In total, there are 4 A+ examinations and areas of study, but you only need to achieve certification in two to be considered A+ competent. This is why many educational establishments restrict their course to just 2 areas. Yet learning about all 4 will help you to build a more confident perspective of your subject, which you'll find vital in the commercial world.
Passing the A+ exam by itself will set you up to fix and maintain computers and Macs; ones that are most often not part of a network - this generally applies to home use and small companies. Should you decide to add Network+ to your CompTIA A+ training course, you'll additionally be equipped to look after networks, meaning you're in a position to move further up the career path.
Making the right career choice is hard enough - so which sectors are important to investigate and what questions do we need to be asking?
If an advisor doesn't question you thoroughly - it's likely they're just a salesperson. If they're pushing towards a particular product before getting to know your background and experience, then you know it's true. Where you have a strong background, or even a touch of live experience (some certifications gained previously perhaps?) then it could be that your starting level will be different from someone with no background whatsoever. Commencing with a basic PC skills module first can be the best way to get into your computer program, depending on your skill level at the moment.
Be careful that the accreditations you're studying for will be commercially viable and are current. Training companies own certificates are usually worthless. Unless your qualification is issued by a big-hitter like Microsoft, CompTIA, Adobe or Cisco, then chances are it will be commercially useless - as it'll be an unknown commodity.
Most trainers typically provide a bunch of books and manuals. This can be very boring and isn't the best way to go about achieving retention. Where possible, if we can study while utilising as many senses as possible, then the results are usually dramatically better.
Learning is now available on CD and DVD discs, so you can study at your own computer. Utilising the latest video technology, you are able to see your instructors showing you how it's all done, with some practice time to follow - with interactive lab sessions. It would be silly not to view some of the typical study materials provided before you sign on the dotted line. The minimum you should expect would be videoed instructor demonstrations and a variety of audio-visual and interactive sections.
You'll find that many companies will only provide online training only; and although this is okay the majority of the time, think what will happen if internet access is lost 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.
Often, students don't think to check on a painfully important area - how their training provider actually breaks down and delivers the physical training materials, and into how many separate packages. Normally, you will join a program staged over 2 or 3 years and receive a module at a time. This sounds logical on one level, until you consider this: What if you don't finish every exam? And what if the order provided doesn't meet your requirements? Without any fault on your part, you mightn't complete everything fast enough and consequently not get all your materials.
To be in the best situation you would have every piece of your study pack packed off to you right at the start; the entire thing! Thus avoiding any future problems that could impede the reaching of your goals.
One thing you must always insist on is proper direct-access 24x7 support with expert mentors and instructors. So many companies we come across will only offer a basic 9am till 6pm support period (maybe later on certain days) with very little availability over the weekend. Be wary of any training providers who use messaging services 'out-of-hours' - with your call-back scheduled for normal office hours. This is no use if you're stuck and need an answer now.
Top training providers utilise a web-based round-the-clock system utilising a variety of support centres from around the world. You're offered an easy to use interface that accesses the most appropriate office no matter what time of day it is: Support on demand. Unless you insist on online 24x7 support, you'll quickly find yourself regretting it. You may not need it during the night, but you may need weekends, early mornings or late evenings.
Charging for exam fees as an inclusive element of the package price and offering an 'Exam Guarantee' is popular with many companies. Consider the facts:
These days, we tend to be a little more 'marketing-savvy' - and generally we know that for sure it is something we're paying for (it isn't free or out of the goodness of their hearts!) For those who want to qualify first 'go', you must fund each exam as you take it, give it the priority it deserves and apply yourself as required.
Don't pay up-front, but seek out the best deal for you at the time, and save having to find the money early. You also get more choice of where you sit the exam - so you can choose somewhere closer to home. Huge profits are netted by many companies who take the exam money up-front. Many students don't take them for one reason or another and so the company is quids-in. Astoundingly enough, there are training companies that actually rely on students not sitting all the exams - as that's very profitable for them. You should fully understand that re-takes via training companies with an 'Exam Guarantee' are monitored with tight restrictions. They'll insist that you take mock exams first till you've proven conclusively that you can pass.
Shelling out hundreds or thousands of pounds on 'Exam Guarantees' is remiss - when a commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools is what will really guarantee success.
How can job security truly exist anymore? In the UK for example, where business constantly changes its mind at alarming speeds, we'd question whether it does. However, a sector experiencing fast growth, where staff are in constant demand (as there is a big shortage of trained staff), opens the possibility of real job security.
