To be honest, I left school many years ago and decided to take these studies, it has not been an easy task but I had to do it and I cultivated the drive will and here I am today I HAVE DONE IT! Believe me anyone CAN DO IT, all you need is FOCUS, DETERMINATION and HARD WORK and these will take you through. I have just written the Comptia A+ Examinations and PASSED. Thanks to You All who make this Programme successful.
-Shepherd
As a student of skillstrain you don't really know what you made up of until you are confronted with challenges.
My first challenge was choosing a computer for my uncle and being responsible for maintaining and ensuring that the computer is in good condition, I almost refuse knowing as I am still a student not yet a certified pc specialist. The pc came with a security software installed in it, he wanted to replace the security software with another which I advice him not to do. Few days later he told me about an error message that keep popping up, it has not made him enjoyed using the pc. After a brief questioning he finally told me he removed the anti virus software that came with the pc which I warned him not to remove. The bad thing about this error message is that even when you click ok it appears within the next few seconds, but with the knowledge I gained from my course materials I was able to solve the problem even when the manufactures support department could not do any thing about it. So far I have been able to solve two more problems due to human fault on the pc. Ever since then I suddenly developed this confidence of carrying out maintenance on his pc and my brother's laptop. As PC specialist confidence is a must have , if you don't have it then its not there but with skillstrain you are assured .
-Victor
In April of this year, I applied for a new job with a Local Council for the position of Supervisor in a CCTV control room. Although I already held qualifications in management of CCTV, I decided to include the fact that I was studying for 3 I.T. related qualifications in the application.
I was invited to an interview where I was able to show the course work I was currently studying and material on the next two courses. More importantly I was able to show them my TMA results, with 17 out of 21 being 100%. The Council are currently in the process of changing over from an analogue to fully digital system, utilising the latest in I.P network systems. Because of what I have learnt on the course, combined with prior knowledge of CCTV, I was successful in getting the job.
On my first day I met with the manager who stated that I was the first in for interview and set the benchmark for the rest, with no-one coming near. They attributed this to my present qualification in CCTV, but more importantly the training I am currently undertaking and the qualifications I will hopefully achieve in A+, N+ and MCSE. This, they felt, was of great use to them with the new system coming on-line in the next couple of months, with myself as the administrator. It also means I get valuable hands on training with the contractors, overseeing the installation of the system.
Although I have taken quite a big reduction in pay to get this job, I see it as a worth while investment in the long run. I now have more time to dedicate to studying, aswell as moving in to a job I wouldn't even have thought possible for at least another 1-2 years.
-Kevin
As a student of skillstrain you don't really know what you made up of until you are confronted with challenges.
My first challenge was choosing a computer for my uncle and being responsible for maintaining and ensuring that the computer is in good condition, I almost refuse knowing am still a student not yet a certified pc specialist. The pc came with a security software installed in it, he wanted to replace the security software with another which I advice him not to do. Few days latter he told me about an error message that keep popping up, it has not made him enjoyed using the pc. After a brief questioning he finally told me he removed the anti virus software that came with the pc which I warned him not to remove. The bad thing about this error message is that even when you click ok it appears within the next few seconds, but with the knowledge I gained from my course materials I was able to solve the problem even when the manufactures support department could not do any thing about it. So far I have been able to solve two more problems due to human fault on the pc. Ever since then I suddenly developed this confidence of carrying out maintenance on his pc and my brother's laptop. As PC specialist confidence is a must have , if you don't have it then its not there but with skillstrain you are assured .
-Victor
Since last January I have been on long term sick leave, I was unable to commute to work due to an abdominal complaint, I have been through the complete barrage of tests, only to be told that the issue was related to a serious car accident I was involved in 2 years ago. I was finding it very hard to keep motivated, I had always wanted to get my MCSE and decided that whilst I was off sick I should put the time to good use. I am glad that I did as my results have been better than I imagined that they could be, I am now looking for a new position, whilst also planning my wedding to the most understanding woman you could meet, and her 3 children are giving me encouragement all the time. Thanks to Skillstrain and in particular Dave the course advisor who came and saw me.
-Alistair
After 20 years in Reinsurance (Insurance) working for Lloyds' Brokers and Underwriters , I had had enough of slogging up to London every day. I had always had IT (computers) as a hobby starting with the VIC 20, BBC Micro and Amiga in the '80's and decided that if I could turn my hobby into a profession I might be happier. Last year I signed up with Skillstrain and passed my N+ in December. I have since got a job as a a Support And Systems Engineer with a very reputable firm in Crawley. I now drive to work through the countyside and enjoy what I do (regardless of my current salary). I am being encouraged to continue with my MCSA/MCSE and I have a renewed sense of purpose! Thank you.
