Games Review Blog

If you’re looking for Cisco training and you haven’t worked with routers before, what you need is a CCNA. This training course was created to instruct people with a commercial knowledge of routers. Commercial ventures that have several locations use routers to connect their various different networks of computers to keep in contact with each other. The Internet is also built up of hundreds of thousands of routers.

As routers are connected to networks, look for a program that features the basics on networks – perhaps Network+ and A+, prior to starting your CCNA course. You must have an understanding of the basics before getting going with Cisco or you’ll probably struggle. Once qualified and looking for work, companies will expect good networking skills alongside your CCNA.

If you’re just entering the world of routers, then the CCNA course is more than enough – at this stage avoid being tempted to do the CCNP. Once you’ve worked for a few years, you will have a feel for if it’s relevant for you to have this next level up.

The age-old way of teaching, involving piles of reference textbooks, is usually pretty hard going. If you’re nodding as you read this, find training programs which feature interactive and multimedia modules. If we can get all of our senses involved in our learning, then the results are usually dramatically better.

Interactive audio-visual materials with demonstrations and practice sessions will beat books every time. And you’ll actually enjoy doing them. All companies should willingly take you through some samples of their training materials. You’re looking for evidence of tutorial videos and demonstrations and a wide selection of interactive elements.

Go for CD and DVD ROM based physical training media in all circumstances. Thus avoiding all the issues associated with broadband outages, failure and signal quality issues etc.

Searching for your first position in IT sometimes feels easier to handle if you’re offered a Job Placement Assistance facility. In reality it isn’t so complicated as you might think to land the right work – assuming you’re well trained and qualified; because there’s still a great need for IT skills in the UK today.

CV and Interview advice and support might be provided (if not, see one of our sites for help). Make sure you bring your CV right up to date today – don’t wait until you’ve finished your exams! Quite frequently, you’ll secure your initial job whilst you’re still studying (even when you’ve just left first base). If you haven’t updated your CV to say what you’re studying (and it isn’t in the hands of someone with jobs to offer) then you’re not even going to be known about! Most often, a specialist locally based employment service (who will get paid by the employer when they’ve placed you) is going to give you a better service than a sector of a centralised training facility. Also of course they should be familiar with the local industry and employment needs.

A constant grievance of many training companies is how much trainees are focused on studying to pass exams, but how ill-prepared they are to market themselves for the position they’ve studied for. Don’t give up when the best is yet to come.

Charging for exam fees up-front then giving it ‘Exam Guarantee’ status is a popular marketing tool with a number of training colleges. But let’s examine why they really do it:

Obviously it isn’t free – you are paying for it – the cost has just been rolled into the whole training package. It’s well known in the industry that when trainees fund each progressive exam, one after the other, they’ll be in a better position to qualify each time – as they are conscious of the cost and therefore will put more effort into their preparation.

Why pay the college up-front for exams? Hold on to your money and pay for the exam when you’re ready, instead of paying a premium – and do it locally – rather than possibly hours away from your area. A surprising number of unscrupulous training companies net a great deal of profit by getting in the money for exams at the start of the course and banking on the fact that many won’t be taken. Don’t forget, with most ‘Exam Guarantees’ – the company controls how often and when you can do your re-takes. They’ll only allow a re-take once completely satisfied.

Average exam fees were 112 pounds or thereabouts last year through VUE or Pro-metric centres in the UK. So why pay hundreds or thousands of pounds extra to have ‘Exam Guarantees’, when it’s obvious that the most successful method is consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software.

So many training providers focus completely on the certification process, and forget the reasons for getting there – getting yourself a new job or career. You should always begin with the final destination in mind – don’t make the journey more important than where you want to get to. Avoid becoming one of the unfortunate masses that choose a course that seems ‘fun’ or ‘interesting’ – and get to the final hurdle of an accreditation for an unrewarding career path.

Make sure you investigate your feelings on career progression and earning potential, and whether you intend to be quite ambitious. You need to know what (if any) sacrifices you’ll need to make for a particular role, which qualifications they want you to have and how to develop your experience. The best advice for students is to chat with an experienced industry advisor before deciding on their study path. This is essential to ensure it features what is required for the chosen career path.

You should look for an accredited exam preparation programme as part of your training package. Because a lot of examination boards in IT are American, you must be prepared for the way exams are phrased. It’s no use merely understanding random questions – they have to be in the same format as the actual exams. Clearly, it’s very important to ensure that you’re completely ready for your actual certification exam before taking it. Going over mock-up exams adds to your knowledge bank and saves you time and money on thwarted exam entries.