There are four specialised areas of training in the full CompTIA A+ syllabus, of which you need to pass two for competency in A+. But limiting yourself to 2 of the specialised areas might well not equip you for a job. Choose a course with all 4 subjects – for greater confidence in the world of work.
As well as learning how to build PC’s and fix them, students of A+ will be taught how to operate in antistatic conditions, as well as diagnostics, fault-finding and remote access.
Should you be thinking of maintaining networks, add the excellent Network+ to the CompTIA A+ training you’re doing. Taking this course as well will prepare you to command a more senior job role. You may also want to consider the networking qualifications from Microsoft, i.e. MCP, MCSA MCSE.
Proper support is incredibly important – locate a good company providing 24×7 full access, as anything else will annoy you and definitely hold up your pace and restrict your intake.
Be wary of any training providers which use messaging services ‘out-of-hours’ – where you’ll get called back during normal office hours. It’s no use when you’re stuck on a problem and could do with an answer during your scheduled study period.
It’s possible to find professional training packages that recommend and use direct-access support all the time – at any time of day or night.
Unless you insist on online 24×7 support, you’ll end up kicking yourself. You might not want to use the service late in the night, but you may need weekends, evenings and early mornings at some point.
A typical blunder that students everywhere can make is to concentrate on the course itself, instead of focusing on where they want to get to. Universities are stacked to the hilt with direction-less students that chose an ‘interesting’ course – rather than what would get them their end-goal of a job they enjoyed.
It’s an awful thing, but a great many students begin programs that seem wonderful in the prospectus, but which provides the end-result of a job that doesn’t fulfil at all. Just ask several college leavers and you’ll see where we’re coming from.
Make sure you investigate your leanings around earning potential and career progression, plus your level of ambition. It’s vital to know what the role will demand of you, which particular exams will be required and how to develop your experience.
Have a conversation with a professional advisor that has a commercial understanding of the realities faced in the industry, and is able to give you detailed descriptions of what you actually do in that role. Researching these areas before commencement of any training program has obvious benefits.
A sneaky way that course providers make extra profits is via an ‘exam inclusive’ package and offering an exam guarantee. It looks like a good deal, until you think it through:
You’ll pay for it ultimately. It certainly isn’t free – they’ve just worked it into the package price.
It’s well known in the industry that if a student pays for each examination, at the time of taking them, there’s a much better chance they’ll pass first time – since they are conscious of their payment and so will prepare more thoroughly.
Sit the exam at a local pro-metric testing centre and hold on to your money and pay for the exam when you take it.
Why tie up your cash (or borrow more than you need) for exam fees when you don’t need to? A great deal of money is made because training colleges are charging upfront for all their exams – and then cashing in when they’re not all taken.
Don’t forget, with the majority of Exam Guarantees – the company decides when you can re-take the exam. Subsequent exam attempts are only authorised at the company’s say so.
With the average price of Pro-metric and VUE tests in the United Kingdom costing around 112 pounds, it makes sense to pay as you go. Why splash out often many hundreds of pounds extra at the beginning of your training? Study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will really guarantee success.
It’s essential to have accredited simulation materials and an exam preparation system included in your course.
Because most IT examination boards tend to be American, you need to become familiar with their phraseology. It’s no use simply answering any old technical questions – they need to be in the proper exam format.
For many reasons, it’s very important to be confident that you’re completely ready for your commercial exam before taking it. Rehearsing simulated tests will help to boost your attitude and saves you time and money on thwarted exam entries.
(C) 2009 – S. Edwards. Try Career Retraining Courses or www.JobQualification.co.uk.