There are a total of 4 specialist training sectors in the A+ syllabus, of which 2 passes are needed for your A+ qualification. Be aware though that limiting yourself to 2 of the specialised areas could expose flaws in your knowledge when applying for a job. Choose a course with all 4 subjects – employers will notice the difference.
CompTIA A+ without additional courses will set you up to fix and maintain computers and Macs; ones which are usually not part of a network – this generally applies to home use and small companies.
You may also want to consider adding the CompTIA Network+ training as it will give you the knowledge to become a networking engineer, which means greater employment benefits.
The age-old way of teaching, involving piles of reference textbooks, is usually pretty hard going. If all this is ringing some familiar bells, look for learning programmes that are on-screen and interactive.
If we’re able to get all of our senses involved in our learning, then the results are usually dramatically better.
You can now study via interactive discs. Through instructor-led video classes you’ll learn your subject through the demonstrations and explanations. Then you test your knowledge by interacting with the software and practicing yourself.
You really need to look at courseware examples from any company that you may want to train through. It’s essential they incorporate video demo’s and interactive elements such as practice lab’s.
You should avoid purely online training. You want physical CD/DVD ROM course materials where possible, as you need to be able to use them whenever it’s convenient for you – ISP quality varies, so you don’t want to be totally reliant on your internet connection always being ‘up’ and available.
Validated exam preparation and simulation materials are vital – and really must be obtained from your course provider.
Sometimes people can get confused by practising exam questions that don’t come from the authorised examining boards. It’s not uncommon that the question formats and phraseology is startlingly different and you should be prepared for this.
Mock exams can be very useful in helping you build your confidence – so when it comes to taking the proper exam, you won’t be worried.
An important area that is sometimes not even considered by trainees considering a training program is ‘training segmentation’. This is essentially how the program is broken down into parts to be delivered to you, which can make a dramatic difference to what you end up with.
Drop-shipping your training elements one piece at a time, according to your own speed is the usual method of releasing your program. While sounding logical, you might like to consider this:
Maybe the order of study offered by the provider doesn’t suit. You may find it a stretch to finalise each and every section within the time limits imposed?
To provide the maximum security and flexibility, it’s normal for most trainees to make sure that every element of their training is posted to them in one go, with nothing held back. It’s then your own choice in which order and at what speed you want to work.
Locating job security nowadays is problematic. Businesses will drop us from the workplace at the drop of a hat – whenever it suits.
Whereas a marketplace with high growth, with a constant demand for staff (as there is a massive shortfall of commercially certified workers), opens the possibility of true job security.
A recent national e-Skills survey showed that over 26 percent of all available IT positions cannot be filled due to a chronic shortage of appropriately certified professionals. Basically, we can’t properly place more than 3 out of each four job positions in IT.
Properly trained and commercially educated new employees are consequently at a total premium, and it seems it will continue to be so for a long time to come.
Unquestionably, now, more than ever, really is the very best time to train for IT.
(C) 2009 – S. Edwards. Look at MCSE Training or CLICK HERE.
