Hi all

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Hello everybody,
May i just say what a brilliant site this is. Been browsing the web for some inspiration for a while now and it's great to see so many different levels of experience out there offering their help. . Good on yer.
I have a bit of a dilemma. I am within a stones throw of starting a computeach course for a+,mcse and security. I've signed the enrolment forms but have 10 days to cancel if i wish. As much as i think this is the right path for me, it's a hell of a lot of money and after reading a few forums, am quaking in my boots.
However i do have in my posession a+ complete, exam cram and
labs manual which i was originally going to embark on. I'm now thinking it would be wiser to take a step at a time and work up.
I have a good basic knowledge of hardware anyway.
Would the mike meyers material be better reading or would the books i have suffice. I hope somebody can guide me in the right direction.

 

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Hi St Giles and welcome!

That is a question for you to answer although the good people on here will give you their thoughts.

I myself have gone down the training provider road, i did a year in college but the work was very varied so not so much on the topics that i wanted to learn.

People will say it is a lot of money and i see where they are coming from but it depends on the persons needs.

The studies that i will be undertaking are A+ N+ CCNA CCNP with a training provider called Scheidegger. Now i think that i could have got throught the A+ on my own but in the long term i think that the assistance from the training provider will be most helpful. When it comes to the Cisco studies i personally think that the live on-line classes and the live labs will be of great benefit to me, but someone already working in that kind of environment may be able to get by without it but i definatly think it is for me, even although there are cheaper alternatives out there.

I know this does not directly answer your question but i hope it is a little help.

All the best whatever you decide!

 

Greetings, st giles. Welcome to CertForums. Glad you like the place. As far as self studying goes, I can only assume (not having used them) that your resources are ok. I like Meyers because he presents all of the necessary material in an extremely readable way (for me anyway...but reading the writing of a Texan isn't too much of a stretch for me).

I'd have to agree with Weemez. Self study vs Organized study is a matter of preference and what you think is best for you. I think apptitude, learning style, and familiarity with the material also play into a decision like this.

I had absolutely no computer background when I tried to self study for the A+ (aside from being an end user). It didn't work out because I had no frame of reference for the material I was trying to learn. Classroom instruction worked out for me much better.

Let us know what you decide to do. Hope we can help out with your studies.

 

Hi St Giles,

Firstly welcome to the forum,i to started a course with Computeach following the A+,MCSE route i just thought i'd let you know my personal experience of the training they provide,firstly the sales rep did a very slick job in selling the company to me telling me only one in three are allowed to join the training program, a real butter me up job(do they tell everyone this?).
The initial training material for the IT fundamentals is pretty good and is fairly straightforward to complete,you are then supplied with a complete A+ book from Sybex and access to a website for internet based training, the book is ok if a little tedious to read.
The training material on the website i personally found to be of little use,lots of clip-art on each page and little in the way of written information, i only had a dial up connection at the time so you can imagine how infuriating it was to download all this clipart!!.
I haven't been to the workshops as yet but from other threads i understand they are excellent,make the most of the facility to e-mail the tutors with any questions you have(i believe you can send in five questions a day?)
If i was you and i was still determined to go with computeach i'd try and obtain a few books other than the Sybex one that comes from Computeach (i've just ordered the Mike Myers books) down load the Cramsession books and last but probably most important use the forum there's lots of people who've allready been through these courses with lots of invaluable help to offer.

Good Luck

Andy

 

Hi,
Cheers chaps for your advice. I guess your right, in a way its all about the individual and their requirements. Rest assured i shall let you know my decision and will undoubtedly seek advice on this excellent site again. C,ya

 

Hi and welcome from me too, St Giles - hope we can help, however you proceed

 

Hi and welcome to the forum.