The CompTIA A+ course covers 4 different sectors – you need to pass exams in 2 specialities to be considered competent in A+. This is why, many training establishments restrict their A+ to just two of the four areas. We think this is selling you short – sure, you can pass an exam, but knowing about the others will give you a distinct advantage in your working life, where you’ll need to know about all of them. This is why you should train in everything.

A+ computer training courses cover diagnostics and fault finding – remotely as well as hands on, in addition to building, fixing, repairing and working in antistatic conditions.

Perhaps you see yourself as the kind of individual who is a member of a large organisation – fixing and supporting networks, you’ll need to add CompTIA Network+, or consider an MCSA or MCSE with Microsoft to give you a deeper understanding of the way networks work.

Workshop days can be portrayed as an important element by a lot of trainers. When you talk to the majority of computer industry hopefuls who have partaken in a couple, you’ll discover that they’re really a major negative mainly due to the following:

* Constant journeys to the workshop centre – normally 100’s of miles.

* Workshop accessibility; usually weekdays only and two or three days in a row. It’s never convenient to take the required days away from work.

* The majority of us end up feeling twenty days annual leave is barely enough. Knock off a big chunk of this for training workshops and see how much more difficult it makes things.

* ‘In-Centre’ workshop days invariably become way too big.

* Tension is often caused in mixed classes because the right pace for one student is not the same as another.

* A lot of students report that the (not inconsiderable) costs of travelling back and forth to the training school while forking out for food and accommodation can get very high.

* Maintaining the privacy of our training can be very important to most trainees. Why would you want to lose any lift up the ladder, wage increases or achievement in your job because you’re getting trained in a different area. If your employer knows you’ve committed to accreditation in a different industry, what will they think?

* Asking questions in front of other class-mates will sometimes make us a little nervous. Have you ever left a question un-asked as you honestly thought you might seem thick?

* For those who have work away from home, it’s a fact of life that days in-centre now become difficult to get to – but unfortunately, they’ve been paid for in advance.

It would be better to simply watch and gain knowledge from tutors one-to-one in videoed classes, studying them when it’s convenient for you, not someone else.

You can study from home on your computer or why not in the garden on a laptop. Any questions that pop up, just make use of the 24×7 support (that should’ve been packaged with any technical type of training.)

Any module can be repeated as often as you want – the more times you cover something – the more you’ll remember. And you can forget taking notes – everything is done for you already.

Basically: You save time, hassle, money and completely avoid killing more trees.

Most people don’t even think to ask about something of absolutely vital importance – how their training provider actually breaks down and delivers the courseware sections, and into how many parts.

Normally, you’ll join a programme that takes between and 1 and 3 years and get posted one section at a time – from one exam to the next. While this may sound logical on one level, consider this:

Students often discover that the company’s typical path to completion doesn’t suit. You may find that a different order of study is more expedient. And what if you don’t get to the end at the pace they expect?

For maximum flexibility and safety, it’s normal for most trainees to insist that all study materials are delivered immediately, and not in stages. It’s then your own choice in which order and at what speed you’d like to take your exams.

Many men and women presume that the tech college or university path is still the best way into IT. Why then is commercial certification slowly and steadily replacing it?

Corporate based study (to use industry-speak) is far more effective and specialised. Industry has acknowledged that a specialist skill-set is what’s needed to meet the requirements of an increasingly more technical commercial environment. Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA are the big boys in this field.

Many degrees, for example, become confusing because of too much loosely associated study – and much too wide a syllabus. This prevents a student from getting enough specific knowledge about the core essentials.

It’s a bit like the TV advert: ‘It does what it says on the label’. All an employer has to do is know what they’re looking for, and then advertise for someone with the specific certification. Then they know that anyone who applies can do the necessary work.

(C) Jason Kendall. Browse LearningLolly.com for clear career tips on Computer Course and Comptia A+ Certification.