Byte-O-Rama

Networking Cisco CCNA Training Considered

by Jason Kendall

The CCNA qualification is the usual starting point for all Cisco training. With it, you’ll learn how to operate on the maintenance and installation of routers. The internet is made up of many routers, and many large organisations who have various regional departments rely on them to allow their networks to keep in touch.

You may end up employed by an internet service provider or a large commercial venture that is on many locations but needs to keep in touch. This specialised skill set is highly paid.

Having the right skills and knowledge before commencing your Cisco training is crucial. Therefore, discuss the requirements expected of you with someone who can tell you what else you need to know.

One area often overlooked by new students considering a training program is the concept of ‘training segmentation’. Basically, this means the breakdown of the materials for timed release to you, which vastly changes where you end up.

Many companies enrol you into a program spread over 1-3 years, and send out each piece as you pass each exam. On the surface this seems reasonable – until you consider the following:

Students often discover that the company’s ’standard’ path of training isn’t as suitable as another. You may find that a slightly different order suits them better. And what happens if they don’t finish at the pace they expect?

To avoid any potential future issues, it’s normal for most trainees to have all their training materials (which they’ve now paid for) delivered immediately, and not in stages. It’s then up to you in which order and at what speed you want to work.

Kick out a salesman who recommends a training program without performing a ‘fact-find’ to assess your abilities plus your level of experience. Always check they have access to a wide-enough stable of training programs from which they could give you an appropriate solution.

With a little real-world experience or certification, you could discover that your appropriate starting-point is now at a different level to a new student.

It’s wise to consider user-skills and software training first. This can often make the transition to higher-level learning a much easier going.

The world of information technology is amongst the most thrilling and changing industries that you can get into right now. To be working on the cutting-edge of technology puts you at the fore-front of developments that will impact the whole world for generations to come.

We’re barely beginning to get a handle on what this change will mean to us. The way we correlate with the world as a whole will be inordinately affected by computers and the internet.

If making decent money is high on your list of priorities, then you will appreciate the fact that the income on average of a typical IT worker is considerably higher than salaries in the rest of the economy.

As the IT industry keeps growing year on year, it’s predictable that demand for professionally qualified and skilled IT workers will continue to boom for quite some time to come.

Students who consider this area of study are usually quite practically-minded, and aren’t really suited to the classroom environment, and struggling through thick study-volumes. If you’re thinking this sounds like you, go for more modern interactive training, with on-screen demonstrations and labs.

Research into the way we learn shows that long term memory is improved when we use all our senses, and we get physically involved with the study process.

Top of the range study programs now offer interactive CD and DVD ROM’s. Through instructor-led video classes you’ll find things easier to remember through their teaching and demonstrations. Knowledge can then be tested by utilising the practice lab’s and modules.

Be sure to get a look at some courseware examples from the school that you’re considering. The package should contain expert-led demonstrations, slideshows and virtual practice lab’s for your new skills.

Plump for physical media such as CD or DVD ROM’s every time. You’re then protected from broadband ‘downtime’ or slow-speeds.

(C) Scott Edwards 2009. Browse around www.ciscoccna4.co.uk or Click Here.