Your stories: which course would you attend first, if you won Free Training for Life?

By Sarah Morgan

Which would be your first certification, if you won Firebrand's Free Training For Life competition? You'd get free access to over 160 training courses from the likes of Microsoft, Cisco, EC-Council, CompTIA, PMI and many more. Whether you're working in IT security, cloud computing or project management, you'd find the courses you need to climb up the career ladder.

We asked you to share your “first course choices” on our Google+ page, because we were curious about your picks and the stories behind them.

Reading your responses was thoroughly enjoyable. Some of them were witty, well-justified and though provoking, so it was hard to pick the Top 5. But at last here they are, the best answers from 5 lucky winners of 100 extra tickets to Free Training For Life:

It’s extremely important to keep your networks safe and this response seems to agree.

“If I won FTFL I would choose the Cisco CCNA and CCNA Security as my first course, as I know that I would then be able to protect my systems and myself without physical confrontation. I am small so actual confrontation has never gone well for me. So having that card in my back pocket will set me off on the right path. I would then go down the project management side of things and do PRINCE2 course and other courses related to project management.“ – Rachel

Some of you have already attended training with Firebrand, so you know what to expect and how to further develop the skills you’ve already got.

“If I won FTFL it would be a toss-up between Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) and CompTIA Sec+. Having done CompTIA A+ I thoroughly enjoyed the course and loved the introduction into cryptography, the AAA of computing, types of attacks and various methods of procuring data - I had no idea that it was so in-depth and that was just a skim over the subject.

Having developed an appetite for it, I think both courses would be a great next step, though I think the CEH would provide a unique insight into security from the side of the intruder. I spoke to some people doing the course whilst doing my CompTIA A+ on the Firebrand campus and they spoke very highly of the course and learned a lot.

I'd also build up my Comp TIA A+ a little more with N+ and then work through ITIL before potentially branching into CISM or CCNA. I plan to build a wide-ranging skillset throughout my career and hopefully Firebrand will be the ones to help me do it!” – David

This could be you in a few months' time. Watch Joseph, last year's winner, talk about his certification plans.

Having a solid foundation is essential in preparing for long-term future goals.

“With so much choice it's not an easy decision. It would be either the CompTIA Trifecta [A+/N+/Sec+] to gain a solid foothold in an IT career or a Cisco CCNA qualification. Cisco would be the ideal choice as in today’s ever increasingly "Connected" world this would probably the most future proof qualification, as networks are always going to be required and therefore the properly certified individual will be the 'Key player' to keep this moving forward.” – Paul

We can’t stress this enough: you can beat a hacker, if you can think like one.

“I would go for the EC-Council CEH v8 to acquire the required skillset needed to help keep networks more secure. It's like the saying...to catch a thief, you have to think like a thief. With Firebrand Training, that dream would become a reality…” – Clevelon

If you’re familiar with what you need to make progress, you have a very good chance of reaching your goals.

“If I win the FTFL Competition, I will start with the BCI Certificate Training. The reason is because as an IT practitioner, my chosen area of specialty is IT Management, and with the Five Core Modules of the BCI Curriculum, (1. Policy, Programme Management and Culture;  2. Understanding the Organisation;  3. Determining Business Continuity Strategy;  4. Developing a BCM Response;  5. Exercising, Maintaining and Reviewing BCM Arrangements) I should be able to gain the requisite foundation for a start in the Sphere of IT Business Management.” - Imo

As you see different people have different preferences and ideas about their future. We’d be delighted to hear more of your stories. Tell us which course you’d take first, if you won Free Training For Life. You can do so on the Firebrand Google+ page.

Send us your story of which course you'd take and why, and the best ones will again be rewarded with 100 extra entries and a "Failure Is Not An Option" t-shirt.

About the Author:       
Sarah writes for Firebrand Training on a number of IT related topics. This includes exams, training, certification trends, project management, certification, careers advice and the industry itself. Sarah has 11 years of experience in the IT industry.