Leaving Army and need advice!!!

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Hi, Im new to Cert Forums so first of all hello!!,

Im due to leave the military very soon and im looking at going into IT, i come from the Royal Signals so have a communications background but not really IT side. Could some of you older and bolder IT guys have a look at this company for me and tell me what you think, through the Army im entitled to the larger package (£2500) and these courses include food and accomodation. The link below is for the package i would probably get but also have a look at other resettlement or ELC courses and let me know

Thanks very much

Johno

http://www.bluescreenit.co.uk/special/elc2350.htm

 

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Hi, welcome to the forum.

If you don't have a IT background I would recommend starting with the CompTia A+ first. This qualification is the industry standard for computer support technicians. The A+ consists of two exams:

CompTia A+ Essentials - It tests for the fundamentals of computer technology, networking and security, as well as the communication skills and professionalism now required of all entry-level IT professionals.

CompTia A+ Practical Application - is an extension of the knowledge and skills identified in CompTIA A+ Essentials, with more of a "hands-on" orientation focused on scenarios in which troubleshooting and tools must be applied to resolve problems.

I am currently studying towards this exam and find it very interesting, have been doing this for the past month now and hope to take the exam in the next couple of months. Hopefully start at the bottom of the ladder work my way up in the IT industry.

To do your MCSE MCSA etc you would need to know the basics first starting and working your way up ie: A+ N+ Security+ and so on. This will lay the foundations first for when your ready to do these exams.

Also keep looking at this forum because there are a lot of people on here who know there stuff.

Hope this helps.

Good Luck

 

Hi Johno,

Welcome to the forum. Bluescreen have a pretty good reputation and you won't go far wrong with them.

Take a look at these posts for someone in a similar position:

http://www.certforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=33593
http://www.certforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=37245

Remember that whilst undergoing the resettlement process there are more allowances available to you than just the Enhanced Learning Credit Scheme. Make the most of them while you can.

e.g

Night Subsistence Allowance which can be claimed towards accommodation costs: £80 per night.
Day Subsistence Allowance which can be used towards meal costs: £26.28 per day.
Individual Resetttlement Training Costs grant: £534.00
Incidental Expenses: £5 per day.
Standard Learning Credit: £175.

Most training providers should be able to work these to your advantage.

 

You need to know a lot more than just the basics or have a foundation before tackling an MCSA / MCSE. What you should have is industry experience in the technoligies themselves, other wise there is a good chance they can hurt your prospects rather than boost them. There are already too many 'paper MCSE's' out there as it is ...

 

I read through them links you gave me Billy and funny enough orangepeeleo says its a small world, he used to live next door to me in the block. I think im going to go with bluescreen IT which will, as you say in the other posts get me over qualified but without experience but like orangepeeleo i am more than happy to start at the bottom and work my way up where i will add my quals to my CV as i feel necessary. If you dont mind saying which company you work for i could look into them as well as i might as well use up my entitlement getting some classroom based training and i aim to get as much training as i can from the MOD budget. Thanks Johno

 

Seems like the pricing for the general public is a little high for some of those courses. also it would make me weary that they don't seem to be up to date with what they are offering. Those are courses for the old objectives for the A+ and Net+ that are all ready retired in the US. This may be silly but I also found a typo on the website and that makes me wonder.

Just do your research as it seems you are. The other poster says they have a good reputation and I didn't find a bunch of complaints all over the internet. A+ and Net+ is a good place to start and you may still have time to take one or both in time to have the certs for life instead of having to recertify every 3 years.

 

No problem Jonno, the A+ & N+ is a great place to start. But as i've explained in the past once you leave the service that training budget is gone, never to be seen again, so you may as well take advantage of it while you still can.

I will send you our details by P.M as I wouldn't want to break any of the site rules.

 

As an ex squaddie can I please implore you not to get over qualified right from the start, take it nice and slowly and build up the experience and confidence to move onwards and upwards.

I think it would do you more harm now to try and fail for going down the MCSA\MCSE route with quite literally no experience whereas getting the A+ and N+ certifications now will get you an entry level cert and start building up your confidence without knocking you down.

When I left the Army (Ex Radio Operator from the RLC) I left having gained my CNA (Certified Novell Admin) course through resettlement (AMRAF Training who have since gone bust), it was an upper\entry level cert but I did have a lot of previous experience. It was enough for me to have that and got a job two weeks before leaving, I then spent a year working and gaining the experience needed to move both my career and certification skills to better places.

My one advice to anyone starting out in IT is to never over qualify as it can and will really hurt your career and knock your confidence for six if you fail exams.

 

Some great advice put forward here Johno! So +1 on them all!

SimonD, that is one hell of an impressive list of certs you have there! I ought to take a leaf out of your book!

 

I got my first cert 14 years ago (the afore mentioned CNA), given the timescale it's ok. To give you an idea, I got my NT4 MCSE in 1999, my 2003 MCSE in 2005 and my 2008 MCITPs in 2010, quite a few years in between if you think about it.