There are four A+ exams and sections to study, but you only have to achieve certification in two to be considered A+ competent. Because of this, a gre...
There are four A+ exams and sections to study,
but you only have to achieve certification in two to be considered A+ competent. Because of this, a great number of colleges restrict their course to just 2 areas. But giving you all four options will provide you with a far greater perspective of your subject, which you'll find essential in the working environment.
A+ certification by itself will set you up to mend and maintain stand-alone PC's and MAC's; principally ones that aren't joined to a network - which means the home or small business market. Should you fancy yourself as the kind of individual who is involved with a big team - fixing and supporting networks, you should include CompTIA Network+ to your training package, or alternatively look at doing an MCSA or MCSE with Microsoft to give you a wider knowledge of the way networks operate.
Incorporating examination fees upfront and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams is a common method with a good many training companies. But look at the facts:
Certainly it's not free - you're still paying for it - the price has simply been included in the whole thing. For those who want to pass first time, evidence suggests you must pay for each exam as you go, give it the necessary attention and give the task sufficient application.
Do the examinations at a local pro-metric testing centre and go for the best offer you can find when you're ready. A lot of questionable training companies secure huge amounts of money by charging for examinations upfront then banking on the fact that many won't be taken. Don't forget, with most 'Exam Guarantees' - the company decides when you are allowed to do a re-take. You will have to demonstrate an excellent pass-rate before they'll approve a re-take.
VUE and Prometric examinations are approximately 112 pounds in Britain at the time of writing. Students should be very wary of forking out hundreds of pounds extra in charges for 'Exam Guarantees' (often covertly rolled into the cost of the course) - when the best course materials, the right level of support and a commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools are actually the key to your success.
Watch out that all certifications that you're considering are recognised by industry and are up-to-date. 'In-house' exams and the certificates they come with are generally useless. If your certification doesn't come from a company like Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA or Adobe, then you may discover it will have been a waste of time - as no-one will have heard of it.
Looking at the myriad of choice out there, it's not really surprising that most potential students get stuck choosing the job they could be successful with. As having no commercial skills in the IT industry, how can most of us be expected to understand what someone in a particular job does? Consideration of several issues is important when you need to get to a solution that suits you:
* What hobbies you're involved with in your spare-time - these can show the areas will give you the most reward.
* Do you want to get certified due to a particular raison d'etre - for example, is it your goal to work based at home (self-employment possibly?)?
* Is your income higher on your priority-list than anything else.
* Considering all that computing encompasses, you really need to be able to absorb the differences.
* You'll also need to think hard about the amount of time and effort you'll put into the accreditation program.
In all honesty, you'll find the only real way to gain help on these issues is via a conversation with an advisor or professional that has a background in IT (and more importantly it's commercial needs and requirements.)
Of all the important things to consider, one of the most essential is always comprehensive 24x7 direct-access support through expert mentors and instructors. Too many companies only provide support to you inside of office hours (typically 9am-6pm) and sometimes a little earlier or later (but not weekends usually). Avoid study programmes that only provide support to trainees through a message system after office-staff have gone home. Trainers will give you every excuse in the book why you don't need this. The simple fact of the matter is - support is needed when it's needed - not when it suits them.
The very best training providers utilise several support facilities from around the world. By utilising an interactive interface to seamlessly link them all, any time of the day or night, help is at hand, with no hassle or contact issues. Find a training company that is worth purchasing from. Only proper round-the-clock 24x7 support delivers what is required.
