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     06/28/2009


Computer Training
 How, Where, Do I Start?
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After years as a certification trainer, I can't count the number of times that I have heard a frustrated guru wannabe ask the question, "Computer Training, Certification, how, where do I start?" -- Will Harper, MCT  

Dictionary of Computer-related acronyms and jargon.  Click HERE to view now.  

One of the toughest parts of this question is, "Where do you want to go?"  And the corollary to that question is, "How much money and effort are you willing to put into it?" We can assure you that you will get back, 100-fold-and-more, what you put into it.  But then, what is 100 times zero?  You have to put something in, in order to get something out.

Some of the people who ask this question come to us, already guru's, but just can't get a job because they lack the certification credentials.  They already know-what-they-don't-know, and they are willing to put everything into the effort.  They have done their research, and they already know where to start and how much it is going to cost, and about how long it is going to take them.  They have come to get their A+, Network+, MCDST, CCITP, CCNA, MCSE, MCSA, and Security+ certs into their resume, to put them at the head of the line in the job market.  They have a goal (not a dream) and they usually succeed.

Others don't know a thing - they are career-changers or computer training beginners, but they are willing to put forth as much time and effort as is necessary to get to where they want to go.  These people are very train-able.  When we tell them that it will take 3 to 9 months of computer training, or more to achieve the A+, Network+, MCDST, MCP, MCSA and MCSE certifications that they seek, they take it in stride. 

Some computer beginners come to us, wanting to know how to get to be an MCSE, using free learning materials.  They expect to put forth a couple of weeks of coming to school (but no effort or homework), and they expect to have to pay less than $100 - $500 - $1000 for it.  (And, of course, to have a job waiting for them, with a limousine waiting at the door, when they go out with their certificate of completion...)  To them, we say, "Pleeeeze go away, and come back when you have a more reasonable expectation of what life owes you, and what you have to pay in time, effort, and money, to achieve in this world." 

Some (mostly those who do NOT have the certifications) question whether the A+ Network+ Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician ( MCDST ), Microsoft Certified Professional ( MCP ), Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator ( MCSA ), Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer ( MCSE ), Cisco Certified Network Administrator ( CCNA ) are any good.  Are these certifications worth it?  The answer is a resounding, YES!

Click HERE to ask for additional information. HyperLearning specializes in Microsoft training, computer security training, CompTIA training, ACES Fiber Optic / Cat 5 / Cat-6 installer training. We focus on YOUR CERTIFICATION. Located in Virginia Beach, serving Norfolk VA, Chesapeake VA, Portsmouth VA, and all of the Hampton Roads Virginia areas.
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If you went to college, you would expect to pay big bucks for your degree - and the college expects you to put in 3-hours of out-of-class-homework for every classroom hour.  Finally, the college expects you to take a tough exam, at the end of every course - and pass it.  Getting a certification credential is no different.  It still takes 3-hours out-of-class for each classroom hour, and there are tough (certification) exams at the end of each course.   It just takes a lot less total time and money than a college degree.

Most candidates will have problems with the financing, but the really committed will find a way.  HyperLearning Technologies can help many of them with GI Bill, Federal grant programs, or bank financing.  HyperLearning Technologies' certification curriculum is already approved by the Sun Trust Bank and the Navy Federal Credit Union - all you need to do is establish your credit, or get a co-signer who does have credit.

That college degree... We highly recommend them.  In fact, we have a trainer who has an AAS (IS and Networking), a BS (Computers), and an MBA degree (and NO certifications)-- but when he found himself on the streets, out-of-a-job, the FIRST question that the prospective employers asked was, "Are you certified?"  You know the rest of the conversation. 

Why spend over $137,000 on your education, and 6 years in the classroom, to make only $53,000 per year --

  • This is based upon statistics gathered from www.salary.com using 2006 data
  • A 6-year Master's Degree, today, would cost $137,000 (national average)
  • The national average salary for a Master's degree is $53,000 
  • At the low end, a 4-year Bachelor's degree, at a 4-year public/state college could cost only about $36,000, and only 4-years
  • The national average salary pay for that Bachelor's degree is $43,000.

When you could become Certified in less than 1 year, for as little as $250 a month, and make over $65,000 a year?

