CompTIA Training Providers Compared
The CompTIA A+ training program covers four areas of training; you’re qualified as an A+ achiever when you’ve passed the test for two of the four areas. Because of this, it’s usual for colleges to limit themselves to 2 study areas. The truth is to carry out a job effectively, you’ll need the training for all four areas as industry will require an understanding of the whole A+ program. Don’t feel pressured to qualify in them all, but we would recommend you learn about all four.
Qualifying in CompTIA A+ on its own will set you up to repair and fix stand alone Macs, computers and laptops; principally ones that aren’t joined to a network – essentially the domestic or small business sector.
It could be a good idea to consider adding Network+ training to your A+ as it will give you the knowledge to look after networks of computers, and become a more senior IT professional.
Beware of putting too much emphasis, as can often be the case, on the training process. You’re not training for the sake of training; this is about gaining commercial employment. Focus on the end-goal.
It’s unfortunate, but a great many students commence training that sounds marvellous in the sales literature, but which delivers a career that doesn’t fulfil at all. Just ask several university graduates and you’ll see where we’re coming from.
Stay tuned-in to what you want to achieve, and create a learning-plan from that – don’t do it back-to-front. Keep on track and study for a job that will keep you happy for many years.
Seek out help from a professional advisor that understands the sector you wish to join, and who can offer ‘A day in the life of’ understanding of of what you’ll be doing with each working day. It’s good sense to discover if this is the right course of action for you before you embark on your training program. After all, what is the point in starting to train only to discover you’re on the wrong course.
A lot of training schools still use the rather old-fashioned idea of classroom days. Very often portrayed as a huge benefit, following a chat with most students who’ve had to attend a couple, you’ll hear a common theme of many or most of the following problems:
* Loads of travelling – multiple visits and quite often over 100 miles a pop.
* Getting time out of work – many trainers only offer Mon-Fri workshop availability and typically group 2-3 days together. This is generally difficult for those of us who work for a living, even more so if you include the travel time on top.
* Lost holiday days – a lot of workers only get 4 weeks annual leave. If you give up at least half to your educational events, you haven’t got a great deal of holiday time remaining for students and their families.
* Workshops typically get way too big.
* Workshop pace – classes can feature trainees of different abilities, so tension can run high between those that want to go quickly as opposed to those with less experience.
* You shouldn’t overlook the added financial outlay of driving or taking public transport and over-night accommodation either. This can run to 00’s or even 000’s extra. Do the maths yourself – you’ll get a shock.
* We all enjoy our privacy. We should never risk losing any advancement that could awarded to us because our employer knows we’re retraining.
* Surely, all of us at some time have avoided putting our hand’s up, because we didn’t want to look stupid?
* There are those of us who on occasion live away for part of the week, consider the added problems of making the requisite days in-centre, as time is now more scarce than ever.
The most elegant solution comes from viewing a pre-made workshop – giving you the opportunity of instructor-led coaching at a time that’s convenient to you alone.
Do them at home on your PC or if you have laptop, why not get outside if the weather’s nice. If you’ve got questions, then use the provided 24×7 live support (that should come with any technical program.)
There’s no need to take notes – all the lessons and background info are laid out on a plate. Any time you want to repeat something, just go for it.
Could it be simpler: You avoid travelling and wasting time and money; plus you end up with a more relaxed training environment.
(C) Jason Kendall. Browse LearningLolly.com for excellent information on Comptia A+ and Comptia Courses.