The CCNA qualification is the usual starting point for all Cisco training. This allows you to work on maintaining and installing network switches and ...
The CCNA qualification is the usual starting point for all Cisco training. This allows you to work on maintaining and installing network switches and routers. Basically,
the internet comprises of vast numbers of routers, and large companies who have several locations utilise them to connect their computer networks.
Routers are linked to networks, so look for a course that includes basic networking skills (for example Network+, perhaps with A+) before getting going with CCNA. It's essential to have a basic grasp of networks before you start a Cisco course or the chances are you'll fall behind. In the commercial environment, networking skills will be valuable in addition to the CCNA.
If routers are a new thing for you, then the CCNA course is more than enough - don't be pushed into attempting your CCNP. After gaining experience in the working environment, you can decide if CCNP is something you want to do.
In most cases, the normal IT hopeful doesn't know how they should get into a computing career, or which market they should be considering getting trained in. Reading a list of IT job-titles is a complete waste of time. The vast majority of us have no idea what the neighbours do for a living - so what chance do we have in understanding the complexities of a particular IT career. Getting to an informed choice only comes from a detailed investigation of several different factors:
* Your individual personality and what you're interested in - which working tasks you like and dislike.
* Why it seems right moving into computing - maybe you want to triumph over a life-long goal like firing your boss and working for yourself for example.
* The income requirements that guide you?
* There are many ways to train in Information Technology - there's a need to gain some key facts on what separates them.
* Taking a good look at what commitment and time you'll make available.
For the majority of us, sifting through each of these concepts will require meeting with an experienced pro that can investigate each area with you. And we don't just mean the certifications - but the commercial requirements and expectations besides.
Often, trainers provide a bunch of books and manuals. Learning like this is dull and repetitive and not ideal for studying effectively. Years of research and study has consistently shown that getting into our studies physically, is much more conducive to long-term memory.
Programs are now found via DVD-ROM discs, so everything is learned directly from your own PC. Video streaming means you can sit back and watch the teachers showing you precisely how to do something, followed by your chance to practice - via the interactive virtual lab's. Every company that you look at must be pushed to demo some samples of the materials provided for study. You should hope for instructor-led videos and a wide selection of interactive elements.
Many companies provide purely on-line training; and although this is okay the majority of the time, think what will happen if your access to the internet is broken or you get a slow connection speed. A safer solution is the provision of DVD or CD discs which don't suffer from these broadband issues.
It's essential to have the most up to date Microsoft (or any other key organisation's) authorised exam preparation and simulation materials. Don't fall foul of relying on non-official exam preparation systems. The way they're phrased is sometimes startlingly different - and often this creates real issues when the proper exam time arrives. Practice exams will prove invaluable as a tool for logging knowledge into your brain - so much so, that at the proper exam, you won't be worried.
Beware of putting too much emphasis, like so many people do, on the accreditation program. Training is not an end in itself; you should be geared towards the actual job at the end of it. Focus on the end-goal. It's possible, in some situations, to thoroughly enjoy one year of training only to end up putting 20 long years into a tiresome job role, as an upshot of not doing some decent due-diligence at the outset.
You also need to know your feelings on career progression and earning potential, plus your level of ambition. It makes sense to understand what will be expected of you, which accreditations will be required and in what way you can develop commercial experience. You'd also need help from a professional that knows the commercial realities of the market you're hoping to qualify in, and who can give you 'A typical day in the life of' outline for that career-path. All of these things are very important because you need to know if this change is right for you.