  • The MOST EXPENSIVE MCSE certification program at HyperLearning Technologies is less than $14,000
  • Add $3,000 more to that, if you are a beginner or career-changer, to pick up the basics in A+ and Network+ ( N+) training
  • Achieving MCSE will take as little as 9 months - a year at most
  • According to the MCP Magazine's 2005 survey, the average salary for a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer ( MCSE ) is $65,000.
  • It  is predicted to be even better in 2007

In teaching hundreds of Certified MCSEs who have gone out into the cold-hard world, and MADE IT, all of them have earned many times what it cost them for their computer training education and certifications.  Just read a few of our testimonials - these are UNSOLICITED.  Just our former students who wanted to say, "Thanks!"  Click HERE to read testimonials.

Click HERE to ask for additional information. HyperLearning specializes in Microsoft training, computer security training, CompTIA training, ACES Fiber Optic / Cat 5 / Cat-6 installer training. We focus on YOUR CERTIFICATION. Located in Virginia Beach, serving Norfolk VA, Chesapeake VA, Portsmouth VA, and all of the Hampton Roads Virginia areas.
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Here is our magic recipe for computer training success for beginners:

  1. All successful computer technician programs start out with the A+ certification.  CompTIA A+ is the starter class for all computer training.  This requires two certification tests, the A+ Essentials is the first step.  CompTIA exam 220-601 is the certification test.
  1. If you are already a guru, you may just self-study for, and take the exam on your own.  Many, including myself have done this.
  2. If you are computer trained and experienced, but not ready for self-study, HyperLearning Technologies offers an accelerated instructor-led course, which includes both the A+ Essentials, 220-601 and the A+ Network and Deskside IT Technician 220-602 certs in a single 48 hour course.
  3. If you are a computer training beginner, this will require 40 hours of instructor-led class time, and numerous hours of homework, study, and practice.  HyperLearning Technologies provides you with a basic computer training kit which allows you to learn the fundamentals of computers, how to take them apart, put them back together, recognize trouble symptoms, and correct them.  This is a foundation for all computer training.
  1. DO NOT GO ON, until you have completed the A+ Essentials 220-601 certification test - and don't spend weeks "studying" for it, after you have taken the course.  You should take the test within 2 weeks after finishing the computer training - or you will forget what you learned.  HyperLearning Technologies always schedules two weeks between courses, to allow you time to prepare for and take each certification exam, before starting on the next class.
    1. IF YOU PASS ON THE FIRST TRY, congratulations!  You earned it.
    2. WHEN YOU FAIL YOUR FIRST TEST, you already know what you don't know.  Spend 48 to 72 hours in locked-down-studying of WHAT YOU MISSED, and go back and ride that pony.  The best way to do this is to schedule the next exam, the minute you walk out of the testing center, then you will have no problem concentrating - because your money will be on the line.
  2. When you have the A+ Essentials Certification, start on your A+ elective.  We suggest the hardest one -- 220-602 Network and Deskside IT Technician.  It will make you more employable in the job market to take the more advanced A+ computer training, and the 220-602 certification exam.  This program is offered by HyperLearning Technologies in two packages.  For the experienced, we offer the 220-602 as part of the accelerated A+ program, reducing your cost appropriately.  For the beginners and career changers, this involves another 40 hours of instructor-led computer training.  Click HERE to learn more about A+
    • Note:  If you take an instructor-led A+ (2006) course from HyperLearning, we do not separate the training for A+ Essentials and the A+ electives.  We teach A+ like Medical school.  You learn the entire A+ field, then choose your specialization at the end of the course.  We have found, in our experience that students benefit more from this method - than from forcing them to choose, and separating the training components.  (A computer is a computer, you know.  And you need to know something about all of it, no matter what your specialty.)
  3. After you get your A+ certification, you will probably be able to find jobs as a Geek computer technican or entry-level "box-kicker" computer support person for a company.  We don't recommend it, unless you get that "opportunity of a lifetime."  You only have a few weeks of training left and your job will be easier to get, and pay more, after you have Network+ and an MCP credential.
  4. Next, EVERY computer technician needs CompTIA Network+ (N+) computer training. We have met very few people who, without the N + instructor-led training, can actually understand IP networking and it's many facets, such as CIDR subnetting and VLSM hierarchical routing.  It doesn't matter what your goal will be, this is a REQUIRED SKILL.  There are hundreds of books, and thousands of pages written on this subject - but it just doesn't soak in, without instructor-led training.  Click HERE to learn more about N+
  5. Here, you come to a junction in the road ---
    1. We recommend for beginners, go for the Microsoft Certified Desktop Technician (MCDST), get a job in the field, then come back for MCSA / MCSE / CCNA later, with more experience under your belt, for more advanced computer training.  MCDST also gives you an MCP credential.  You will normally be able to land a pretty good job with these credentials; since you will now be A+ certified, Network+ certified, MCDST certified, AND a Microsoft Certified Professional ( MCP ).  Depending upon your skill level when you started, this will make you employable within as little as 1 month -- 3 months, if you start from the beginning.  Click HERE to learn more about MCDST.
    2. Some, who have a strong motivation - or some experience in the field, go for an MCSA.  This is a 5-6 month, intensive computer training program.  It starts out, expecting you to already know all of the fundamentals in CompTIA A+ and Network+.  (You can take those CompTIA A+ and N + courses as prerequisites, as part of an extended MCSA / MCSE program at HyperLearning.)  HyperLearning's MCSA track is not picked to be the easiest path to follow - it is chosen to prepare you to go out and get a job -- and/or go on and become MCSE-certified or MCSE: Security certified.  Click HERE to learn more about MCSA.
    3. Those who chose to go on for their MCSE or MCSE: Security, continue for an additional 3-5 months of training.  Click HERE to learn more about MCSE.
    4. Some choose to go the Linux route.  This is a good career field, but is more limited in opportunities, since Microsoft has the lion's share of the high-end computer market.  It is also not a career path for the timid - a lot of Linux is stay-up-all-night-and-try-try-again. 
      • One, very good career choice is to start with the MCSA/MCSE programs, then expand into the Linux career field.  Almost every employer who has Linux, also has Microsoft - and the MCSE who can do both will always be at the head of the line for those jobs.
    5. Some choose to go for Cisco specialist certifications.  This is a very rewarding career path, but it is a very steep path to follow, and training and certification is very expensive.  Most people who achieve a Cisco Specialist certificate make a nice salary, but that path is steep, and very narrow.   Many who try to follow that path, never make it.
      • Again, a good career choice, if you don't intend to go to the top of the Cisco triangle, is an MCSA/MCSE (or-better, an MCSE: Security) with a CCNA or CCNP will always have a job. 
        • A CCNA by itself is not usually very useful in the job market. 
        • CCNP puts you in a more competitive position.  But remember, before they need routers, they MUST HAVE computers.
    6. Finally, some, like me, follow technical paths, build a highly credible resume, and decide to go into IT and computer instructor positions.  Computer certification trainer is a highly respected, and high paying career - but computer certification trainers require a huge amount of self-study, and continuous re-certification, in order to maintain that teaching credential.  (I'm showing my personal bias here, but academic IT teachers do not make any special salaries, and many don't have any real-world or certification credentials, except, maybe at the Doctorial level.  I have taught in an academic environment, for a few months.)

