Tuning Club

CCNA is the usual starting point for all Cisco training. This teaches you how to handle maintaining and installing routers. The internet is made up of many routers, and large companies that have various regional departments utilise them to connect their computer networks.

To take this course, you should be clear on the operation and function of computer networks, as networks are built with routers. If not, the chances are you’ll fall behind. Better to look for a course covering the basics in networking – perhaps Network+ and A+, and then do a CCNA course. Look for a training provider that can offer this as a career package.

Find a bespoke training program that will systematically go through everything to make sure that you’ve mastered the necessary skills and knowledge prior to embarking on the Cisco skills.

A service offered by some training providers is job placement assistance. This is designed to assist your search for your first position. With the great need for more IT skills in this country today, it’s not necessary to place too much emphasis on this feature however. It isn’t so complicated as you might think to land a job once you’re properly qualified.

However, don’t wait till you have qualified before polishing up your CV. As soon as you start a course, mark down what you’re doing and place it on jobsites!

Having the possibility of an interview is more than not being known. A surprising amount of junior support jobs are bagged by people (sometimes when they’ve only just got going.)

Actually, a specialist locally based recruitment consultant or service (who will, of course, be keen to place you to receive their commission) is going to give you a better service than a recruitment division from a training organisation. In addition, they will no doubt be familiar with the local area and commercial needs.

Certainly make sure you don’t conscientiously work through your course materials, and then do nothing more and leave it in the hands of the gods to land you a job. Stand up for yourself and make your own enquiries. Invest as much energy and enthusiasm into securing your new role as you did to gain the skills.

Now, why is it better to gain qualifications from the commercial sector rather than more traditional academic qualifications gained through schools and Further Education colleges?

The IT sector is of the opinion that for an understanding of the relevant skills, the right accreditation supplied for example by Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA most often has much more specialised relevance – for much less time and money.

In essence, only that which is required is learned. Actually, it’s not quite as pared down as that, but the principle objective is to concentrate on the fundamentally important skill-sets (along with a certain amount of crucial background) – without going into too much detail in every other area (as academia often does).

Just like the advert used to say: ‘It does what it says on the tin’. Companies need only to know what they’re looking for, and then request applicants with the correct exam numbers. They’ll know then that all applicants can do what they need.

An effective training program will also offer fully authorised exam simulation and preparation packages.

Ensure that the practice exams aren’t just asking you the right questions on the right subjects, but ask them in the same way that the proper exam will ask them. It can really throw some people if the questions are phrased in unfamiliar formats.

A way to build self-confidence is if you check your depth of understanding through tests and practice in simulated exam environments to prepare you for taking the real deal.

Often, students don’t think to check on a painfully important area – the way their training provider divides up the training materials, and into how many bits.

Usually, you will join a program staged over 2 or 3 years and get posted one section at a time – from one exam to the next. This sounds logical on one level, until you consider this:

What if for some reason you don’t get to the end of every single section? What if you don’t find their order of learning is ideal for you? Because of nothing that’s your fault, you may go a little slower and consequently not get all your materials.

Put simply, the best solution is to get an idea of what they recommend as an ideal study order, but to receive all the materials up-front. Meaning you’ve got it all if you don’t manage to finish inside of their required time-scales.

(C) Scott Edwards 2009. Hop over to CCNACertificationInfo.co.uk or HERE.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 28th, 2010 at 7:42 amand is filed under Recreation and Hobbies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.