There are four specialised areas of training in the overall A+ programme, but you’re just required to achieve pass marks in 2 for competency in A+. However only learning about 2 of the specialised areas is likely to leave your knowledge base somewhat light. Choose a course with all 4 subjects – you’ll be glad you did when it comes to interview time.
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 your ambition is being responsible for networks of computers, add the very comprehensive CompTIA Network+ to your A+ course. This qualification will mean you can apply for more interesting jobs. Other ones that might be interesting to you are the route to networking via Microsoft, in the form of MCP’s, MCSA or the full MCSE.
Think about the points below very carefully if you believe that old marketing ploy of an ‘Exam Guarantee’ sounds great value:
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.
Spending hundreds or even thousands extra on an ‘Exam Guarantee’ is foolish – when consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software is what will really see you through.
We’re often asked why qualifications from colleges and universities are less in demand than the more qualifications from the commercial sector?
Industry now recognises that to cover the necessary commercial skill-sets, official accreditation from the likes of Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe is far more effective and specialised – for much less time and money.
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.
Just as the old advertisement said: ‘It does what it says on the tin’. All an employer has to do is know what areas need to be serviced, and then match up the appropriate exam numbers as a requirement. That way they can be sure they’re interviewing applicants who can do the job.
Some training providers offer a Job Placement Assistance program, designed to steer you into your first job. Often, this feature is bigged up too much, as it’s really not that difficult for a well trained and motivated person to secure a job in the IT industry – as employers are keen to find appropriately qualified personnel.
Bring your CV up to date as soon as possible however (advice and support for this should come from your course provider). Don’t put it off until you’ve graduated or passed any exams.
Quite frequently, you will get your first role whilst still on the course (even when you’ve just left first base). If you haven’t updated your CV to say what you’re studying (and it hasn’t been posted on jobsites) then you aren’t even in the running!
If you’d like to get employment in your home town, then it’s quite likely that a specialist independent regional recruitment consultant or service could serve you better than a national service, for they are much more inclined to be familiar with what’s available near you.
Just be sure that you don’t spend hundreds of hours on your training and studies, only to stop and expect somebody else to secure your first position. Get off your backside and get out there. Invest as much resource into securing your first job as it took to pass the exams.
Massive developments are coming via technology over the next generation – and the industry becomes more ground-breaking every year.
Society largely thinks that the revolution in technology we have experienced is lowering its pace. There is no truth in this at all. We have yet to experience incredible advances, and the internet particularly is going to dominate how we conduct our lives.
Should receiving a good salary be high on your goal sheet, then you’ll welcome the news that the regular income for IT employees in general is noticeably more than salaries in the rest of the economy.
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.
Copyright Scott Edwards. Look at www.acertification.co.uk or HERE.