Clive
-Clive
Since I have started the A+ training in January 2007 I had no prior knowledge of hardware components or how to build a PC. However by fantastic support and advice from my tutors and the study materials I have been able to gain a better understanding. This has enabled me to fix my old PC back together by attaching additional memory cards and up-to-date components to the PC, in order for it to work faster and more efficiently. Therefore in the future I can apply my knowledge gained throughout this hardware course to real life situations and it will definately benefit my future IT career aspirations.
-Imran
(a) I managed to stick to my study plan, which was to read each module ahead of the applicable TMA. I have also managed to maintain a revision schedule (though with some difficulties because of other pressing engagements). Keeping pace with revision is helpful to me because the practice of scanning and browsing already read material once in a while has an effect of pushing the acquired information into the permanent or retention memory area of my brain. This will lighten overall preparatory revision for the exam at the end of the course and lessen or avoid stress.
(b) I have managed to submit about 2 assignments every week on average. At this rate (provided I maintain it) I intend to have submitted about 40 assignments by July 2007, while managing to retain in my memory a greater percentage of the covered material.
(c) Of the seven (7) assignments that I have submitted, I have repeated only one (1) assignment, whose mark was 60%.
(d) I have maintained an average of 80% mark for all the seven (7) assignments that have been marked so far, excluding the repeated 100% mark.
(e) I have taken an average of 6.5 minutes for each of the 10-question assignments, going by the eight (8) TMAs that I have submitted so far. The questions which I got incorrect (14 out of a total of 70 to date) were a revelation that I had not mastered the material for those questions in as much detail as the other sections whose questions I answered correctly and effortlessly.
(f) I have managed to put into practice the knowledge that I gained from the course. For example, In August 2006, I bought a DELL Dimension PC from a garage sale. But when I turned it on, the PC took about 2 days to boot, and would not run in the end. I sent it to PC World Clinic, who returned it after 5 weeks, having failed to resolve the problem on the grounds that I was supposed to provide them with a recovery disc, which I did not have, neither could I trace the seller. But after going through the BOOT and System Configuration modules of the MCSE course in February 2007, I managed to reconfigure the DELL PC to its original settings, and the machine is performing with explosive power right now, clearly surpassing the other 3 new PCs which I acquired previously from COMET.
In hind sight, this garage sale DELL Dimension PC turned out to be the most cost effective acquisition, all because of the MCSE studies in February 2007. The second example is that when Windows VISTA was launched, I upgraded one of my PCs with Windows XP Professional to Windows VISTA Ultimate. I encountered serious incompatibility problems with several programs on hard drive, especially the Symantec Antivirus 2006. Even the upgrade to version 10.2 as recommended on their website did not work. However, through the modules which I covered in February 2007, I managed to try things out and resolved all the problems and I am now enjoying pure magic in VISTA Ultimate on the 1MB RAM ACE Aspire T180. In the regime of tuning up a PC and resolving periodic and frequent PC problems, the knowledge gained in February from the MCSE course has been put to good use.
Therefore because I have managed to keep a good pace in my studies and revision work, and applied the knowledge which I learn to useful and practical purposes.
-Win
I've spent hours and hours working towards my dream goal of obtaining a professional qualification and becoming certified. My dedication and sheer will to succeed has contributed to my 100% record so far in my TMA. This course has helped me over many barriers that before I could not have climbed. The more problems I am able to solve the more I want to spend time with my studies and continue to grow. I spend 8 hours a day working and 2 hours travelling. Still I am able to find the motivation to spend time with my studies. Thank you skills train.
-Colin
I started off this course quite a while ago, but due to 'family' issues I had to take a break - so when I got back into the swing of things, I found out that Microsoft had retired the 70-210 exam - which I was in the middle of, so I've had to start from the beginning, of the 70-270 exam and Im doing well, getting TMAs handed in quite quickly and getting decent passes. I have also been taking part in Men's 10K runs, and made a personal record of 1hr 29 in one of the runs. I have also been taking part in the local Men's group which I've been a member of and been going out on Day Trips to places like Millport. I have also just started another IT training course, CCNA with an Academy and I aim to have the MCSE, and CCNA completed by Christmas - October's the birth of my next child, so it'd be a good achievement then.
-Sylvain
Since starting my cause have been able to understand computer hardware and software of which I know nothing about. im still studying for my compTIA A+ certificate and I enjoy every topic I studied. I hope to gain more knowledge in the future as I progress.
-John
Working 14 Hours a Day and Looking after 4 Children all over the weekend , gives me very little free time but I'm pushing the envelope at the course just completed tma 20, I'm well ahead of my schedule and have two exams booked in this month. I'm waiting for my next part of the course as well as working on the 270 updated exam course module. The next three months are going to be really busy for me.
-Barrie
I went from going at a snails pace through this course into a man possessed and am now spending much more time on studying and taking tests. A quick look at my track record will attest that I was dragging my heels a bit at the beginning but am now powering through very quickly. In my defence, I've had 2 little daughters born in the past 2.3 years and it's been a bit busier than when we were a bit younger, hence my training for IT and Triathlons has suffered. But I feel back on track now!
-Michael
|