Click HERE to ask for additional information. HyperLearning specializes in Microsoft training, computer security training, CompTIA training, ACES Fiber Optic / Cat 5 / Cat-6 installer training. We focus on YOUR CERTIFICATION. Located in Virginia Beach, serving Norfolk VA, Chesapeake VA, Portsmouth VA, and all of the Hampton Roads Virginia areas.
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But, What about e-Learning?  It's cheeeeper, isn't it?  Yes, but...According to a recent poll conducted by Forrester Research, over half the people enrolled in e-learning programs in general failed to complete them because of “lack of interactivity.” The numbers get worse as the duration of the e-learning track lengthens. A follow-up study by Learning Tree revealed that the drop out rate steadily increases with the course duration: in a multi-part, 25-hour e-track 72% completed the first three-hour course, but only 52% completed two courses, and just 19% – not even a quarter! – of the participants completed the 25-hour e-track.  The ENTRY-LEVEL MCDST program, for a computer certification - that will get you a job -  is 160 hours.  What does that say about your odds of being successful in e-learning?

Good luck on your career, and if you are in the Hampton Roads or Tidewater Areas of VA, from Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, Newport News, Hampton, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Norfolk, or Virginia Beach; your best source of certification training is .... HyperLearning Technologies!  When you purchase one of our training programs, you won't have to spend another dime for training study materials, practice tests, or even certification test vouchers.  Some of our programs even provide you with take-home tool kits, so you will be ready to go to work the next day.  Our motivation is, we are not interested in giving you a certificate of completion - we want you to WALK AWAY CERTIFIED!  We are a GOLD CERTIFIED Microsoft Partner.  There is also a GOLD-MINE of additional information, browsing our web site.  Click HERE to go to our home page.

