January 26th, 2010 by Scott Edwards
There are four A+ exams and sections to study, but you only have to get your exams in 2 of them to qualify for your A+. Because of this, many educational establishments restrict their course to just 2 areas. But allowing you to learn about all 4 options will equip you with a much wider knowledge and understanding of the subject, which you’ll come to realise is essential in the working environment.
As well as being taught how to build and fix computers, trainees on A+ courses will be shown how to work in antistatic conditions, along with remote access, fault finding and diagnostics.
It could be a good idea to consider supplementing the A+ with Network + as it will enable you to take care of computer networks, which is where the bigger salaries are.
A ridiculously large number of organisations only look at the plaque to hang on your wall, and completely miss what you actually need – which is a commercial career or job. Always begin with the end goal – don\’t make the vehicle more important than the destination.
It’s a testament to the marketing skills of the big companies, but the majority of trainees kick-off study that often sounds wonderful in the prospectus, but which gets us a career that is of no interest. Try talking to typical university leavers for a real eye-opener.
Stay tuned-in to what you want to achieve, and create a learning-plan from that – not the other way round. Keep on track and ensure that you’re training for an end-result that’ll reward you for many long and fruitful years.
All students are advised to speak to an industry professional before they embark on a training program. This is required to ensure it has the required elements for the career that is sought.
We’re often asked why academic qualifications are being replaced by more commercially accredited qualifications?
Industry now recognises that to learn the appropriate commercial skills, proper accreditation from the likes of Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA is far more effective and specialised – saving time and money.
In a nutshell, students are simply taught the necessary specifics in depth. It’s slightly more broad than that, but principally the objective has to be to cover the precise skills needed (alongside some required background) – without trying to cram in everything else – in the way that academic establishments often do.
Just as the old advertisement said: ‘It does what it says on the tin’. The company just needs to know what they need doing, and then advertise for someone with the specific certification. They’ll know then that all applicants can do what they need.
Many training companies will provide a useful Job Placement Assistance program, to help you into your first commercial role. Don’t get overly impressed with this service – it’s easy for training companies to overplay it. At the end of the day, the need for well trained IT people in Great Britain is what will make you attractive to employers.
Get your CV updated straight-away though (advice can be sought on this via your provider). Don’t wait until you’ve graduated or passed any exams.
Quite often, you will get your first role whilst you’re still studying (even in the early stages). If your CV doesn’t say what you’re learning (and it hasn’t been posted on jobsites) then you don’t stand a chance!
If you’d like to get employment in your home town, then you may well find that a local IT focused recruitment consultancy might serve you better than the trainer’s recruitment division, because they’re far more likely to have insider knowledge of the jobs that are going locally.
A good number of people, it would appear, conscientiously work through their course materials (for years sometimes), and then just stop instead of attempting to secure the right position. Sell yourself… Work hard to let employers know about you. Don’t think a job’s just going to jump out in front of you.
When was the last time you considered how safe your job is? Typically, this issue only becomes a talking point when something goes wrong. Unfortunately, the painful truth is that our job security is a thing of the past, for the vast majority of people.
However, a marketplace with high growth, where staff are in constant demand (as there is a massive shortage of properly qualified professionals), enables the possibility of real job security.
The Information Technology (IT) skills shortage throughout the country falls in at approximately twenty six percent, as shown by the most recent e-Skills study. So, for each 4 job positions available in Information Technology (IT), companies are only able to locate enough qualified individuals for 3 of them.
Appropriately trained and commercially grounded new employees are accordingly at a complete premium, and it seems it will continue to be so for a long time to come.
Quite simply, acquiring professional IT skills over the coming years is almost definitely the safest choice of careers you could make.
(C) 2009 Scott Edwards. Hop over to Training Managers or CLICK HERE.
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