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Other Educational Opportunities!
While the PC Repair Technician is one of the easiest IT industry professional jobs to actually learn and master within a reasonably short period of time, there is no question that the IT industry can be difficult to get into: it can be quite a challenge to land the first job. In fact it can be a challenge to get a first interview when your resume lists no experience in the field.
... Difficult, but not impossible. One of the only ways that you have of improving your chances of getting noticed in the stack of applications and that you have control over, is your own education; or more precisely your certifications. The more certifications you have, the better your chances of being noticed while applying for the entry-level positions that do not require experience. By pursuing the Dept. of Engineering's College Credit Certification track you can accumulate THREE certifications within one year relatively easily. Every single class that you take in this program counts directly toward the graduation credits of the Computer Engineering Technology Associate in Science Degree as well.
Students should strive to achieve at the very least the CompTIA A+ Certification, as well as the MDC Microcomputer Repairer/Installer Certification. This certification provides you with additional training to prepare you for the CompTIA Network+ certification and the CompTIA Server+ certification as well. By obtaining these two additional recognized industry standard certifications you increase the number of applicable certifications that you can add to that section of your application and your resume. Adding the MDC Computer Specialist certification requires only THREE more classes and adds yet another certification to the list; again improving your chances of getting noticed.
In addition to these FIVE certifications that you will receive training for within 8 months (CompTIA A+, Network+, and Server+ as well as the MDC Microcomputer Repairer/Installer and Computer Specialist) you can easily add one or more within that same time frame including:
MCP - Microsoft Certified Professional: Requires the successful completion of ONE of several specific tests, some of which are an integral part of the MCSE - Microsoft Certified System Engineer.
HP Certified Professional - Hewlett/Packard offers many different certifications directed toward the support of their products, some of these certification programs have minimal prerequisites.
CCNA - Cisco Certified Network Associate: Requires the successful completion of several specific tests, this is a longer and tougher certification than the MCP but can be shorter than the MCSE.
Aside from these "vendor specific" certifications there are still other programs that can place valuable IT industry credentials like the CompTIA and MDC College Credit Certificates in your hands that can then be added to your resume. If you are interested in learning more about these alternative programs and gaining valuable hands-on experience in these classes then email me at: pcrepairprof@yahoo.com for more information.
Our program is one of the most inexpensive, one of the best equipped, and moves at a reasonable pace: not so fast that the student can do nothing but cram, and not so slow that the program takes forever to complete. A student starting with the Introduction to Microcomputer Service and Maintenance class can expect to complete the program in as little as 8 months depending on class availability and scheduling.
For more information, you can speak with an advisor or get the details of our Microcomputer Repairer/Installer Certification Program or check out the general information for the Introduction to Microcomputer Service and Maintenance classes for the upcoming semester.
