There are a total of 4 specialist training sectors in the overall A+ programme, of which you need to pass two for your A+ qualification. But only learning about 2 of the specialised areas could expose flaws in your knowledge when applying for a job. At least learn about all four – you’ll be glad you did when it comes to interview time.

Courses in A+ computer training cover diagnostics and fault finding – both remote access and hands-on, as well as building and fixing and working in antistatic conditions.

If your ambition is being responsible for networks of computers, you should add Network+ to the CompTIA A+ training you’re doing. This qualification will enable you to get a higher paid position. Also look at the Microsoft networking qualifications (MCP, MCSA and MCSE).

Talk to any professional consultant and they’ll regale you with many horror stories of students who’ve been sold completely the wrong course for them. Stick to an experienced professional that asks lots of questions to find out what’s right for you – not for their wallet! Dig until you find a starting-point that will suit you.

Remember, if you have some relevant qualifications that are related, then it’s not unreasonable to expect to pick-up at a different starting-point to a student who’s starting from scratch.

Starting with a user skills program first can be the best way to get up and running on your computer program, but depends on your skill level.

Proper support is incredibly important – ensure you track down something that includes 24×7 access, as anything less will not satisfy and will also hamper your progress.

Never accept certification programs which can only support students through an out-sourced call-centre message system after office-staff have gone home. Companies will try to talk you round from this line of reasoning. But, no matter how they put it – support is needed when it’s needed – not when it suits them.

The best trainers incorporate three or four individual support centres from around the world. An online system provides an interactive interface to seamlessly link them all together, irrespective of the time you login, help is just seconds away, without any contact issues or hassle.

Don’t accept second best when it comes to your support. The majority of trainees that drop-out or fail, just need the right support system.

Qualifications from the commercial sector are now, most definitely, beginning to replace the older academic routes into the IT industry – so why is this happening?

With fees and living expenses for university students climbing ever higher, together with the industry’s general opinion that vendor-based training often has more relevance in the commercial field, we have seen a large rise in Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA accredited training programmes that educate students for considerably less.

Obviously, a necessary amount of closely linked detail must be learned, but focused specialisation in the required areas gives a commercially trained student a distinct advantage.

What if you were an employer – and you required somebody who had very specific skills. What’s the simplest way to find the right person: Go through reams of different degrees and college qualifications from hopeful applicants, struggling to grasp what they’ve learned and which vocational skills they have, or pick out specific commercial accreditations that perfectly fit your needs, and then choose your interviewees based around that. The interview is then more about the person and how they’ll fit in – rather than on the depth of their technical knowledge.

We’d all like to believe that our jobs will always be secure and our work prospects are protected, but the growing likelihood for most sectors throughout Great Britain currently appears to be that security just isn’t there anymore.

We could however locate security at the market sector level, by probing for areas in high demand, together with shortages of trained staff.

Using the computing business as an example, a key e-Skills analysis demonstrated a national skills shortage in the UK of over 26 percent. Showing that for every 4 jobs that exist across computing, we have only 3 certified professionals to do them.

This single idea in itself shows why the UK urgently requires so many more people to enter the industry.

For sure, it really is such a perfect time to train for IT.

Typically, a new trainee will not know to ask about something that can make a profound difference to their results – how their company segments the courseware elements, and into how many bits.

Students often think it makes sense (with a typical time scale of 1-3 years to pass all the required exams,) that a training provider will issue the training stage by stage, as you pass each element. Although:

It’s not unusual for trainees to realise that their providers usual training route isn’t the easiest way for them. You may find that a different order of study is more expedient. Perhaps you don’t make it in the allotted time?

For future safety and flexibility, many trainees now want to have all their training materials (which they’ve now paid for) delivered immediately, and not in stages. You can then decide in what order and how fast or slow you want to finish things.

(C) Jason Kendall. Hop over to LearningLolly.com for superb career advice on Comptia Certification Training and A+ Comptia Training.

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