There are four specialised areas of training in the full CompTIA A+ syllabus, of which 2 passes are needed for your A+ qualification. However restricting yourself to two of the four specialities is likely to leave your knowledge base somewhat light. At least learn about all four – employers will notice the difference.
Once on the CompTIA A+, you will learn how to build, fix, repair and work in antistatic conditions. Diagnostic techniques and fault finding are also on the syllabus, as is remote access.
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.
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.
You would ideally have CV and Interview advice and support though; also we would encourage all students to get their CV updated as soon as they start a course – don’t wait till you’ve finished your exams.
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.)
The top companies to help get you placed are usually specialist independent regional recruitment consultancies. As they’re keen to place you to receive their commission, they’re perhaps more focused on results.
Just ensure you don’t put hundreds of hours of effort into your studies, and then just stop and leave it up to everyone else to secure your first position. Stop procrastinating and get on with the job. Channel the same focus into finding your first job as you did to gain the skills.
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.
It’s unfortunate, but thousands of new students begin programs that seem spectacular from the marketing materials, but which provides a job that is of no interest. Try talking to typical college graduates to see what we mean.
Stay focused on where you want to go, and then build your training requirements around that – not the other way round. Keep your eyes on your goals and ensure that you’re training for something you’ll still be enjoying many years from now.
Take advice from an experienced advisor, even if you have to pay a small fee – as it’s a lot cheaper and safer to find out at the start if you’ve chosen correctly, rather than find out after several years of study that the job you’ve chosen is not for you and have to return to the start of another program.
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.
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:
What if for some reason you don’t get to the end of every exam? And what if you find the order of the modules counter-intuitive? Through no fault of your own, you might take a little longer and not receive all the modules you’ve paid for.
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.
People attracted to this sort of work can be very practical by nature, and won’t enjoy sitting at a desk in class, and endless reading of dry academic textbooks. If this is putting you off studying, opt for more involving, interactive learning materials, where learning is video-based.
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.
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.
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.
Pick CD and DVD ROM based physical training media every time. This then avoids all the potential pitfalls with broadband ‘downtime’ or slow-speeds.
Author: Scott Edwards. Try www.CareerRetrainingCourses.co.uk/ucareco.html or Website Design Course.