Howdy

[minimonkey]

Hi there,

I'm a total novice when it comes to IT at the mo. other than word e-mail and stuff. So be gentle!
I want to do the A+ N+ and hopefully MCP courses. I'm doin a bit of reserch. What are distance learning centre like? anyone know?

Thanks 4 ur help

[Fastracksteve]

Hi and welcome. I'm sure you'll find the answers to all your questions on here

[BosonMichael]

I'd recommend self-study with a few books and a computer or two to tinker with, but the decision is ultimately up to you as to whether you study on your own or fork out the money for an expensive course.

Welcome to the forums!

[Notes_Bloke]

Hi & welcome to CF

NB

[BosonJosh]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

[greenbrucelee]

Hi welcome

I second what BM said, you can fork out ****loads of cash on a course, where they supply you with some books and tell to read them or you can just buy some books and study yourself and save ****loads of cash. If you have any questions and need help then you ask on here free of charge

[sunn]

Welcome...

In addition to what's been said, you may want to try the self-study route first. Give yourself a shot to:
A) save money
B) get your feet wet before spending a fortune
C) learn at your own pace
D) build a knowledge base for when you take the course (if you choose to in the future)

[Rafek]

Hello And Welcome,

I'll 'third' BM's suggestions!

All I'll say is don't be afraid to ask questions, everyone on this forum is always willing to help others.

Good luck with your studies.

[minimonkey]

Thanks 4 the help guys.

I should clarify a bit. I was on library computer and was about 2 get kicked off and had 2 make it short.

Anyways the learning centre i was looking at (distance-learning-centre.co.uk, check it out and tell me what u think please) seems alot cheeper than the others i've checked out. I had a bloke from advent come round with his spiel an nearly had a heart attack at the cost! £4650 for A+ MCP and MCSA
I've done a bit of maths selecting the seperate courses on DLC and I could do what i want for less than half that.
What i want to do is do the master class and A+ bundle do the mcp and possibly the N+, try to get a low entry job get some experience then go 4 MCSA.
What are anyones thoughts on this and what books would you suggest. The DLC course sounds good for me because I learn better by doing rather that just books on their own and the course has exam and simulation software included. I cant afford to take time off work to attend college (crappy minimum wage job, mortgage etc) so this would be ideal.

Thanks for your help guys, glad i found this site!

also i already have an ASlevel in ict if thats any use (wasn't to me) but it gave me a bit of computer knowledge. Still i'd like to brush up on my skills.

Sorry for the long post!

[greenbrucelee]

You could look into the option of self study, spending that amount of cash in my opinion is a bit daft. All you need for self study lets say for the A+ first are 2 books compTIA A+ all in one exam guide 6th edition by Mike Meyers and PC Technician street smarts by James pyles, and old pc to tinker with would help too.

The all in one exam guide covers everything you need to know for the two exams to become A+ certified and the PC Technician street smarts book puts what you have learned into practice by giving you exercises to do like installing a new hard drive and reseating the ram.

Just to add, you shouldn't be looking at the MCSA until you have atleast 6 months experience in a network administration job (this is what Microsoft recommend)

Also the correct cert path for someone looking for the break into IT is A+, N+ and MCDST then hold off uintill you have a good amount of experience.

Good luck

[BosonMichael]

Originally Posted by minimonkey

Anyways the learning centre i was looking at (**removed**, check it out and tell me what u think please)

I think it's a lot more expensive than self study for something that basically amounts to self study. Recommendation: avoid.

[greenbrucelee]

yep it look like a rip off.

Would you rather pay lots of cash to a company that send you a couple of books and tell you to read them or would you rather get the books yourself and cut out the middleman so to speak.

[Johnd76]

Hi ans welcome

[Rafek]

Yep, got to agree with Bm and GBL, Distant learning is in effect self study so why pay a middle man, purchasing the books/training material & exams will work out cheaper than one of those courses and you have the freedom to study at your own pace - go back on material you feel you need to improve your understanding and save a small fortune.

The only thing these distant learning course really offer is a support centre should you need to clarify some details or answer any questions, but with self study you got us at CF, who will always give you the support and time for any questions you may have..

Happy studying!

[UCHEEKYMONKEY]

there's some good advice there from GBL and BM

So..I can't really add to that except to say Hello & Welcome to CF