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.)
If you’d like to get employment in your home town, then you’ll probably find that a specialist locally based employment agency could be more appropriate than some national concern, because they’re far more likely to have insider knowledge of local employment needs.
A big aggravation of many course providers is how hard people are prepared to work to become certified, but how un-prepared they are to work on getting the position they have trained for. Don’t give up when the best is yet to come.
Commercially accredited qualifications are now, undoubtedly, taking over from the older academic routes into the IT industry – so why is this?
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.
Of course, an appropriate portion of relevant additional detail must be learned, but focused specialisation in the required areas gives a commercially trained student a distinct advantage.
Put yourself in the employer’s position – and you wanted someone who could provide a specific set of skills. What should you do: Wade your way through a mass of different academic qualifications from hopeful applicants, having to ask what each has covered and which commercial skills they have, or choose a specific set of accreditations that specifically match what you’re looking for, and make your short-list from that. Your interviews are then about personal suitability – rather than establishing whether they can do a specific task.
An effective training program will also offer fully authorised exam simulation and preparation packages.
Often students can get thrown by trying to prepare themselves with questions that don’t come from official boards. Often, the way questions are phrased can be quite different and it’s important to prepare yourself for this.
As you can imagine, it is really important to know that you are completely prepared for the real exam prior to doing it. Going over simulated tests logs the information in your brain and saves you time and money on failed exams.
Many students come unstuck over a single training area which is often not even considered: How the training is broken down and packaged off through the post.
Most companies will sell you some sort of program spread over 1-3 years, and drop-ship the materials to you piecemeal as you complete each section or exam. This sounds reasonable until you consider the following:
What could you expect if you didn’t actually complete each section at the required speed? Often the staged order doesn’t come as naturally as an alternative path could be.
For future safety and flexibility, it’s normal for most trainees to make sure that every element of their training is sent immediately, and not in a piecemeal fashion. You can then decide how fast or slow and in what order you want to finish things.
Written by Scott Edwards. Pop over to This Site or www.CCNACertificationInfo.co.uk.
