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A+ consists of four exams and areas of study, but your only requirement is to get your exams in 2 of them to be considered A+ competent. Because of this, many educational establishments restrict their course to just 2 areas. Yet learning about all 4 will help you to build a much wider knowledge and understanding of it all, which you’ll find an important asset in industry.

As well as being taught about building and fixing computers, trainees involved in this training will be shown how to operate in antistatic conditions, how to fault find, to diagnose and to remotely access problems.

You might also choose to think about doing Network+ as you’ll then be in a position to take care of computer networks, which means greater employment benefits.

Some training companies are still using the slightly musty old method of classroom lessons. Often sold as a benefit, after discussion with someone who has first-hand experience, don’t be surprised to be lectured on several if not most of these problems:

* Many round trips – quite often hundreds of miles at a time.

* Monday to Friday accessibility for workshops can be usual, and with 2-3 days to book off work, this causes a lot of problems for the majority of students who work.

* And let’s not overlook the lost vacation days. Most of us have four weeks vacation allowance. If at least half is sacrificed to learning, then we haven’t got much left for ourselves.

* Because of the cost involved, many colleges make the classes quite large – which is not ideal (giving less time per student).

* Often trainees want to work as quickly as possible, but some need a more gentle learning curve and not be pushed beyond their comfort-zone. This brings difficulty and tension on many workshops.

* You can’t ignore the added expense of travelling and bed and breakfast either. Don’t be surprised to find this become many hundreds of pounds more – sometimes thousands. Take some time to add it all up – you’ll get a shock.

* Study privacy is often very important to most attendees. There’s no need to lose potential advancement, income boosts or achievement at your current job because of your studies. If your work discovers you’re putting yourself through accreditation in a completely different market, how will they regard you?

* Surely, all of us at some time have avoided putting our hand’s up, because we didn’t want to look stupid?

* Living away for part of your working week – a minority of attendees find they have to work or live away for part of their training. Workshops end up being impossible at that point, unfortunately you’ve already coughed up the readies when you paid initially.

The absolute best situation is based on viewing a filmed lesson – with instructor-led learning available at any time of day.

Training can take place wherever it suits you. If your PC is a laptop, you could get a little sunshine outside while you learn. Any problems and make use of the 24×7 support.

Repeat lessons and modules when you’re preparing for exams – repetition aids memory. And note-taking is a thing of the past – it’s already done for you already.

What could be more straightforward: Time and money is saved and travelling is avoided altogether; and of course you have a far more comfortable training environment.

Traditional teaching in classrooms, using textbooks and whiteboards, is often a huge slog for most of us. If you’re nodding as you read this, look for learning programmes that are multimedia based.

Our ability to remember is increased when we use multiple senses – experts have been clear on this for decades now.

Locate a program where you’ll get a host of DVD-ROM’s – you’ll be learning from instructor videos and demo’s, followed by the chance to use virtual lab’s to practice your new skills.

Any company that you’re considering should be able to show you a few examples of their training materials. Make sure you encounter videos of instructor-led classes and many interactive sections.

It’s unwise to opt for on-line only training. Due to the variable nature of connection quality from your average broadband company, make sure you get CD or DVD ROM based materials.

(C) 2009 – S. Edwards. Go to learninglolly.com/IT_Certification.html or HERE.