The computer industry skills shortfall in the United Kingdom falls in at approximately twenty six percent, as noted by a recent e-Skills survey. Basically, we can't properly place more than just 3 out of every four jobs in the computer industry. This troubling certainty reveals the urgent need for more commercially certified computer professionals across the UK. No better time or market state of affairs could exist for getting certified in this rapidly emerging and developing market. - 16039
Passing the A+ exam by itself will set you up to fix and maintain computers and Macs; ones that are most often not part of a network - this generally applies to home use and small companies. Should you decide to add Network+ to your CompTIA A+ training course, you'll additionally be equipped to look after networks, meaning you're in a position to move further up the career path.
Making the right career choice is hard enough - so which sectors are important to investigate and what questions do we need to be asking?
If an advisor doesn't question you thoroughly - it's likely they're just a salesperson. If they're pushing towards a particular product before getting to know your background and experience, then you know it's true. Where you have a strong background, or even a touch of live experience (some certifications gained previously perhaps?) then it could be that your starting level will be different from someone with no background whatsoever. Commencing with a basic PC skills module first can be the best way to get into your computer program, depending on your skill level at the moment.
Be careful that the accreditations you're studying for will be commercially viable and are current. Training companies own certificates are usually worthless. Unless your qualification is issued by a big-hitter like Microsoft, CompTIA, Adobe or Cisco, then chances are it will be commercially useless - as it'll be an unknown commodity.
Most trainers typically provide a bunch of books and manuals. This can be very boring and isn't the best way to go about achieving retention. Where possible, if we can study while utilising as many senses as possible, then the results are usually dramatically better.
Learning is now available on CD and DVD discs, so you can study at your own computer. Utilising the latest video technology, you are able to see your instructors showing you how it's all done, with some practice time to follow - with interactive lab sessions. It would be silly not to view some of the typical study materials provided before you sign on the dotted line. The minimum you should expect would be videoed instructor demonstrations and a variety of audio-visual and interactive sections.
You'll find that many companies will only provide online training only; and although this is okay the majority of the time, think what will happen if internet access is lost 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.
Often, students don't think to check on a painfully important area - how their training provider actually breaks down and delivers the physical training materials, and into how many separate packages. Normally, you will join a program staged over 2 or 3 years and receive a module at a time. This sounds logical on one level, until you consider this: What if you don't finish every exam? And what if the order provided doesn't meet your requirements? Without any fault on your part, you mightn't complete everything fast enough and consequently not get all your materials.
To be in the best situation you would have every piece of your study pack packed off to you right at the start; the entire thing! Thus avoiding any future problems that could impede the reaching of your goals.
One thing you must always insist on is proper direct-access 24x7 support with expert mentors and instructors. So many companies we come across will only offer a basic 9am till 6pm support period (maybe later on certain days) with very little availability over the weekend. Be wary of any training providers who use messaging services 'out-of-hours' - with your call-back scheduled for normal office hours. This is no use if you're stuck and need an answer now.
Top training providers utilise a web-based round-the-clock system utilising a variety of support centres from around the world. You're offered an easy to use interface that accesses the most appropriate office no matter what time of day it is: Support on demand. Unless you insist on online 24x7 support, you'll quickly find yourself regretting it. You may not need it during the night, but you may need weekends, early mornings or late evenings.
Charging for exam fees as an inclusive element of the package price and offering an 'Exam Guarantee' is popular with many companies. Consider the facts:
These days, we tend to be a little more 'marketing-savvy' - and generally we know that for sure it is something we're paying for (it isn't free or out of the goodness of their hearts!) For those who want to qualify first 'go', you must fund each exam as you take it, give it the priority it deserves and apply yourself as required.
Don't pay up-front, but seek out the best deal for you at the time, and save having to find the money early. You also get more choice of where you sit the exam - so you can choose somewhere closer to home. Huge profits are netted by many companies who take the exam money up-front. Many students don't take them for one reason or another and so the company is quids-in. Astoundingly enough, there are training companies that actually rely on students not sitting all the exams - as that's very profitable for them. You should fully understand that re-takes via training companies with an 'Exam Guarantee' are monitored with tight restrictions. They'll insist that you take mock exams first till you've proven conclusively that you can pass.
Shelling out hundreds or thousands of pounds on 'Exam Guarantees' is remiss - when a commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools is what will really guarantee success.
How can job security truly exist anymore? In the UK for example, where business constantly changes its mind at alarming speeds, we'd question whether it does. However, a sector experiencing fast growth, where staff are in constant demand (as there is a big shortage of trained staff), opens the possibility of real job security.
The computer industry skills shortfall in the United Kingdom falls in at approximately twenty six percent, as noted by a recent e-Skills survey. Basically, we can't properly place more than just 3 out of every four jobs in the computer industry. This troubling certainty reveals the urgent need for more commercially certified computer professionals across the UK. No better time or market state of affairs could exist for getting certified in this rapidly emerging and developing market. - 16039
About the Author:
After 20 yrs in IT, Jason Kendall has turned his attention to IT education consultancy in the UK. If you're interested in Comptia Training, visit LearningLolly IT Courses.