There are four specialist areas of training in a full CompTIA A+ program; you’re seen as competent at A+ when you’ve gained exams for two of the four areas. Because of this, most colleges only have two of the courses on their syllabus. In reality it’s necessary to have the training for all four areas as industry will be looking for an understanding of each specialist area. You don’t have to complete all 4 certifications, however we’d advise that you study for all four areas.
Passing the A+ exam in isolation will set you up to mend and maintain computers and Macs; ones which are usually not part of a network – essentially the domestic or small business sector.
If you add Network+ to your A+ course, you will additionally be able to assist with or manage networks of computers, giving you the facility to move further up the career path.
You’ll come across courses which guarantee examination passes – this always means exams have to be paid for upfront, at the start of your training. However, prior to embracing this so-called guarantee, look at the following:
You’ll pay for it by some means. You can be assured it’s not a freebie – it’s simply been shoe-horned into the price as a whole.
Those who take exams one at a time, funding them as they go are far more likely to pass first time. They’re conscious of what they’ve paid and take the necessary steps to be up to the task.
Shouldn’t you be looking to find the best exam deal or offer when you’re ready, not to pay the fees marked up by a training company, and to do it in a local testing office – rather than in some remote centre?
Huge profits are netted by some training companies that take the exam money up-front. A number of students don’t take them for various reasons and so they pocket the rest. Amazingly, there are companies around who depend on students not taking their exams – and that’s how they increase their profits.
Most companies will require you to do mock exams and not allow you to re-take an exam until you’ve demonstrated an excellent ability to pass – which makes an ‘Exam Guarantee’ frankly useless.
Due to typical VUE and Prometric tests in the United Kingdom costing around 112 pounds, it makes sense to pay as you go. Not to fork out thousands extra in up-front costs. Commitment, effort and practice with quality exam preparation systems are the factors that really get you through.
We’re often asked why qualifications from colleges and universities are less in demand than the more qualifications from the commercial sector?
Corporate based study (as it’s known in the industry) is far more specialised and product-specific. The IT sector has become aware that specialisation is necessary to handle an increasingly more technical world. Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA are the key players in this arena.
Patently, a necessary degree of associated knowledge needs to be learned, but essential specialised knowledge in the exact job role gives a commercially trained student a distinct advantage.
What if you were an employer – and you required somebody who had very specific skills. What is easier: Pore through a mass of different academic qualifications from graduate applicants, asking for course details and which workplace skills they have, or choose a specific set of accreditations that precisely match your needs, and draw up from that who you want to speak to. Your interviews are then about personal suitability – rather than on the depth of their technical knowledge.
Finding your first job in the industry sometimes feels easier to handle if you’re supported with a Job Placement Assistance service. Don’t get overly impressed with this service – it isn’t unusual for training companies to overplay it. Ultimately, the massive skills shortage in this country is why employers will be interested in you.
However, don’t leave it until you’ve completed your exams before polishing up your CV. As soon as your training commences, enter details of your study programme and place it on jobsites!
You might not even have taken your exams when you will be offered your first junior support job; yet this isn’t going to happen unless your CV is with employers.
You can usually expect better results from an independent and specialised local recruitment consultancy than you will through a training company’s recruitment division, as they’ll know the local area and commercial needs better.
A constant frustration for some training course providers is how much students are prepared to work to get qualified, but how ill-prepared they are to market themselves for the job they’ve studied for. Don’t give up when the best is yet to come.
Doing your bit in revolutionary new technology is as thrilling as it comes. You become one of a team of people creating a future for us all.
Computing technology and dialogue through the internet will noticeably change our lives in the future; remarkably so.
Let’s not ignore salaries moreover – the typical remuneration throughout Britain for a typical IT employee is noticeably greater than in the rest of the economy. It’s a good bet you’ll bring in quite a bit more than you’d expect to earn doing other work.
The requirement for appropriately qualified IT professionals is a fact of life for many years to come, due to the continuous development in IT dependency in commerce and the massive skills gap that remains.
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