CompTIA A Plus Retraining Courses – News

Computer training for CompTIA A+ covers four specialised areas – you’ll need exam certification in two of these areas to be competent in A+. This is why, the majority of colleges simply provide 2 of the four in the syllabus. Our opinion is this is selling you short – sure, you can pass an exam, but knowing about the others will prepare you more fully for when you’re in the workplace, where you’ll need a more comprehensive understanding. So that’s why you deserve training in everything.

Once on the CompTIA A+, you will develop an understanding of how to build, fix, repair and work in antistatic conditions. You’ll also cover fault finding and diagnostics, through both hands-on and remote access. You may also want to think about supplementing the A+ with Network + as it will enable you to work with networks, which means greater employment benefits.

Ensure all your accreditations are commercially valid and current – don’t even consider courses which lead to some in-house certificate (which is as useless as if you’d printed it yourself). Only fully recognised qualifications from the likes of Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA and Cisco will have any meaning to employers.

It’s likely that you probably enjoy fairly practical work – the ‘hands-on’ person. Typically, the trial of reading reference books and manuals is something you’ll make yourself do if you have to, but you really wouldn’t enjoy it. So look for on-screen interactive learning packages if learning from books is not your thing. Memory is vastly improved when multiple senses are involved – this has been an accepted fact in expert circles for many years.

Study programs now come in disc format, where your computer becomes the centre of your learning. Video streaming means you will be able to see the instructor presenting exactly how to do something, and then practice yourself – in an interactive lab. It makes sense to see examples of the courseware provided before you purchase a course. What you want are video tutorials, instructor demo’s and audio-visual elements backed up by interactive lab’s.

Avoiding training that is delivered purely online is generally a good idea. Ideally, you should opt for CD and DVD ROM courseware where offered, so you can use them wherever and whenever you want – it’s not wise to be held hostage to your broadband being ‘up’ 100 percent of the time.

Beware of putting too much emphasis, like so many people do, on the training course itself. Your training isn’t about getting a plaque on your wall; this is about gaining commercial employment. Stay focused on what it is you want to achieve. It’s a sad fact, but a large percentage of students commence training that sounds marvellous from the syllabus guide, but which delivers a career that doesn’t fulfil at all. Speak to a selection of college graduates for a real eye-opener.

It’s well worth a long chat to see the exact expectations industry will have. What certifications you’ll be required to have and how you’ll build your experience level. You should also spend a little time thinking about how far you reckon you’re going to want to go as it may force you to choose a particular set of certifications. As a precursor to beginning a particular learning program, trainees are advised to talk through individual job needs with an experienced industry professional, to make sure the training course covers all the bases.

Don’t accept anything less than the most up to date Microsoft (or any other key organisation’s) authorised simulation materials and exam preparation packages. Some students can get thrown by trying to prepare themselves with questions that aren’t recognised by official sources. Sometimes, the question formats and phraseology is unfamiliar and it’s important to prepare yourself for this. Why don’t you test your depth of understanding by doing quizzes and simulated exams to get you ready for the proper exam.

It’s quite a normal occurrence for students not to check on a painfully important area – how their company actually breaks down and delivers the courseware elements, and into how many bits. Students often think it makes sense (with a typical time scale of 1-3 years to achieve full certification,) for your typical trainer to courier the courseware in stages, as you achieve each exam pass. However: With thought, many trainees understand that the company’s typical path to completion isn’t as suitable as another. Sometimes, it’s more expedient to use an alternative order of study. And what happens if they don’t finish in the allotted time?

Ideally, you want everything at the start – enabling you to have them all to return to any point – as and when you want. Variations can then be made to the order that you attack each section where a more intuitive path can be found.