UK Cisco Training Described
If you think Cisco training might be for you, but you’ve no practical experience with switches and routers, the chances are your first course should be the CCNA training. This educates you in skills for setting up and maintaining routers. The internet is made up of hundreds of thousands of routers, and large companies with multiple departments and sites also utilise routers to keep their networks in touch.
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.
A service that many training companies provide is a Job Placement Assistance program. This is designed to help you get your first commercial position. Don’t get caught up in this feature – it isn’t unusual for their marketing department to overstate it’s need. The fact of the matter is, the need for well trained IT people in the UK is what will make you attractive to employers.
CV and Interview advice and support is sometimes offered (alternatively, check out one of our sites for help). It’s essential that you work on your old CV right away – don’t wait until you’ve finished your exams! A good number of junior support jobs have been bagged by students who’re still on their course and have still to get qualified. At least this will get you on your way. You’ll normally experience quicker service from a local IT focused recruitment consultant or service than you will through a training provider’s centralised service, as they will be more familiar with the area and local employers.
A constant aggravation of various training course providers is how much people are prepared to work to get top marks in their exams, but how little effort that student will then put into getting the job they have qualified for. Don’t give up when the best is yet to come.
A capable and specialised advisor (as opposed to a salesman) will cover in some detail your current level of ability and experience. This is vital for establishing your starting point for training. If you’ve got any commercial experience or qualifications, it may be that your starting point of study is not the same as someone new to the industry. If this is your opening attempt at IT study then you might also want to start with some basic PC skills training first.
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.
Shouldn’t you be looking to hold on to your money and pay for the exam at the appropriate time, rather than coughing up months or even a year or two in advance to the training company, and to do it locally – instead of the remote centre that’s convenient only to the trainer? A great deal of money is secured by a number of companies who incorporate exam fees into the cost of the course. A number of students don’t take them for various reasons and so the company is quids-in. Surprising as it sounds, there are companies around that rely on that fact – as that’s how they make a lot of their profit. It’s worth noting, in the majority of cases of ‘exam guarantees’ – the company controls how often and when you can do your re-takes. You will have to demonstrate an excellent pass-rate before they’ll approve a re-take.
Prometric and VUE exams are approximately 112 pounds in the UK. What’s the point of paying huge fees for ‘exam guarantees’ (often hidden in the cost) – when good quality study materials, the proper support and commitment, effort and practice with quality exam preparation systems are the factors that really get you through.