A Cisco training course is fundamentally for those who wish to work with routers and switches. Routers hook up computer networks over dedicated lines or the internet. It’s most probable that your first course should be your CCNA. Steer clear of going immediately onto the CCNP for it’s full of complexities - and you’ll need the CCNA and experience first before you take this on.
As routers are connected to networks, find a course that includes basic networking skills - perhaps Network+ and A+, prior to starting your CCNA course. You’ll need some knowledge of how networks operate before getting going with Cisco or you may be out of your depth. Once qualified and looking for work, networking skills will be valuable in addition to the CCNA.
Start with a bespoke training program that covers everything you need to know prior to starting your training in Cisco skills.
The age-old way of teaching, utilising reference manuals and books, is often a huge slog for most of us. If you’re nodding as you read this, dig around for more practical courses that are multimedia based. Studies have constantly shown that an ‘involved’ approach to study, where we utilise all our senses, is much more conducive to long-term memory.
Interactive audio-visual materials involving demonstration and virtual lab’s will forever turn you away from traditional book study. And they’re a lot more fun to do. It makes sense to see examples of the courseware provided before you sign the purchase order. What you want are video tutorials, instructor demo’s and interactive modules with audio-visual elements.
It’s usually bad advice to go for purely on-line training. Connection quality and reliability varies hugely across most broadband providers, ensure that you have access to CD or DVD ROM based materials.
Ask any professional consultant and they’ll regale you with many awful tales of salespeople ripping-off unsuspecting students. Ensure you only ever work with an experienced industry advisor who asks lots of questions to find out what’s right for you - not for their wallet! It’s very important to locate a starting-point that will suit you. With some commercial experience or certification, it may be that your starting point of study is not the same as someone new to the industry. It’s wise to consider a user-skills course first. This can often make your learning curve a little less steep.
Authorised exam simulation and preparation packages are essential - and really must be obtained from your training company. Avoid depending on unofficial exam papers and questions. The type of questions asked can be quite different - and often this creates real issues when it comes to taking the real exam. ‘Mock’ or practice exams are enormously valuable as a resource to you - so that when you come to take your actual exams, you don’t get uptight.
Commencing with the understanding that it makes sense to home-in on the job we want to do first, before we’re even able to consider which career development program meets that requirement, how do we decide on the right path? Since without any solid background in IT, in what way could we know what a particular job actually consists of? Arriving at a well-informed answer only comes through a thorough study across many different areas:
* Which type of individual you think yourself to be - which things you get enjoyment from, plus of course - what you hate to do.
* Why it seems right stepping into IT - it could be you’re looking to achieve a life-long goal like being your own boss for example.
* Is the money you make further up on your priority-list than other factors.
* Because there are so many ways to train in computing - there’s a need to get some key facts on what makes them different.
* Having a good look into the effort, commitment and time that you’re going to put into it.
For the majority of us, getting to the bottom of so much data requires a good chat with a professional that knows what they’re talking about. And not just the certifications - but the commercial needs and expectations besides.
Most training companies will only offer office hours or extended office hours support; not many go late into the evening (after 8-9pm) or cover weekends properly. Avoid, like the plague, any organisations who use ‘out-of-hours’ call-centres - with the call-back coming in during the next ‘working’ day. This is no use if you’re stuck and could do with an answer during your scheduled study period.
If you look properly, you’ll find the top providers who offer online support at all times - no matter what time of day it is. Never make the mistake of compromise when you’re looking for the right support service. The majority of IT hopefuls that can’t get going properly, are in that situation because of support (or the lack of).
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