviews and your CV might be provided (if not, see one of our sites for help). It's essential that you update that dusty old CV straight away - don't leave it till you pass the exams!
Various junior support jobs have been offered to trainees who're still on their course and have yet to take their exams. This will at the very least get your CV into the 'possible' pile and not the 'no' pile.
If you don't want to travel too far to work, then you may well find that a specialist locally based employment agency may serve you better than a national service, as they are much more inclined to be familiar with the local job scene.
A big frustration for a number of course providers is how hard trainees are prepared to study to get qualified, but how ill-prepared they are to market themselves for the job they've acquired skills for. Get out there and hustle - you might find it's fun.
Student support is absolutely essential - locate a good company offering 24x7 direct access to instructors, as anything less will not satisfy and will also hamper your progress.
Avoid, like the plague, any organisations that use messaging services 'out-of-hours' - where an advisor will call back during office hours. This is useless when you're stuck and need an answer now.
The very best programs tend to use an online access 24x7 facility utilising a variety of support centres throughout multiple time-zones. You'll have an environment which switches seamlessly to the best choice of centres irrespective of the time of day: Support when you need it.
Never compromise when it comes to your support. The majority of IT hopefuls who give up, are in that situation because of a lack of support.
Now, why is it better to gain qualifications from the commercial sector as opposed to familiar academic qualifications gained through the state educational establishments?
As demand increases for knowledge about more and more complex technology, industry has been required to move to the specialised core-skills learning that the vendors themselves supply - in other words companies such as CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA. This usually turns out to involve less time and financial outlay.
Vendor training works through focusing on the particular skills that are needed (alongside an appropriate level of background knowledge,) rather than spending months and years on the background 'padding' that academic courses can get bogged down in - to pad out the syllabus.
If an employer understands what they're looking for, then they just need to look for a person with the appropriate exam numbers. The syllabuses are set to exacting standards and aren't allowed to deviate (like academia frequently can and does).
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