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Feb
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There are four specialised areas of training in the full CompTIA A+ syllabus, of which 2 passes are needed for your A+ qualification. However restricting yourself to two of the four specialities is likely to leave your knowledge base somewhat light. At least learn about all four – employers will notice the difference.
Once on the CompTIA A+, you will learn how to build, fix, repair and work in antistatic conditions. Diagnostic techniques and fault finding are also on the syllabus, as is remote access.
It could be a good idea to think about adding the CompTIA Network+ training as it will enable you to work with networks, and have a more responsible working role.
The perhaps intimidating chore of getting your first role in IT is often eased by some companies, via a Job Placement Assistance service. With the huge demand for appropriately skilled people in the United Kingdom right now, it’s not necessary to get too caught up in this feature though. It isn’t so complicated as you might think to get your first job as long as you’ve got the necessary skills and qualifications.
Help with your CV and interview techniques is sometimes offered (if not, see one of our sites for help). Make sure you bring your CV right up to date right away – don’t leave it till you pass the exams!
Getting onto the ‘maybe’ pile of CV’s is far better than not even being known about. Often junior support jobs are given to students (who’ve only just left first base.)
Generally, you’ll receive quicker service from a specialised and independent local recruitment service than you’ll experience from any course provider’s employment division, as they will understand the local industry and employment needs.
Just ensure you don’t put hundreds of hours of effort into your studies, and then just stop and leave it up to everyone else to secure your first position. Stop procrastinating and get on with the job. Channel the same focus into finding your first job as you did to gain the skills.
You should remember: the course itself or the accreditation isn’t the end-goal; a job you’re training for is. Too many training companies over-emphasise the certificate itself.
It’s unfortunate, but thousands of new students begin programs that seem spectacular from the marketing materials, but which provides a job that is of no interest. Try talking to typical college graduates to see what we mean.
Stay focused on where you want to go, and then build your training requirements around that – not the other way round. Keep your eyes on your goals and ensure that you’re training for something you’ll still be enjoying many years from now.
Before you embark on a study course, trainees are advised to chat over the specific job requirements with an experienced industry advisor, in order to be sure the retraining programme covers all that is required.
Considering how a program is ‘delivered’ to you is often missed by many students. How many stages do they break the program into? What is the order and at what speed is it delivered?
A release of your materials stage by stage, as you complete each module is the usual method of releasing your program. This sounds sensible, but you should take these factors into account:
What if for some reason you don’t get to the end of every exam? And what if you find the order of the modules counter-intuitive? Through no fault of your own, you might take a little longer and not receive all the modules you’ve paid for.
For the perfect solution, you’d ask for every single material to be delivered immediately – giving you them all for the future to come back to – at any time you choose. This also allows you to vary the order in which you move through the program where a more intuitive path can be found.
People attracted to this sort of work can be very practical by nature, and won’t enjoy sitting at a desk in class, and endless reading of dry academic textbooks. If this is putting you off studying, opt for more involving, interactive learning materials, where learning is video-based.
We see a huge improvement in memory retention when all our senses are brought into the mix – educational experts have expounded on this for decades now.
Interactive full motion video involving demonstration and virtual lab’s will beat books every time. And you’ll find them fun and interesting.
You must ensure that you see examples of the study materials provided by your chosen company. Be sure that they contain video demo’s and interactive elements such as practice lab’s.
You should avoid purely online training. Ideally, you should opt for CD and DVD ROM courseware where obtainable, as you need to be able to use them whenever it’s convenient for you – and not be totally reliant on a good broadband connection all the time.
Copyright 2009 Scott Edwards. Visit CLICK HERE or Flash Courses.
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