CJNR

Posts Tagged ‘education’

If you think Cisco training might be for you, but you’ve no practical experience with switches and routers, the chances are your first course should be the CCNA training. This educates you in skills for setting up and maintaining routers. The internet is made up of hundreds of thousands of routers, and large companies with multiple departments and sites also utilise routers to keep their networks in touch.

To take this course, you should be clear on how computer networks operate and function, because networks are linked to routers. Otherwise, you’ll probably struggle. We’d recommend you find a course teaching basic networking skills (CompTIA Network+ as an example - maybe with the A+ as well) and then do a CCNA course. Some companies will design a bespoke package for you.

Start with a tailored course that will systematically go through everything ahead of getting going on the Cisco CCNA.

Many trainers offer a Job Placement Assistance service, to help you into your first commercial role. Because of the massive need for more IT skills in this country at the moment, it’s not necessary to make too much of this option though. It’s not as difficult as you may be led to believe to land a job as long as you’re correctly trained and certified.

Help with your CV and interview techniques should be offered (if it isn’t, consult one of our sites). Be sure to you polish up your CV immediately - not after you’ve qualified! You may not have got to the stage where you’ve got to the exam time when you will get your initial junior support role; although this can’t and won’t happen unless you’ve posted your CV on job sites. The most efficient companies to help you land that job are usually local IT focused employment agencies. As they will get paid by the employer when they’ve placed you, they’re perhaps more focused on results.

Many students, it seems, conscientiously work through their course materials (sometimes for years), and then just stop instead of finding the right position. Introduce yourself… Work hard to get in front of employers. A job isn’t just going to bump into you.

A capable and specialised advisor (as opposed to a salesman) will cover in some detail your current level of ability and experience. This is vital for establishing your starting point for training. If you’ve got any commercial experience or qualifications, it may be that your starting point of study is not the same as someone new to the industry. If this is your opening attempt at IT study then you might also want to start with some basic PC skills training first.

Always expect an accredited exam preparation programme included in your course. Don’t go for training programs relying on unauthorised exam preparation systems. The way they’re phrased can be completely unlike authorised versions - and sometimes this can be a real headache in the actual examination. Always request some practice exams that will allow you to check your comprehension whenever you need to. Mock exams help to build your confidence - then you’re much more at ease with the real thing.

Training support for students is an absolute must - look for a package that provides 24×7 direct access, as anything less will not satisfy and will also hold up your pace and restrict your intake. Don’t accept study programmes that only provide support to you with an out-sourced call-centre message system after 6-9pm in the evening and during weekends. Companies will try to talk you round from this line of reasoning. But, no matter how they put it - you want support at the appropriate time - not when it suits them.

It’s possible to find professional companies who give students online support at all times - no matter what time of day it is. Don’t ever make the mistake of taking second best with the quality of your support. The majority of IT hopefuls who give up, are in that situation because of a lack of support.

Including examinations as an inclusive element of the package price and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams is common for a number of training colleges. Consider the facts:

Certainly it’s not free - you’re still being charged for it - the cost has just been rolled into the whole training package. If it’s important to you to pass first time, evidence suggests you must pay for one exam at a time, give it the priority it deserves and give the task sufficient application.

Look for the very best offer you can at the time, and hang on to your cash. You also get more choice of where you sit the exam - meaning you can choose a local testing centre. Paying in advance for examination fees (which also includes interest if you’ve taken out a loan) is a false economy. Don’t line companies bank accounts with your money just to give them more interest! There are those who hope that you won’t get round to taking them - so they don’t need to pay for them. The majority of organisations will require you to sit pre-tests and not allow you to re-take an exam until you’ve proven conclusively that you can pass - which actually leaves you with no guarantee at all.

VUE and Prometric examinations are in the region of 112 pounds in this country. What’s the point of paying huge 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.