Should you be looking for Cisco training but you’ve no working knowledge of routers, then the course you should go for is a CCNA. This course is designed to teach students with a commercial knowledge of routers. Big organisations that have a number of branches need routers to join up their networks in different buildings to allow their networks to keep in touch. The Internet also is made up of hundreds of thousands of routers.

Achieving this qualification means you’ll probably end up working for large companies that have several different sites, but need their computer networks to talk to each other. Alternatively, you may find yourself employed by internet service providers. These jobs are well paid and in demand.

Getting your Cisco CCNA is perfectly sufficient to start with; don’t let some salesperson talk you into starting with the CCNP. With experience, you’ll know whether you need to train up to this level. Should that be the case, you will have developed the skills you need to master your CCNP - because it’s a difficult qualification to master - and shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Incorporating exams upfront and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams is a popular marketing tool with a number of training colleges. But look at the facts:

In this day and age, we’re a little more ‘marketing-savvy’ - and usually we grasp that it is something we’re paying for - they’re not just being charitable and doling out freebies! Should you seriously need to pass first time, then the most successful route is to pay for each exam as you go, give it the necessary attention and give the task sufficient application.

Don’t pay up-front, but seek out the best deal for you when you’re ready, and keep hold of your own money. You also get more choice of where you sit the exam - so you can choose somewhere closer to home. A surprising number of so-called credible training course providers net huge profits by charging for examinations upfront then hoping that you won’t take them all. In addition to this, you should consider what an ‘exam guarantee’ really means. The majority of companies will not pay again for an exam until you can prove to them you’re ready to pass.

Exams taken at local centres are approximately 112 pounds in the United Kingdom today. Why spend so much more on fees for ‘exam guarantees’ (usually wrapped up in the course package price) - when a quality course, support and study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will really guarantee success.

Qualifications from the commercial sector are now, most definitely, starting to replace the traditional routes into the IT industry - why then is this? Vendor-based training (as it’s known in the industry) is far more effective and specialised. The IT sector is aware that this level of specialised understanding is necessary to meet the requirements of an increasingly more technical marketplace. Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA are the key players in this arena. Essentially, only required knowledge is taught. It’s slightly more broad than that, but the principle objective is to focus on the exact skills required (with some necessary background) - without going into too much detail in everything else (as universities often do).

The bottom line is: Recognised IT certifications give employers exactly what they’re looking for - the title is a complete giveaway: as an example - I am a ‘Microsoft Certified Professional’ in ‘Windows XP Administration and Configuration’. Consequently an employer can look at their needs and which qualifications are required to perform the job.

Let’s face it: There really is pretty much no personal job security now; there’s only industry or sector security - as any company can let anyone go when it fits the business’ trade requirements. It’s possible though to hit upon market-level security, by searching for high demand areas, tied with a lack of qualified workers.

Investigating the IT industry, the 2006 e-Skills analysis showed a more than 26 percent shortage in trained professionals. Meaning that for every 4 jobs that exist throughout IT, we’ve only got three properly trained pro’s to fulfil that role. This troubling concept reveals an urgent requirement for more technically qualified computing professionals in the United Kingdom. It would be hard to imagine if a better time or market settings is ever likely to exist for obtaining certification in this swiftly emerging and evolving sector.

Some training providers supply a practical Job Placement Assistance service, to help you into your first commercial role. It can happen though that too much is made of this feature, as it’s relatively easy for any motivated and trained individual to get work in IT - because there’s a great need for qualified personnel.

Get your CV updated straight-away though - look to your training company for advice on how to do this. Don’t procrastinate and leave it till you’ve finished your exams. It’s not unusual to find that you’ll secure your initial job while still studying (even in the early stages). If you haven’t updated your CV to say what you’re studying (and it’s not being looked at by employers) then you don’t stand a chance! If you’d like to get employment in your home town, then you may well find that a local (but specialised) recruitment consultancy might be more appropriate than a centralised service, because they are much more inclined to be familiar with the jobs that are going locally.

A constant frustration of some training providers is how hard people are prepared to study to get qualified, but how un-prepared they are to work on getting the role they’ve acquired skills for. Don’t falter at the last fence.

It’s usual for students to get confused with a single courseware aspect which doesn’t even occur to them: How the training is broken down and delivered to your home. The majority of training companies will set up a 2 or 3 year study programme, and drop-ship the materials to you piecemeal as you pass each exam. This sounds reasonable until you consider the following: Sometimes the steps or stages offered by the provider doesn’t suit. And what if you don’t finish every element within their timetable?

In an ideal situation, you want ALL the study materials up-front - so you’ll have them all to come back to in the future - as and when you want. This allows a variation in the order that you attack each section if another more intuitive route presents itself.

Tags: Online Colleges

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