There are four specialist areas of training in a full CompTIA A+ program; you’re considered an A+ achiever when you’ve gained exams for 2 out of 4 subjects. This is the reason that most training providers limit themselves to 2 study areas. In reality to carry out a job effectively, you’ll need the training for all four areas as a lot of employment will demand an awareness of the entire course. Don’t feel pressured to qualify in them all, but it seems common sense that you take tutorials in all 4 subjects.
Qualifying in CompTIA A+ without additional courses will set you up to repair and fix computers and Macs; principally ones that aren’t joined to a network – essentially the domestic or small business sector.
If you add Network+ to your CompTIA A+ training course, you will additionally be able to assist with or manage networks of computers, meaning you’re in a position to move further up the career path.
Many trainers have a handy Job Placement Assistance program, designed to steer you into your first job. Often, too much is made of this feature, because it is actually not that hard for well qualified and focused men and women to find a job in the IT industry – as employers are keen to find appropriately trained staff.
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!
A good number of junior support jobs have been offered to people who’re still on their course and haven’t got any qualifications yet. This will at least get you into the ‘maybe’ pile of CV’s – rather than the ‘No’ pile.
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.
Many trainees, it seems, put a great deal of effort into their studies (sometimes for years), and then just stop instead of looking for a job. Sell yourself… Do your best to let employers know about you. Don’t expect a job to just fall into your lap.
Beware of putting too much emphasis, as many people do, on the certification itself. Training for training’s sake is generally pointless; you’re training to become commercially employable. You need to remain focused on where you want to go.
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.
One area often overlooked by those weighing up a particular programme is the concept of ‘training segmentation’. Basically, this means how the program is broken down into parts for drop-shipping to you, which makes a huge difference to the point you end up at.
Usually, you’ll join a programme staged over 2 or 3 years and receive a module at a time. This sounds logical on one level, until you consider this:
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?
For future safety and flexibility, many trainees now want to insist that all study materials are delivered immediately, and not in stages. That means it’s down to you in what order and how fast or slow you’d like to work.
It’s likely that you’ve always enjoyed practical work – a ‘hands-on’ individual. Typically, the trial of reading reference books and manuals can be just about bared when essential, but you’d hate it. You should use video and multimedia based materials if you’d really rather not use books.
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.
The latest home-based training features interactive discs. Instructor-led tutorials will mean you’ll find things easier to remember by way of their teaching and demonstrations. Then you test your knowledge by interacting with the software and practicing yourself.
It would be silly not to view a small selection of training examples before you purchase a course. You should expect video tutorials, instructor demo’s and audio-visual elements backed up by interactive lab’s.
Some companies only have access to training that is purely available online; sometimes you can get away with this – but, consider how you’ll deal with it if your access to the internet is broken or you get intermittent problems and speed issues. It is usually safer to have actual CD or DVD ROMs that removes the issue entirely.
Copyright Scott Edwards 2009. Browse around Flash Courses or www.JobQualification.co.uk/tjobqual.html.