Anyone done a Comptia A+ computer course?

[toby123]

Hi, I've been looking into doing the Comptia A+ because I want to understand how computers work and possibly use these skills to get a better job. I think I need a structured course so that I learn the important stuff.

Training Square and 'Westminster College' do classroom courses over 4-5 weeks, attending once a week but the costs are in the region of £800-£1,000. All the rest that I can find are home learning courses with no hands-on element, which don't sound like they would cut the mustard. On the other hand, a bit of a downside to the courses in London would be having to travel there for the day which could be tiring and affect my learning.

However, aside from the sales pitch from several providers such as those above, I don't know anyone to ask for advice. Can anyone offer any???

 

[ColinJ]

Do you really need to go to a distant classroom to learn those skills? There are lots of free online resources, for example HERE.

 

[Roadhump]

I considered doing one of those courses a few years ago, for the same reasons as you. I thought the cost was very expensive - one company wanted almost £2,000 for an online correspondence course. I went to another trainer who provides training at their premises and when I asked about the Comptia course the bloke said, "I shouldn't really say this, but we'll charge you almost £1,000 for this course when you can buy a book with all the information in for about 20 quid" I bought the book and not the course. I suppose though that you wouldn't get the formal qualification that way. I soon got bored with the book as well. May be worth shopping around, but beware of high pressure sales tactics, the people who called at my house to try to sell me their courses were dependent on commission.

 

[annedonnelly]

I don't know anything about that course. If I were you I'd find out which particular qualification is relevant to the work you want to do. You may be able to do an exam and get the qualification without paying for the training - I've just done an ISEB training qualification and simply studied from a book and paid to sit the exam.

I'd say that £1000 for 5 days of professional training isn't unreasonable - you can easily pay £500 per day for professional IT training. Whether it's worth it is another matter!

There are now a lot of free online courses delivered by universities throughout the world. Some of them offer various levels of "certificate". Some of my IT colleagues are currently studying a course with Coursera and I'm studying with FutureLearn - though not IT subjects. Whether you can learn online tends to depend on the individual, their learning style and motivation. Its worth investigating...