CompTIA A+ Certification

The CompTIA A+ training program covers four areas of training; you’re thought of as A+ competent once you’ve passed your exams for two of the four areas. This is the reason that it’s usual for colleges to limit themselves to 2 study areas. In reality to carry out a job effectively, you’ll need the teaching in all areas as industry will ask for the skills and knowledge of the whole A+ program. It’s not essential to pass exams in all of them, but we would recommend you take tutorials in all 4 subjects.

Passing the A+ exam without additional courses will set you up to repair and fix stand-alone PC’s and MAC’s; ones which are usually not part of a network - this generally applies to home use and small companies. Should you want to work towards being responsible for networks of computers, add the excellent Network+ to the CompTIA A+ training you’re doing. Taking this course as well will mean you can get a higher paid position. You may also want to consider the networking qualifications from Microsoft, i.e. MCP, MCSA MCSE.

Look at the facts below carefully if you’re inclined to think the marketing blurb about a guarantee for your exam looks like a reason to buy:

You’ll pay for it by some means. It’s definitely not free - it’s just been rolled into the price of the whole package. For those who want to pass in one, you must fund each exam as you take it, focus on it intently and apply yourself as required.

Doesn’t it make more sense to not pay up-front, but at the appropriate time, not to pay the fees marked up by the training company, and to take it closer to home - instead of miles away at the college’s beck and call? Huge profits are netted by some training companies who incorporate exam fees into the cost of the course. Many students don’t take them for one reason or another but the company keeps the money. Astoundingly enough, there are companies around that rely on that fact - as that’s how they make a lot of their profit. Most companies will insist that you take mock exams first and prohibit you from re-taking an exam until you’ve completely proven that you’re likely to pass - making an ‘exam guarantee’ just about worthless.

Splashing out often many hundreds of pounds extra on an ‘Exam Guarantee’ is remiss - when a commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools is actually the key to your success.

Trainees looking to start a career in IT generally aren’t sure which direction they should take, or what sector to get qualified in. I mean, if you don’t have any experience in the IT sector, how can you expect to know what someone in a particular field spends their day doing? How can you possibly choose what educational path provides the best chances for a successful result. Generally, the way to deal with this issue properly flows from a full chat, covering a number of areas:

* The sort of person you consider yourself to be - what kind of jobs you enjoy doing, and don’t forget - what don’t you like doing.

* Is it your desire to achieve a closely held aspiration - for instance, becoming self-employed in the near future?

* What scale of importance is the salary - is it very important, or does job satisfaction rate a little higher on your priority-list?

* Getting to grips with what typical IT areas and sectors are - and what makes them different.

* The level of commitment and effort you’re prepared to set aside for getting qualified.

For the majority of us, sifting through each of these concepts needs a long talk with someone that has direct industry experience. Not only the certifications - you also need to understand the commercial expectations and needs of the market as well.

So many training providers are all about the certification, and avoid focusing on what it’s all actually about - getting yourself a new job or career. Always begin with the end goal - don’t get hung-up on the training vehicle. It’s a sad fact, but a great many students commence training that sounds marvellous in the syllabus guide, but which gets us a career that doesn’t fulfil at all. Speak to a selection of university leavers to see what we mean.

Prioritise understanding what industry will expect from you. What particular exams they’ll want you to gain and how you’ll build your experience level. It’s also worth spending time setting guidelines as to how far you wish to progress your career as often it can affect your choice of accreditations. It’s worth seeking help from an experienced person that knows the commercial realities of the industry you’ve chosen, and is able to give you ‘A day in the life of’ type of explanation of the job being considered. All of these things are incredibly important as you’ll need to know if you’re going down the right road.

Speak with almost any expert advisor and you’ll be surprised by their many terrible tales of students who’ve been conned by dodgy salespeople. Make sure you deal with an industry professional who digs deep to uncover the best thing for you - not for their bank-account! Dig until you find the very best place to start for you. Occasionally, the training inception point for someone with experience is massively dissimilar to someone without. If you’re a student beginning IT exams and training anew, it can be helpful to ease in gradually, kicking off with a user-skills course first. This can be built into most training programs.

An important area that is sometimes not even considered by those mulling over a new direction is the concept of ‘training segmentation’. Basically, this means the method used to break up the program for drop-shipping to you, which can make a dramatic difference to how you end up. Training companies will normally offer a program typically taking 1-3 years, and send out each piece as you complete each section or exam. On the surface this seems reasonable - until you consider the following: What could you expect if you didn’t actually complete everything at the required speed? And maybe you’ll find their order of completion won’t fit you as well as another different route may.

Put simply, the perfect answer is to obtain their recommendation on the best possible order of study, but get all the study materials at the start. You then have everything if you don’t manage to finish inside of their required time-scales.