Should you be aspiring to become Cisco accredited, but you’ve not yet worked with switches and routers, initially you should go for the CCNA training. This educates you in the knowledge you need to understand routers. The world wide web is built up of many routers, and large commercial ventures with several different sites also use them to connect their computer networks.
Routers connect to networks, so seek out training that features the basics on networks (maybe the CompTIA Network+, possibly with A+ as well) before getting going with CCNA. You’ll need this background understanding on networks before you commence any Cisco training or you could find yourself a little lost. In the commercial environment, you’ll benefit from having a good knowledge of networks in addition to the CCNA.
Having the right skills and knowledge ahead of starting the CCNA is crucial. So talk to someone who can fill you in on any gaps you may have.
We can’t make a big enough deal out of this point: You absolutely must have proper 24×7 support from professional instructors. You’ll severely regret it if you don’t.
Look for training where you can access help at any time of day or night (even 1am on Sunday morning!) Make sure it’s always direct-access to qualified mentors and tutors, and not simply some messaging service that means you’re consistently being held in a queue for a call-back during office hours.
As long as you look hard, you will find the very best companies which give students online support around the clock – including evenings, nights and weekends.
Search out a training school that is worth purchasing from. As only true 24×7 round-the-clock live support delivers what is required.
We’d hazard a guess that you probably enjoy fairly practical work – the ‘hands-on’ personality type. If you’re anything like us, the trial of reading reference books and manuals can be just about bared when essential, but you’d hate it. So look for on-screen interactive learning packages if you’d really rather not use books.
If we can involve all our senses in the learning process, then the results are usually dramatically better.
Courses are now available via DVD-ROM discs, where your computer becomes the centre of your learning. Through video streaming, you can sit back and watch the teachers showing you precisely how it’s all done, and then practice yourself – in a virtual lab environment.
It’s wise to view a small selection of training examples before you purchase a course. What you want are instructor demonstrations, video tutorials and interactive audio-visual sections with practice modules.
Opt for actual CD or DVD ROM’s whenever you can. You can then avoid all the difficulties of broadband outages, failure and signal quality issues etc.
It only makes sense to consider study programs which grow into industry accepted qualifications. There’s an endless list of small companies proposing unknown ‘in-house’ certificates which aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on in the real world.
All the major IT organisations like Microsoft, Cisco, Adobe or CompTIA have globally approved proficiency programmes. These heavyweights can make sure you stand out at interview.
Commercially accredited qualifications are now, most definitely, taking over from the traditional academic paths into IT – why then is this the case?
With a growing demand for specific technological expertise, the IT sector has been required to move to specific, honed-in training only available through the vendors themselves – for example companies like Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe. Frequently this is at a far reduced cost both money and time wise.
They do this through concentrating on the skills that are really needed (alongside a relevant amount of background knowledge,) instead of trawling through all the background detail and ‘fluff’ that degree courses often do (to fill up a syllabus or course).
Assuming a company understands what areas need to be serviced, then they just need to look for the particular skill-set required. Commercial syllabuses are set to meet an exact requirement and aren’t allowed to deviate (like academia frequently can and does).
(C) 2010 S. Edwards. Hop over to Cisco CCNA or www.ITTraining4PC.co.uk.
