CompTIA A Plus PC Support Training Simplified

CompTIA A+ consists of 4 training sections; you're considered A+ competent when you've passed the test for half of them. This is the reason that the majority of training establishments only have two of the courses on their syllabus. In reality you're advised to have the information on each subject as industry will demand an understanding of the whole A+ program. You don't have to take all four exams, but we would recommend you study for all four areas.

CompTIA A+ without additional courses will set you up to fix and maintain computers and Macs; ones which are usually not part of a network - this generally applies to home use and small companies.

Perhaps you see yourself as a man or woman who works for a larger company - in network support, you should include CompTIA Network+ to your training package, or alternatively look at doing an MCSA or MCSE with Microsoft because it's necessary to have a wider knowledge of the way networks work.

Those that are drawn to this type of work are often very practical, and don't always take well to classrooms, and endless reading of dry academic textbooks. If this is putting you off studying, try the newer style of interactive study, where learning is video-based.

Memory is vastly improved with an involvement of all our senses - learning experts have been saying this for years now.

You can now study via interactive discs. Through instructor-led video classes you'll learn your subject through the demonstrations and explanations. Then you test your knowledge by interacting with the software and practicing yourself.

All companies should be able to show you a few samples of their courseware. You should hope for instructor-led videos and a variety of interactive modules.

You'll find that many companies will only provide purely on-line training; sometimes you can get away with this - but, think what will happen when you don't have access to the internet or you get slow speeds and down-time etc. It's much safer to rely on DVD or CD discs that removes the issue entirely.

Don't accept anything less than the current Microsoft (or relevant organisation's) accredited exam simulation and preparation packages.

Sometimes people can get confused by practising exam questions that don't come from the authorised examining boards. It's not uncommon that the question formats and phraseology is startlingly different and you should be prepared for this.

Ensure that you verify your knowledge through tests and simulated exams prior to taking the real thing.

The way in which your courseware is broken down for you is often missed by many students. How many stages do they break the program into? What is the order and at what speed is it delivered?

Often, you will join a program requiring 1-3 years study and get sent one module each time you pass an exam. It seems to make sense on one level, but consider these issues:

Maybe the order of study offered by the provider doesn't suit. You may find it a stretch to finalise each and every section within the time limits imposed?

Ideally, you'd get ALL the training materials right at the beginning - giving you them all for the future to come back to - at any time you choose. This also allows you to vary the order in which you move through the program if you find another route more intuitive.

Does job security truly exist anymore? In the UK for instance, with industry changing its mind at alarming speeds, it seems increasingly unlikely.

We're able though to reveal security at the market sector level, by searching for high demand areas, together with a lack of qualified workers.

The Information Technology (IT) skills deficit in the United Kingdom is standing at approx 26 percent, as noted by the latest e-Skills survey. To put it another way, this highlights that the UK can only find three qualified staff for each four job positions that are available now.

Gaining in-depth commercial IT certification is accordingly an effective route to succeed in a long-lasting and enjoyable livelihood.

It's unlikely if a better time or market circumstances is ever likely to exist for gaining qualification for this hugely expanding and developing sector.

(C) 2009 Scott Edwards. Go to Comptia Certification or MCSE Training.