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Cisco Career Training Online In Your Own Home Explained
By Jason Kendall | March 2, 2010
A Cisco training course is the way to go for those who wish to understand and work with routers and switches. Routers connect computer networks via the internet or lines dedicated for that purpose. It’s most probable that you should first attempt your CCNA. Don’t be tempted to go straight for a CCNP as it’s a considerable step up – and you need to work up to it to take on this level.
You may end up employed by an internet service provider or a large commercial venture which is spread out geographically but still wants internal communication. Both types of jobs command good salaries.
We’d recommend a specially designed course that covers everything you need to know in advance of getting going on the Cisco CCNA.
Commercially accredited qualifications are now, very visibly, already replacing the older academic routes into IT – but why has this come about?
Key company training (in industry terminology) is more effective in the commercial field. The IT sector has acknowledged that such specialised knowledge is essential to cope with a technologically complex world. Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe are the big boys in this field.
University courses, for example, become confusing because of too much loosely associated study – and much too wide a syllabus. Students are then prevented from getting enough core and in-depth understanding on a specific area.
The bottom line is: Authorised IT qualifications give employers exactly what they’re looking for – it says what you do in the title: i.e. I am a ‘Microsoft Certified Professional’ in ‘Designing Security for a Windows 2003 Network’. Consequently employers can look at their needs and what certifications are required to fulfil that.
Many trainers will only offer support available from 9-6 (office hours) and sometimes later on specific days; very few go late in the evening or at weekends.
Don’t buy certification programs which can only support trainees through a call-centre messaging service after 6-9pm in the evening and during weekends. Training schools will try to talk you round from this line of reasoning. But, no matter how they put it – support is required when it’s required – not as-and-when it’s suitable for their staff.
We recommend looking for training programs that utilise many support facilities active in different time-zones. Every one of them needs to be seamlessly combined to offer a simple interface and also 24 hours-a-day access, when it suits you, with no hassle.
Don’t under any circumstances take less than you need and deserve. Support round-the-clock is the only kind that ever makes the grade with IT training. Perhaps you don’t intend to study during the evenings; often though, we’re out at work while the support is live.
One area often overlooked by those weighing up a particular programme is the issue of ‘training segmentation’. This is essentially the method used to break up the program for delivery to you, which can make a dramatic difference to what you end up with.
Often, you’ll enrol on a course staged over 2 or 3 years and get posted one section at a time – from one exam to the next. It seems to make sense on one level, but consider these issues:
Students often discover that the company’s ‘standard’ path of training isn’t as suitable as another. Sometimes, a slightly different order suits them better. Could it cause problems if you don’t get everything done at the pace they expect?
Ideally, you’d ask for every single material to be delivered immediately – meaning you’ll have all of them to come back to at any time in the future – whenever it suits you. This also allows you to vary the order in which you move through the program if another more intuitive route presents itself.
Searching for your first position in IT can be a little easier with the help of a Job Placement Assistance service. With the huge need for more IT skills in Britain right now, there’s no need to get too caught up in this feature though. It’s not as difficult as you may be led to believe to land employment as long as you’re correctly trained and certified.
Advice and support about getting interviews and your CV might be provided (alternatively, check out one of our sites for help). It’s essential that you bring your CV right up to date right away – don’t leave it till you pass the exams!
Having the possibility of an interview is better than being rejected. Many junior jobs are given to people (who’ve only just left first base.)
You can usually expect quicker service from a specialist locally based employment agency than you will through a training course provider’s recruitment division, as they’ll know the area better.
A regular grievance of some training companies is how hard people are prepared to study to get qualified, but how little effort that student will then put into getting the job they’ve studied for. Don’t falter at the last fence.
(C) 2009 S. Edwards. Check out CCNA Training Courses or Click HERE.
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