Click HERE to ask for additional information. HyperLearning specializes in Microsoft training, computer security training, CompTIA training, ACES Fiber Optic / Cat 5 / Cat-6 installer training. We focus on YOUR CERTIFICATION. Located in Virginia Beach, serving Norfolk VA, Chesapeake VA, Portsmouth VA, and all of the Hampton Roads Virginia areas.
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We offer many easy ways to pay for your computer training and certification programs, including Visa and MasterCard  Click this icon to obtain a BBB report on computer training and certification Virginia Beach, serving Norfolk VA, Chesapeake VA, Suffolk VA, Portsmouth VA and Tidewater VA and Hampton Roads VA   computer training from a microsoft gold certified partner for learning solutions CPLS

We are an OppInc/Workforce Investment Act ( http://nex-step.org/job_seekers/workforce_centers.htm ) Approved Contractor; we participate with Tidewater Community College's (TCC) Virginia Workforce Development program ( http://www.tcc.edu/wd/ ); and we are approved for GI Bill computer certification.  We can even refer you to a bank (if your credit is good, or you have a co-signer)
If you have any questions or would like more information about our training or services, email or call or fax George Geyer, Will Harper, Roger W. Geyer, or Vicki Ervin, our Training Consultant.

HyperLearning Technologies
Microsoft Gold Certified Partner for Learning Solutions (CPLS)
Computer Training, Computer Certifications, Computer Bootcamps, Computer Classroom Rentals, Corporate Training and Corporate Meeting Rooms
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PLEASE NOTE:
HyperLearning has moved to a bigger, better training facility on Feb 18, 2008.
Please update your records and visit us soon!
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HyperLearning Technologies
3630 S. Plaza Trail, Suite 250
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
Phone:  757.495.0714 (Training Center)
757.495.5487 (Home Office)
757.651.1117 / 377.3165 (Cell)
Call any time between 8:00 AM and 8:30 PM.
After 5:00 PM, call the Training Consultant line, direct, at (757) 651-1117.
(Training Consultant direct line is not open until after 5:00 PM)
Fax: 757.495.3725
email: Please type 'George.Geyer' '@' 'HyperLearn.com' into your email address to email HyperLearning Technologies' President. Providing Microsoft training, CompTIA training, and computer security trainining in Virginia Beach, Norfolk VA, Chesapeake VA, Suffolk VA, Portsmouth, and all of Tidewater and Hampton Roads / Newport News

 

CCDA, CCDP, CCIE, CCIP, CCNA, CCNP, Cisco, Cisco IOS, Cisco Systems, the Cisco Systems logo, and Networking Academy are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and certain other countries.  MCSE, MCSA, MCP, MCDBA, MCDST, MOUS / MOS, Windows Server 2003, Small Business Server 2003, SBS 2003, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft ISA server, Microsoft Official Curriculum, MOC, Windows XP, Microsoft Certified Trainer, MCT Microsoft Certified Business Partner and other Microsoft related logos are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. A+, Network+, N+, Security+, S+, Linux+, Server+, Certified Technical Trainer, CTT+ and CompTIA logos are registered trademarks of CompTIA.  Transcender Practice Certification Tests and Transcender partner logos are registered trademarks of Transcender Corporation. VUE / Prometric certification test numbers and the VUE /Prometric logos are registered trademarks.  All other trademarks mentioned in this document or Web Site are the property of their respective owners.

Accessibility

Hyperlearning Technologies is Certified to operate in Virginia by the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia. VA or the "GI Bill" (Veterans Education Benefits) is available for all the computer training programs we offer. Hyperlearning Technologies is also an approved training contractor for the Virginia Workforce Redevelopment financial assistance program.  Providing computer training and certification training for all of Hampton Roads Virginia, from the Peninsula to Southside, including Newport News VA, Hampton, VA, Yorktown. Phoebus, Portsmouth VA, Suffolk VA Chesapeake VA, Norfolk VA, and Virginia Beach.

Webmaster Will Harper, MCSE, MCT, CCNA 06/28/2009 10:37

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