CompTIA A Plus Careers Training – Options
March 1st, 2010 | by Jason Kendall |CompTIA A + has a total of four exams and sections to study, but you only have to pass two of them to be thought of as qualified. Because of this, many educational establishments stick to just two options. However, training you in all four will help you to build a far deeper level of understanding of your subject, which you’ll come to realise is essential in the commercial world.
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.
We’d hazard a guess that you’re quite practically minded – a ‘hands-on’ individual. If you’re anything like us, the trial of reading reference books and manuals is something you’ll force on yourself if you absolutely have to, but it’s not really your thing. So look for on-screen interactive learning packages if book-based learning really isn’t your style.
Memory is vastly improved when we use multiple senses – this has been an accepted fact in expert circles for decades now.
Find a course where you’ll receive a selection of CD and DVD ROM’s – you’ll be learning from instructor videos and demo’s, with the facility to fine-tune your skills in fully interactive practice sessions.
All companies should be able to show you samples of their training materials. Expect video tutorials, instructor led classes and interactive areas to practice in.
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.
Quite often, students have issues with one area of their training which is often not even considered: The breakdown of the course materials before being sent out to you.
Drop-shipping your training elements one piece at a time, as you complete each module is the usual method of releasing your program. While sounding logical, you should take these factors into account:
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.
In all honesty, the best option is to have a copy of their prescribed order of study, but to receive all the materials up-front. It’s then all yours in the event you don’t complete everything within their ideal time-table.
Make sure that all your certifications are what employers want – don’t bother with programmes that lead to in-house certificates.
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.
Searching for your first position in IT can feel more straightforward with the help of a Job Placement Assistance service. In reality it isn’t a complex operation to land your first job – as long as you’re correctly trained and certified; because there’s still a great need for IT skills in the UK today.
One important thing though, don’t wait till you have completed your exams before getting your CV updated. As soon as you start studying, enter details of your study programme and tell people about it!
Quite often, you’ll secure your first job whilst you’re still studying (occasionally right at the beginning). If your course details aren’t on your CV (and it’s not being looked at by employers) then you’re not even going to be known about!
If you’d like to get employment in your home town, then you’ll probably find that a specialist independent regional recruitment consultant or service could work much better for you than a centralised service, due to the fact that they are much more inclined to know the jobs that are going locally.
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.
Copyright Scott Edwards. Navigate to A+ Certification or learninglolly.com/A_Training_Courses.html.
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