Computer training for CompTIA A+ has four specialist sections – you’ll need exam certification in 2 specialities to be seen as competent in A+. You’ll find that most training providers restrict their A+ to just two of the 4 sectors. To us, this will under prepare you – sure, you can pass an exam, but knowing about the others will set you apart in your working life, where knowledge of all four will be necessary. This is why you need education in the whole course.
As well as being taught how to build and fix computers, students on an A+ training course will be taught how to operate in antistatic conditions, along with remote access, fault finding and diagnostics.
It could be a good idea to consider adding Network+ training to your A+ as you’ll then be in a position to take care of computer networks, which means greater employment benefits.
Many trainers provide a shelf full of reference manuals. Obviously, this isn’t much fun and isn’t the best way to go about taking things in.
Research over recent years has repeatedly confirmed that getting into our studies physically, is proven to produce longer-lasting and deeper memory retention.
You can now study via easy-to-use DVD or CD ROM’s. Instructor-led tutorials will mean you’ll learn your subject through the expert demonstrations. Then you test your knowledge by using practice-lab’s.
It makes sense to see a small selection of training examples before you sign the purchase order. The minimum you should expect would be instructor-led video demonstrations and interactive modules with audio-visual elements.
You’ll find that many companies will only provide training that is purely available online; sometimes you can get away with this – but, consider what happens if your access to the internet is broken or you get slow speeds and down-time etc. It’s much safer to rely on CD and DVD ROM materials which don’t suffer from these broadband issues.
Students will sometimes miss checking on something of absolutely vital importance – how their company divides up the physical training materials, and into how many separate packages.
Typically, you will purchase a course staged over 2 or 3 years and get posted one section at a time – from one exam to the next. This may seem sensible until you think about these factors:
How would they react if you didn’t complete all the exams within the time limits imposed? Sometimes their preference of study order doesn’t work as well as some other order of studying might.
To provide the maximum security and flexibility, many trainees now want to make sure that every element of their training is sent immediately, and not in a piecemeal fashion. You can then decide in which order and at what speed you want to finish things.
It only makes sense to consider study programs which will move onto industry acknowledged certifications. There’s an endless list of minor schools suggesting ‘in-house’ certificates which are worthless in today’s commercial market.
If the accreditation doesn’t feature a conglomerate such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Adobe or Cisco, then it’s likely it could have been a waste of time and effort – because it won’t give an employer any directly-useable skills.
One useful service that many training companies provide is a Job Placement Assistance program. The service is put in place to assist your search for your first position. Because of the great need for more IT skills in Britain today, it’s not necessary to become overly impressed with this service however. It’s actually not as hard as some people make out to find a job once you’re well trained and qualified.
Help and assistance with preparing a CV and getting interviews should be offered (if it isn’t, consult one of our sites). It’s essential that you bring your CV right up to date right away – not after you’ve qualified!
Having the possibility of an interview is more than not being known. Often junior jobs are got by trainees (who’ve only just left first base.)
Most often, a specialist locally based employment service (who will get paid commission to place you) will perform better than any division of a training company. It also stands to reason that they’ll know the local area and commercial needs.
A good number of trainees, apparently, conscientiously work through their course materials (for years sometimes), only to give up at the first hurdle when looking for the right position. Promote yourself… Do your best to get yourself known. A job isn’t just going to bump into you.
(C) S. Edwards 2009. Pop to CLICK HERE or A+ Certification.
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