IT Career Courses Simplified
The CompTIA A+ course covers four specialised areas – you’ll have to qualify in just two sectors to be A+ competent. Because of this, most colleges only offer two of the 4 sectors. We consider that this will under prepare you – certainly you’ll have the qualification, but training on all 4 will set you apart in your working life, where knowledge of all four will be necessary. That’s why we believe you should train in the whole course.
As well as learning how to build PC’s and fix them, students of A+ will learn how to operate in antistatic conditions, how to fault find, to diagnose and to remotely access problems.
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.
Getting your first commercial position can feel more straightforward if you’re supported with a Job Placement Assistance program. The fact of the matter is it’s not as hard as some people make out to secure the right work – once you’re trained and certified; the shortage of IT personnel in Britain looks after that.
Nevertheless, avoid waiting until you’ve finished your training before getting your CV updated. The day you start training, list what you’re working on and get it out there!
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.
To bottom line it, if you put as much hard work into finding your first IT position as into studying, you’re not likely to experience problems. Some trainees inexplicably spend hundreds of hours on their course materials and then just stop once they’ve passed their exams and seem to suppose that interviewers know they’re there.
A typical blunder that potential students often succumb to is to focus entirely on getting a qualification, and take their eye off the desired end-result. Schools are brimming over with students that chose an ‘interesting’ course – instead of what would yield an enjoyable career or job.
You may train for one year and then end up doing the job for 20 years. Avoid the mistake of finding what seems like a very ‘interesting’ program only to spend 20 years doing a job you hate!
Make sure you investigate what your attitude is towards career progression and earning potential, and if you’re ambitious or not. It’s vital to know what will be expected of you, what particular qualifications are required and in what way you can develop commercial experience.
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.
Students will sometimes miss checking on something that can make a profound difference to their results – the way their training provider actually breaks down and delivers the courseware, and into how many parts.
Many companies enrol you into a 2 or 3 year study programme, and deliver each piece one-by-one as you complete each section or exam. Sounds reasonable? Well consider these facts:
Many students find that the trainer’s ’standard’ path of training isn’t as suitable as another. They might find varying the order of study will be far more suitable. And what if you don’t get to the end at the pace they expect?
To be in the best situation you would have all the learning modules packed off to your address right at the beginning; the whole caboodle! Thus avoiding any future problems that could impede the reaching of your goals.
Traditional teaching in classrooms, involving piles of reference textbooks, is often a huge slog for most of us. If this describes you, look for learning programmes that are multimedia based.
Research has always verified that becoming involved with our studies, to utilise all our senses, is proven to produce longer-lasting and deeper memory retention.
Courses are now available on CD and DVD discs, where your computer becomes the centre of your learning. Using video-streaming, you will be able to see the instructor presenting exactly how to do something, and then have a go at it yourself – in a virtual lab environment.
Make sure to obtain a training material demonstration from any training college. You should ask for expert-led demonstrations, slideshows and virtual practice lab’s for your new skills.
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.
(C) S. Edwards 2009. Pop over to Flash Courses or JobQualification.co.uk/tjobqual.html.