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IT support: Training

Answered IT support: Training

  • Friday, August 01, 2008 8:32 AM
     
     
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     I recently qualified as a secondary school teacher in ICT. Prior to that I studied for a Foundation Degree in Science (studied computers for 2 years) with the University of Central Lancashire. As part of my degree I spent 6 weeks in the council's IT department observing different members of staff carrying out their duties. I want to develop a career in IT and be taken seriously in the profession so want to get some recognisable practical experience under my belt. I am very interested in networking but also feel the need to gain practical experience in providing technical/desktop support. I have an academic understanding of the workings of computers (hardware and software (OS)) and want to feel confident in providing support and trouble shooting problems for others. I have been told that doing the A+ will help develop my technical knowledge and experience in this area but can't seem to find any information on this website. I am new to this site and probably looking in the wrong places. If anyone can advise me on the best way forward and provide me with links for futher information I would be very grateful.

     

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  • Friday, August 01, 2008 12:56 PM
    Answerer
     
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    Sue-

    A+ is a great "beginner" certification to work towards, but it is not a Microsoft certification, it is a Comptia cert.  You can find more information at:
    http://certification.comptia.org/a/

    Before some of the other regulars come through and point this out, I will warn you that certification WONT replace practical experience in getting your hands dirty with the technology/products you want to work with, but it is a good start to getting you familiar.  I have found that some people have a knack for troubleshooting and some don't and a certification won't help that either way.

    While doing the cert let your friends/family know that you are available to help them with any issues they might have.  Research the problems on the web and get in there and fix them, this will help you while studying for the cert and give you some experience with what people are like as end users.

    Good luck to you and you can always come by here for help/advice!

    Dave
    DaveLawlor.com
    • Marked As Answer by .revEditor Saturday, August 02, 2008 12:45 PM
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  • Friday, August 01, 2008 2:21 PM
     
     
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    Thanks for that Dave, can you tell me what microsoft course would provide me with similar training?
     
  • Friday, August 01, 2008 3:22 PM
    Answerer
     
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    Sue-

    There is no Microsoft equivalent cert to the A+.  Microsoft Certs are more product based so you would take the cert of the product you were interested in.  With that being said you talked about wanting to do support roles before moving on to networking, depending on the jobs you were looking at you would need XP/Vista experience.

    You might want to take a look at the Curriculum Roadmap at
    http://www.microsoft.com/learning/education/roadmap/default.mspx

    Near the bottom it has links based on job roles and then a description of what you can do to reach that job.

    Dave
    DaveLawlor.com
    • Marked As Answer by .revEditor Saturday, August 02, 2008 12:45 PM
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