Instructor Led CompTIA in Johannesburg?

[PsyCLown]

Hi all,

I plan on doing some CompTIA courses next year (A+ and N+, perhaps Security+ as well).
I would prefer having actual classes, having it be instructor led instead of doing it online.

Do any of you know of any place in Johannesburg that offers such a thing?

Really need to try find out sooner than later. I am struggling to find a place that offers instructor led CompTIA courses.

Thanks

[Tribble]

These people don't offer the exams but they do the training. Not sure if CompTIA is covered but check them out. I know a lot of the lecturers and they are really knowledgeable

LGIT Smart Solutions

[PsyCLown]

I will take a look and find out.

Thanks

[DAE_JA_VOO]

What do you want to do besides A+ and N+ (and maybe Security+)? A+ and N+ are SUPER quick, I did them both in under a month. So you need to figure out what you want to do after you do those two

Not sure of institutions in JHB, but just curious about your studies

[PsyCLown]

Hmm, if they are that short then I am not sure. I thought it would take me at least 6 months.

I was then thinking about working and getting some work experience and the next year (2012) trying to specialize in something and possibly working part time while doing so).
Maybe going into databases or perhaps Cisco neworking. I am not 100% sure.
Someone mentioned SAP databases. I do dislike coding though (we do Delphi at school and I really hate it) so would like to stay away from that.

Perhaps you have some ideas or suggestions for me?

EDIT: How did you do your A+ and N+? Online, if so through who?

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Okay, error on my side. I did A+ and N+ in 8 weeks. Just checked now You can absolutely do them in less time though. I hardly spent any time studying for A+, in fact, you could probably get 60% minimum if you wrote the exam out of your head. N+ requires a little more studying, but it's also SUPER easy. I did my A+ and N+ as "intro qualifications" to the other qualifications I studied (Microsoft stuff). So, my bad there, I said under a month. I'm certain that you could do it in under a month though

Once you're done with that, jump into something you know you want to do I did MCSE, MCSA, and then I went on to the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: SQL, but I freaking hated that. Cisco is a WHOLE lot of fun, but the exams are not easy, at all. And they're fairly expensive (R2200 over the +-R700 for MS exams), so failing one of those bad boys is no fun.

I did my all my studies (apart from Cisco stuff - TorqueIT) through CTU. I wouldn't recommend them though.

If you go the MCSE route, be prepared to study your butt off. I remember the first few months of my first study year being a breeze, with A+ and N+ (I got 100% for N+ ), and 70-270 being super easy. Then came the 70-290 and 291 exams. That's when I failed my first exam (291). Gosh that exam was a killer. Hahahaha. If you're going into IT, be ready to study

[PsyCLown]

How come you do not recommend CTU?

Torque-IT seem quite nice. Do they provide classes that you attend or is it all self-study and you just go there to write the exams?

Also with regards to Cisco, studying what in Cisco would benefit me the most with trying to find a job and one that pays quite well?

[DAE_JA_VOO]

I don't recommend CTU because I just feel that it's not a good school, you know? The way my studies went there really wasn't something I was happy with.

Torque IT is actually the top Cisco Tertiary institution in the whole country, and if I'm not mistaken, then whole continent as well. They're really good at what they do. I did my CCNA through them, and there were CCIEs teaching!

With Cisco, your best bet would be to start at CCNA and work your way up. That way you get to see if you like it as well, you know? Cisco is something you really need to get into. Binary code becomes second nature, and subnetting becomes something you can do in a few seconds in your head. I actually got a call the other day from a buddy who asked "Dude, I need you to subnet this network in such a way that I can only get 8 hosts onto the network, or the closest to that", and I literally did it for him while I was driving and talking on the phone with him

It's a LOAD of fun though. I love Cisco stuff. Routing and switching is awesome

[PsyCLown]

Hmm, alright.

So perhaps I will do my A+ and N+ with Torque-IT and then start working towards my CCNA.
How long did it take you to get your CCNA?

I'm taking a look at Cisco and how their certification stuff all works. Quite interesting and seems really nice especially in the sense that you get your CCNA and then from there you can decide on what exactly it is you would like to specialize in.

[Tribble]

I have trained groups that have done the same course at Torque-IT, they were very unhappy with the knowledge of the trainer. So unhappy they chose to redo the entire course at LGIT. So I guess it depends on who you get.

[PsyCLown]

Yeah, would make sense. Also some may find a certain instructor amazing and understand him/her perfectly while the person next to you find the instructor pretty useless and not fully understand him/her.

Also you may just get some instructors that aren't as great as others. Not much you can do about that unfortunately.

[Tribble]

Nope - but this was a group of 10 people They couldn't all be wrong But it was an end user course too - and not one of their tech courses. Perhaps they concentrate more on those.

[DAE_JA_VOO]

I had an awesome lecturer when I was there. In fact, I had two lecturers and they were both great. The first one had a bit of a boring voice but his teaching was superb

This was CCNA though, so not "end-user" at all.

[PsyCLown]

DAE, so I think next year I will do my A+ and N+. Then I will do Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices Part1 and Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices Part2.

How long do you think doing those 4 things would take?

After I have my CCNA I will decide on what to specialize in further, which of the routes to go with regards to Cisco. Will possibly do a MCSE course or something along the way as well?

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Well, if you study hard, you could pull off those 4 exams in less than 6 months, I'm sure

[PsyCLown]

Ok, so then I think that is sorted.

I will do those 4 exams next year, will see how I am coping and see confident I am etc.

If I finish within a year I think I will work for the remainder of the year to try gain some experience and then decide on which path to take with Cisco.

AWESOME!

Thanks DJV!

[DAE_JA_VOO]

No problem dude

[PsyCLown]

Ok, a bit of a thread revival.

I am looking for some other institutions that offer CompTIA and Cisco courses with instructors.
So no places that are online.

It needs to be based in Gauteng as well.
Hopefully one of you will be able to help me out? The sooner the better.

Thanks!!