A Cisco training course is the way to go for those who wish to understand and work with routers and switches. Routers connect computer networks via the internet or lines dedicated for that purpose. It’s most probable that you should first attempt your CCNA. Don’t be tempted to go straight for a CCNP as it’s a considerable step up – and you need to work up to it to take on this level.

Jobs that use this qualification mean it’s likely you’ll end up working for large commercial ventures that have several different sites but need their computer networks to talk to each other. On the other hand, you might end up joining an internet service provider. These jobs are well paid and in demand.

We’d recommend a specially designed course that covers everything you need to know in advance of getting going on the Cisco CCNA.

A question; why should we consider qualifications from the commercial sector and not more traditional academic qualifications taught at schools and Further Education colleges?

The IT sector now acknowledges that for an understanding of the relevant skills, the right accreditation from the likes of Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA often is more effective in the commercial field – for much less time and money.

Essentially, only that which is required is learned. Actually, it’s not quite as pared down as that, but the principle remains that students need to cover the precise skills needed (including a degree of required background) – without trying to cram in everything else – in the way that academic establishments often do.

The bottom line is: Authorised IT qualifications give employers exactly what they’re looking for – it says what you do in the title: i.e. I am a ‘Microsoft Certified Professional’ in ‘Designing Security for a Windows 2003 Network’. Consequently employers can look at their needs and what certifications are required to fulfil that.

One of the most important things to insist on has to be 24×7 round-the-clock support via expert mentors and instructors. It’s an all too common story to find providers that only provide support to you inside of office hours (typically 9am-6pm) and sometimes a little earlier or later (but not weekends usually).

Email support is too slow, and so-called telephone support is normally just routed to a call-centre who will take the information and email an instructor – who’ll call back sometime over the next 1-3 days, when it suits them. This isn’t a lot of good if you’re stuck with a particular problem and have a one hour time-slot in which to study.

We recommend looking for training programs that utilise many support facilities active in different time-zones. Every one of them needs to be seamlessly combined to offer a simple interface and also 24 hours-a-day access, when it suits you, with no hassle.

Never make the mistake of compromise when you’re looking for the right support service. The vast majority of would-be IT professionals that drop-out or fail, would have had a different experience if they’d got the right support package in the first place.

It’s quite a normal occurrence for students not to check on a painfully important area – the way the company actually breaks down and delivers the courseware elements, and into how many bits.

Individual deliveries for each training module piece by piece, as you pass each exam is the usual method of releasing your program. This sounds sensible, but you might like to consider this:

What happens when you don’t complete every single section? Maybe the prescribed order won’t suit you? Due to no fault of yours, you may not meet the required timescales and consequently not get all your materials.

To be honest, the perfect answer is to have their ideal ‘order’ of training laid out, but to receive all the materials up-front. You then have everything in the event you don’t complete everything within their ideal time-table.

Several companies supply a practical Job Placement Assistance program, to help you get your first job. In reality it’s not as difficult as you may be led to believe to get a job – assuming you’re well trained and qualified; employers in this country need your skills.

Update your CV at the beginning of your training though – you should get plenty of help from your training provider on this. Don’t wait till you’ve finished your exams.

Various junior support roles have been offered to trainees who are still studying and haven’t got any qualifications yet. This will at least get you on your way.

You can usually expect quicker service from a specialist locally based employment agency than you will through a training course provider’s recruitment division, as they’ll know the area better.

A regular grievance of some training companies is how hard people are prepared to study to get qualified, but how little effort that student will then put into getting the job they’ve studied for. Don’t falter at the last fence.

(C) 2009 Scott Edwards. Pop to CCNA Training Courses or cisco-training-in.co.uk.

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