IT Career Courses In Interactive Format Considered

By Jason Kendall

Training for your CompTIA A+ has four specialist sections - you need to pass exams in just two sectors to be seen as competent in A+. Because of this, most colleges only offer two of the four in the syllabus. To us, this is selling you short - of course you can gain accreditation, but knowing about the others will give you a distinct advantage in industry, where knowledge of all four will be necessary. So that's why you deserve training in all 4 specialities.

Alongside being taught how to build and fix computers, trainees on an A+ training course will have instruction on how to work in antistatic conditions, along with remote access, fault finding and diagnostics.

If you add Network+ to your A+ course, you'll also have the ability to take care of networks, giving you the facility to move further up the career path.

It's essential to have the current Microsoft (or relevant organisation's) authorised exam preparation packages.

Due to the fact that the majority of examining boards for IT come from the United States, you need to become familiar with their phraseology. It's no use just understanding random questions - they must be in an exam format that exactly replicates the real thing.

Practice exams can be very useful as a resource to you - then when the time comes for you to take the real thing, you don't get uptight.

If you're like many of the students we talk to then you're a practical sort of person - the 'hands-on' type. Typically, the world of book-reading and classrooms is something you'll force on yourself if you absolutely have to, but you really wouldn't enjoy it. Consider interactive, multimedia study if you'd really rather not use books.

If we're able to utilise all of our senses into our learning, then we normally see dramatically better results.

Interactive audio-visual materials utilising video demo's and practice lab's will beat books every time. And you'll find them fun and interesting.

It's imperative to see examples of the study materials provided by any company that you may want to train through. They have to utilise instructor-led video demonstrations with virtual practice-lab's.

Many companies provide just online versions of their training packages; while you can get away with this much of the time, imagine the problems if internet access is lost or you get intermittent problems and speed issues. A safer solution is the provision of CD and DVD ROM materials which will not have these problems.

Chat with a practiced advisor and they can normally tell you many worrying experiences of salespeople ripping-off unsuspecting students. Ensure you only ever work with an experienced industry advisor who quizzes you to find out what's right for you - not for their bank-account! It's very important to locate the right starting point of study for you.

It's worth remembering, if you have some relevant previous certification, then you will often be able to start at a different point than someone new to the industry.

If you're a new trainee starting IT studies and exams as a new venture, it can be helpful to break yourself in gently, by working on some basic Microsoft package and Windows skills first. This can be built into most training packages.

One crafty way that colleges make a big mark-up is by charging for exams up-front and then including an 'Exam Guarantee'. It looks like a good deal, till you look at the facts:

Obviously it's not free - you are paying for it - the cost has just been rolled into the whole training package.

The honest truth is that when trainees fund their relevant examinations, one after the other, the chances are they're going to qualify each time - as they'll be conscious of the cost and so will prepare more thoroughly.

Hold on to your money and pay for the exam when you're ready, and hang on to your cash. You also get more choice of where you sit the exam - meaning you can choose a local testing centre.

A lot of current training companies secure big margins by asking for exam fees early and hoping either that you won't take them, or it will be a long time before you do.

Many training companies will insist that you take mock exams first and not allow you to re-take an exam until you've proven conclusively that you can pass - which actually leaves you with no guarantee at all.

Splashing out often many hundreds of pounds extra on an 'Exam Guarantee' is remiss - when hard work, commitment and the right preparation via exam simulations is what will get you through.

About the Author:

(C) Jason Kendall. Check out LearningLolly.com for intelligent career advice. CLICK HERE or www.learninglolly.com.