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.
Get on a tailored route that takes you on a progressive path to make sure that you’ve mastered the necessary skills and knowledge before starting your training in Cisco skills.
One thing you must always insist on is proper direct-access 24×7 support through expert mentors and instructors. Far too often we see trainers who only provide office hours (or extended office hours) support.
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.
You can’t afford to accept a lower level of service. Direct-access round-the-clock support is the only kind to make the grade when it comes to technical courses. Maybe late-evening study is not your thing; often though, we’re working when traditional support if offered.
Students who consider this area of study often have a very practical outlook on work, and don’t always take well to classrooms, and slogging through piles of books. If this is putting you off studying, use multimedia, interactive learning, where you can learn everything on-screen.
Learning psychology studies show that we remember much more when all our senses are involved, and we put into practice what we’ve been studying.
Locate a program where you’re provided with an array of DVD-ROM’s – you’ll begin by watching videos of instructors demonstrating the skills, and then have the opportunity to fine-tune your skills in fully interactive practice sessions.
Any company that you’re considering must be pushed to demo some simple examples of their training materials. You’re looking for evidence of tutorial videos and demonstrations and a wide selection of interactive elements.
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.
You have to make sure that all your exams are current and commercially required – forget programmes which provide certificates that are worthless because they’re ‘in-house’.
Unless the accreditation comes from a company like Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA or Adobe, then chances are it won’t be commercially viable – as no-one will have heard of it.
A question; why should we consider commercial qualifications rather than traditional academic qualifications obtained from the state educational establishments?
Industry is of the opinion that to cover the necessary commercial skill-sets, certified accreditation supplied for example by Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA most often has much more specialised relevance – 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).
It’s a bit like the TV advert: ‘It does what it says on the tin’. All an employer has to do is know what they need doing, and then request applicants with the correct exam numbers. They’ll know then that all applicants can do what they need.
Written by Scott Edwards. Visit MCSA MCSE or www.SQLServerTrainingInfo.co.uk.