Choosing CompTIA Network Plus Training 2009
March 18, 2009 by Jason Kendall
Filed under Online Colleges
PC and network support workers are more and more sought after in this country, as institutions become progressively more dependent upon their knowledge and skills. As we get to grips with the daunting complexities of technology, greater numbers of IT professionals are being looked for to dedicate themselves to the many areas we need to be sure will work effectively.
Clearly, the IT sector promises dazzling opportunities. However, to fully investigate, what sort of questions should we pose, and what are the sectors we need to investigate?
A capable and practiced advisor (in contrast with a salesperson) will cover in some detail your abilities and experience. This is paramount to working out the point at which you need to start your studies. With a bit of real-world experience or some accreditation, you could discover that your appropriate starting-point is very different to someone completely new. If you’re a student beginning IT exams and training anew, it can be helpful to avoid jumping in at the deep-end, starting with some basic Microsoft package and Windows skills first. This is often offered with any study program.
A lot of commercial training providers only give basic 9am till 6pm support (maybe a little earlier or later on certain days); It’s rare to find someone who offers late evening or full weekend cover. Many only provide email support (too slow), and phone support is usually just a call-centre which will chat nicely with you for 5 minutes to ask what the issue is and then simply send an email to an instructor – who will then call back sometime over the next 24hrs, at a time suitable for them. This is all next to useless if you’re stuck and can’t continue and can only study at specific times.
Keep looking and you’ll come across professional companies that recommend and use online direct access support at all times – at any time of day or night. If you accept anything less than online 24×7 support, you’ll end up kicking yourself. You may not need it during late nights, but what about weekends, late evenings or early mornings.
Trainees looking at this market can be very practical by nature, and aren’t really suited to the classroom environment, and poring through books and manuals. If you identify with this, go for more modern interactive training, where you can learn everything on-screen. Where we can study while utilising as many senses as possible, then we often see hugely increased memory retention as a result.
Find a course where you’re provided with an array of CD and DVD ROM’s – you’ll learn by watching video tutorials and demonstrations, and then have the opportunity to practice your skills in interactive lab’s. You really need to look at some example materials from each company you’re contemplating. They have to utilise video, demonstrations and various interactive elements.
Many companies 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 preferable to have actual CD or DVD ROMs that don’t suffer from these broadband issues.
Often, students don’t think to check on a vitally important element – the way the company actually breaks down and delivers the courseware elements, and into how many parts. By and large, you will purchase a course staged over 2 or 3 years and receive one element at a time until graduation. This may seem sensible until you think about these factors: What happens when you don’t complete every section? And what if the order provided doesn’t meet your requirements? Because of nothing that’s your fault, you might take a little longer and therefore not end up with all the modules.
The very best situation would see you getting every piece of your study pack packed off to your address right at the beginning; the entire package! This way, nothing can happen down the line which could affect the reaching of your goals.
‘Exam Guarantees’ are often bundled with training offers – inevitably that means paying for the exams at the very beginning of your studies. But before you get taken in by guaranteed exams, consider this:
It’s become essential these days that we are a little more ‘marketing-savvy’ – and the majority of us ought to cotton on to the fact that it is actually an additional cost to us (it isn’t free or out of the goodness of their hearts!) If you want to pass in one, evidence suggests you must avoid exam guarantees and pay when entering exams, give it the necessary attention and give the task sufficient application.
Doesn’t it make more sense to not pay up-front, but when you’re ready, not to pay any mark-up to a training company, and to do it locally – rather than in some remote centre? Why borrow the money or pay in advance (plus interest of course) on examinations when there’s absolutely nothing that says you have to? Huge profits are made by companies charging upfront for all their exams – and hoping either that you won’t take them, or it will be a long time before you do. Also, ‘Exam Guarantees’ often aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. Most companies won’t be prepared to pay again for an exam until you’ve completely satisfied them that you’re ready this time.
Prometric and VUE exams are approximately 112 pounds in the United Kingdom today. Students should be very wary of forking out hundreds of pounds extra in ‘Exam Guarantee’ fees (often covertly rolled into the cost of the course) – when a quality course, support and consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software is what will really see you through.
The perhaps intimidating chore of finding your first job is often eased by training colleges, through a Job Placement Assistance service. With the growing skills shortage in the United Kingdom today, there isn’t a great need to become overly impressed with this service however. It isn’t so complicated as you might think to secure a job once you’re well trained and qualified.
Update your CV at the beginning of your training though – you should get plenty of help from your training provider on this. Don’t wait until you’ve qualified. Having the possibility of an interview is more than not being known. Often junior positions are offered to students who are still at an early stage in their studies. In many cases, an independent and specialised local recruitment consultancy (who will, of course, be keen to place you to receive their commission) will perform better than any recruitment division from a training organisation. They should, of course, also be familiar with local industry and the area better.
A good number of people, it would appear, are prepared to study their hearts out (for years sometimes), and then just stop instead of trying to get a good job. Sell yourself… Work hard to get in front of employers. Good jobs don’t just knock on your door.
There is a tidal wave of change coming via technology over the next few decades – and this means greater innovations all the time. We’ve barely started to see just how technology will affect our lives in the future. Technology and the web will significantly revolutionise how we regard and interact with the world as a whole over the coming decades.
Incomes in IT are not a problem moreover – the usual income in Great Britain for the usual person working in IT is a lot better than remuneration packages in other sectors. Chances are that you’ll receive quite a bit more than you could reasonably hope to get in other industries. It’s no secret that there is a substantial UK-wide demand for professionally qualified IT workers. In addition, with the constant growth in the marketplace, it is likely this pattern will continue for the significant future.