Computer Training For Cisco CCNA Insights

By: Jason Kendall Click author's name for more of his/her articles

If Cisco training is your aspiration, and you haven't worked with routers, the chances are your first course should be the Cisco CCNA qualification. This teaches you the knowledge you need to understand routers. The world wide web is built up of many routers, and large companies with several locations also rely on them to allow their networks to keep in touch.

It's very probable you'll get a job with an internet service provider or a big organisation that's on many locations but still wants secure internal data communication. These jobs are well paid and in demand.

Qualifying up to the CCNA level is all you need at this stage - don't be cajoled into attempting your CCNP straight away. Once you've worked for a few years you'll know if it's relevant for you to have this next level up. Should that be the case, you'll have a much better chance of succeeding - as your experience will help you greatly.

An area that's often missed by people weighing up a particular programme is the issue of 'training segmentation'. This basically means the method used to break up the program for delivery to you, which can make a dramatic difference to what you end up with. You may think it logical (with a typical time scale of 1-3 years for a full commercial certification,) that a training provider will issue the training stage by stage, as you achieve each exam pass. However: It's not unusual for trainees to realise that the company's 'standard' path of training isn't the easiest way for them. They might find a different order of study is more expedient. And what if you don't get to the end in the allotted time?

For maximum flexibility and safety, it's normal for most trainees to make sure that every element of their training is posted to them in one go, with nothing held back. It's then your own choice at what speed and in which order you want to go.

Discovering job security nowadays is very unusual. Companies often throw us from the workplace at the drop of a hat - whenever it suits. Security only exists now in a quickly escalating marketplace, driven forward by a shortage of trained workers. This shortage creates just the right environment for a secure market - a far better situation.

Recently, a British e-Skills investigation demonstrated that more than 26 percent of computing and IT jobs remain unfilled because of an appallingly low number of trained staff. To explain it in a different way, this clearly demonstrates that the United Kingdom is only able to source three properly accredited workers for each 4 job positions existing currently. This one concept alone shows why Great Britain requires considerably more people to get into the IT sector. We can't imagine if a better time or market circumstances is ever likely to exist for getting certified in this quickly growing and evolving industry.

A number of trainees assume that the state educational route is the right way even now. Why then are qualifications from the commercial sector beginning to overtake it? With a growing demand for specific technological expertise, the IT sector has had to move to the specialised training that can only be obtained from the actual vendors - for example companies such as Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe. Often this saves time and money for the student. Many degrees, for example, clog up the training with a great deal of background study - with much too broad a syllabus. This holds a student back from getting enough specific knowledge about the core essentials.

Put yourself in the employer's position - and your company needed a person with some very particular skills. What is easier: Wade your way through reams of different degrees and college qualifications from various applicants, struggling to grasp what they've learned and what workplace skills they have, or pick out specific commercial accreditations that specifically match what you're looking for, and then choose your interviewees based around that. Your interviews are then about personal suitability - rather than on the depth of their technical knowledge.

Getting your first commercial position can feel more straightforward if you're offered a Job Placement Assistance service. In reality it isn't so complicated as you might think to secure the right work - once you're trained and certified; the shortage of IT personnel in Britain looks after that.

However, don't leave it until you have qualified before polishing up your CV. As soon as you start a course, list what you're working on and place it on jobsites! You might not even have qualified when you'll secure your initial junior support position; yet this is not possible unless you've posted your CV on job sites. In many cases, a local IT focused employment service (who will get paid by the employer when they've placed you) will perform better than any division of a training company. They should, of course, also know the local area and commercial needs.

A common aggravation of many course providers is how much men and women are prepared to work to get qualified, but how un-prepared that student is to get the position they've qualified for. Get out there and hustle - you might find it's fun.