June 29, 2010
Certification For CompTIA Tech Support – Some Insights
Training for your CompTIA A+ covers four specialised areas – you need to pass exams in two of these areas to be seen as competent in A+. This is why, the majority of colleges limit their course to 2 of the 4 sectors. Our opinion is this is selling you short – yes you’ll have qualified, but knowing about the others will give you a distinct advantage in your working life, where knowledge of all four will be necessary. This is why you need education in all four areas.
CompTIA A+ without additional courses will allow you to mend and maintain computers and Macs; ones that are generally not connected to a network – which means the home or small business market.
If you would like to be the person who works for a larger company – fixing and supporting networks, you should include CompTIA Network+ to your training package, or alternatively look at doing an MCSA or MCSE with Microsoft in order to have a deeper understanding of the way networks work.
Always expect an authorised exam preparation system as part of your training package.
Confirm that the simulated exams are not only asking questions in the right areas, but additionally ask them in the way the real exams will ask them. It throws people if the phraseology and format is completely different.
A way to build self-confidence is if you test how much you know by doing tests and practice exams to prepare you for taking the proper exam.
A competent and specialised advisor (in direct contrast to a salesman) will ask questions and seek to comprehend your abilities and experience. This is useful for calculating your study start-point.
If you have a strong background, or even a touch of live experience (some industry qualifications maybe?) then it’s likely the point from which you begin your studies will be very different from a student that is completely new to the industry.
Where this will be your opening attempt at studying for an IT examination then you should consider whether to begin with some basic PC skills training first.
The somewhat scary thought of finding your first IT job can be eased because some trainers offer a Job Placement Assistance facility. Ultimately it’s not as difficult as you may be led to believe to secure your first job – once you’re trained and certified; the growing UK skills shortage sees to that.
Bring your CV up to date as soon as possible however – look to your training company for advice on how to do this. Don’t wait till the exams have actually been passed.
You may not have got to the stage where you’ve qualified when you land your first junior support role; yet this isn’t going to happen if interviewers don’t get sight of your CV.
The best services to help you land that job are most often independent and specialised local recruitment services. As they will get paid by the employer when they’ve placed you, they’ll work that much harder to get a result.
A big aggravation for various training companies is how much men and women are prepared to study to get qualified, but how un-prepared they are to work on getting the job they have studied for. Don’t falter at the last fence.
Does job security really exist anywhere now? In the UK for example, where business constantly changes its mind on a whim, we’d question whether it does.
Now, we only experience security through a swiftly rising market, fuelled by a shortfall of trained staff. It’s this alone that creates the appropriate environment for a secure marketplace – a far better situation.
Using the IT business for instance, a recent e-Skills investigation brought to light major skills shortages in the UK around the 26 percent mark. Accordingly, for every four jobs that are available around computing, businesses are only able to locate certified professionals for 3 of the 4.
Fully skilled and commercially educated new workers are accordingly at a complete premium, and it looks like they will be for many years longer.
Undoubtedly, this really is a fabulous time to retrain into Information Technology (IT).
(C) S. Edwards 2010. Hop over to Microsoft Certifications or www.JobsCareerChange.co.uk/ijocach.html.
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