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Programs for Cisco Training – Options

If you want training in Cisco, a CCNA is in all probability what you’ll need. A Cisco training course is the way to go for those who wish to understand and work with network switches and routers. Routers connect networks of computers to other computer networks over dedicated lines or the internet.

Routers connect to networks, so look for a program that covers networking fundamentals (for example Network+, perhaps with A+) before getting going with CCNA. It’s vital that you’ve got a basic grasp of networks before you start a Cisco course or you may be out of your depth. At interview time, companies will expect good networking skills to complement your CCNA.

Start with a tailored course that will systematically go through everything ahead of getting going on the Cisco CCNA.

The perhaps intimidating chore of landing your first IT job can be made easier by some companies, via a Job Placement Assistance programme. Sometimes, there is more emphasis than is necessary on this service, because it is genuinely quite straightforward for any motivated and trained individual to secure work in the IT environment – as there is such a shortage of well trained people.

Help with your CV and interview techniques should be offered (if it isn’t, consult one of our sites). Be sure to you polish up your CV immediately – not after you’ve qualified! You may not have got to the stage where you’ve got to the exam time when you will get your initial junior support role; although this can’t and won’t happen unless you’ve posted your CV on job sites. The most efficient companies to help you land that job are usually local IT focused employment agencies. As they will get paid by the employer when they’ve placed you, they’re perhaps more focused on results.

Please be sure that you don’t invest a great deal of time on your training course, just to give up and leave it in the hands of the gods to sort out your employment. Stop procrastinating and start looking for yourself. Invest as much time and energy into finding your first job as it took to get qualified.

A so-called advisor who doesn’t question you thoroughly – the likelihood is they’re just a salesperson. If someone pushes specific products before learning about your history and experience, then you know you’re being sold to. It’s worth remembering, if you’ve had any relevant accreditation or direct-experience, then it’s not unreasonable to expect to start at a different point than a trainee with no history to speak of. If you’re a new trainee starting IT studies and exams from scratch, it’s often a good idea to ease in gradually, by working on a user-skills course first. Usually this is packaged with most training programs.

It’s essential to have the most up to date Microsoft (or Cisco, CompTIA etc.) accredited exam simulation and preparation packages. Make sure that the exams you practice aren’t just asking you the right questions on the correct subjects, but also asking them in the way the real exams will formulate them. It throws trainees if they’re met with completely different formats and phraseologies. Simulations and practice exams are enormously valuable as a resource to you – so that when you come to take the real thing, you don’t get uptight.

Training support for students is an absolute must – look for a package that provides 24×7 direct access, as anything less will not satisfy and will also hold up your pace and restrict your intake. Don’t accept study programmes that only provide support to you with an out-sourced call-centre message system after 6-9pm in the evening and during weekends. Companies will try to talk you round from this line of reasoning. But, no matter how they put it – you want support at the appropriate time – not when it suits them.

Top training companies have many support offices from around the world. Online access provides the interactive interface to link them all seamlessly, no matter what time you login, help is just a click away, without any problems or delays. Don’t compromise when it comes to your support. Most students who can’t get going properly, just need the right support system.

One crafty way that course providers make more money is via an ‘exam inclusive’ package and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams. It looks like a good deal, till you look at the facts:

Certainly it’s not free – you’re still being charged for it – the cost has just been rolled into the whole training package. If it’s important to you to pass first time, evidence suggests you must pay for one exam at a time, give it the priority it deserves and give the task sufficient application.

Look for the very best offer you can at the time, and hang on to your cash. You also get more choice of where you sit the exam – meaning you can choose a local testing centre. Paying in advance for examination fees (which also includes interest if you’ve taken out a loan) is a false economy. Don’t line companies bank accounts with your money just to give them more interest! There are those who hope that you won’t get round to taking them – so they don’t need to pay for them. The majority of organisations will require you to sit pre-tests and not allow you to re-take an exam until you’ve proven conclusively that you can pass – which actually leaves you with no guarantee at all.

Exams taken at local centres are around 112 pounds in Britain at the time of writing. Students should be very wary of forking out hundreds of pounds extra in ‘Exam Guarantee’ costs (often covertly rolled into the cost of the course) – when a quality course, support and a commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools are actually the key to your success.

Updated July 11, 2009