If you think Cisco training might be for you, and you haven’t worked with switches and routers, you should start with the Cisco CCNA qualification. This teaches you the knowledge you need to understand routers. The world wide web is built up of many routers, and big organisations with several locations also use them to allow their networks to keep in touch.
As routers are connected to networks, it’s essential to have prior knowledge of how networks work, or you’ll struggle with the qualification and not be able to do the work. Look for a course that teaches the basics (CompTIA is a good one) before you start the CCNA.
You’ll need a tailored course that will systematically go through everything to make sure that you have comprehensive skills and abilities before embarking on the Cisco skills.
So, what are the questions we need to pose if we’d like to take onboard the understanding required? Because it’s apparent there are many fairly dazzling possibilities for us all to consider.
A proficient and specialised advisor (as opposed to a salesman) will cover in some detail your current experience level and abilities. This is useful for establishing your starting point for training. If you’ve got a strong background, or even a touch of live experience (maybe some existing accreditation?) then it’s likely the point from which you begin your studies will be quite dissimilar from someone with no background whatsoever. It’s wise to consider some basic PC skills training first. This can set the scene for your on-going studies and make the slope up to the higher-levels a bit more manageable.
One of the most important things to insist on has to be proper direct-access 24×7 support through dedicated instructors and mentors. Too many companies only provide office hours (or extended office hours) support. Never buy study programmes that only provide support to you via a call-centre messaging system after office-staff have gone home. Colleges will defend this with all kinds of excuses. But, no matter how they put it - support is needed when it’s needed - not as-and-when it’s suitable for their staff.
The very best training providers utilise several support facilities across multiple time-zones. An online system provides an interactive interface to seamlessly link them all together, no matter what time you login, help is just seconds away, with no hassle or contact issues. If you accept anything less than online 24×7 support, you’ll quickly find yourself regretting it. You may avoid using the support during the night, but what about weekends, early mornings or late evenings.
The classroom style of learning we remember from school, involving piles of reference textbooks, is often a huge slog for most of us. If you’re nodding as you read this, find training programs which feature interactive and multimedia modules. Research has constantly verified that getting into our studies physically, is far more likely to produce long-lasting memories.
Locate a program where you’ll get a host of CD and DVD ROM’s - you’ll learn by watching video tutorials and demonstrations, with the facility to fine-tune your skills in fully interactive practice sessions. It’s imperative to see courseware examples from each company you’re contemplating. Be sure that they contain instructor-led video demonstrations with virtual practice-lab’s.
Many companies provide just online versions of their training packages; while you can get away with this much of the time, imagine the problems if your access to the internet is broken or you get a slow connection speed. A safer solution is the provision of DVD or CD discs that will not have these problems.
Considering how a program is ‘delivered’ to you can often be overlooked. How many parts is the training broken down into? And in what sequence and how fast does each element come? A release of your materials piece by piece, as you pass each exam is how things will normally arrive. Of course, this sounds sensible, but you might like to consider this: Students often discover that their providers typical path to completion doesn’t suit. Sometimes, a slightly different order suits them better. Could it cause problems if you don’t get everything done within their exact timetable?
Put simply, the best solution is to have a copy of their prescribed order of study, but get all the study materials at the start. You then have everything should you not complete it within their ideal time-table.
It’s not uncommon for companies to offer inclusive exam guarantees - this always means you have to pay for the exams when you pay for the rest of your course. Before you get carried away with guaranteed exams, consider this:
It’s become essential these days that we tend to be a little more ‘marketing-savvy’ - and usually we cotton on to the fact that we are actually being charged for it (it isn’t free or out of the goodness of their hearts!) It’s well known in the industry that when trainees fund each examination, one after the other, they will be much more likely to pass every time - since they’ll be conscious of what they’ve paid and will therefore apply themselves appropriately.
Isn’t it in your interests to go for the best offer at the time, not to pay any mark-up to the training course provider, and to do it in a local testing office - instead of miles away at the college’s beck and call? A lot of extra profit is netted by many companies who take the exam money up-front. For quite legitimate reasons, a number of students don’t get to do their exams and so the company is quids-in. Amazingly, there are providers who rely on that fact - as that’s how they make a lot of their profit. Most companies will require you to do mock exams and with-hold subsequent exam entries from you until you’ve demonstrated an excellent ability to pass - which makes an ‘Exam Guarantee’ frankly useless.
Exams taken at local centres are approximately 112 pounds in Great Britain. Why spend so much more on charges for ‘Exam Guarantees’ (often hidden in the cost) - when good quality study materials, the proper support and consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software is what will really see you through.
Getting into your first IT role can be a little easier if you’re offered a Job Placement Assistance program. At the end of the day it’s not as difficult as you may be led to believe to land your first job - as long as you’ve got the necessary skills and qualifications; the shortage of IT personnel in Britain looks after that.
Work on polishing up your CV right away however (advice and support for this should come from your course provider). Don’t wait for when you’re ready to start work. Having the possibility of an interview is far better than not even being known about. Many junior support jobs are offered to people (who’ve only just left first base.) Actually, a specialist locally based employment service (who will get paid commission to place you) will be more pro-active than a sector of a centralised training facility. In addition, they will no doubt be familiar with local industry and the area better.
Various trainees, it seems, spend evenings and weekends on their training and studies (for years sometimes), and just give up when it comes to looking for their first job. Promote yourself… Do everything you can to let employers know about you. Good jobs don’t just knock on your door.
There is a tidal wave of change washing over technology over the next few decades - and this means greater innovations all the time. We’ve barely started to get a feel for how technology will define our world. The internet will significantly change how we regard and interrelate with the rest of the world over the next few years.
Wages in the IT sector aren’t to be ignored either - the average salary over this country as a whole for a typical IT employee is noticeably more than the national average. Chances are that you’ll receive quite a bit more than you would in most other jobs. As the IT industry keeps developing with no sign of a slow-down, it’s looking good that demand for well trained and qualified IT technicians will continue to boom for quite some time to come.