4- Day - Training Examined:

4-Day - Training is defined as a CompTIA RFID+ certified preparatory course, taught by commercial organizations.  Although we have also included college curriculums in our examination.

Each training program is designed to familiarize an individual with all the different facets of RFID, as well as to prepare them to take the CompTIA RFID+ exam.   Currently, there are a few commercial providers and a few (but dramatically growing) number of universities, community colleges and business schools offering RFID training and instruction.  

Commercial organizations traditionally offer courses on RFID+ Exam Preparation, RFID in Supply Chain, RFID Software, and Vendor Specific integration.  In most commercial course training, you will have several days of classroom study as well as a "hands on" opportunity to work with tags, readers, antennas, etc.  At the conclusion of instruction, you may have the opportunity to take the CompTIA RFID+ exam through your commercial provider.

College curriculums also cover several different types of RFID courses, tend to provide much greater depth in specific areas of RFID, and are normally one or more semesters long.  At present, theses courses are traditionally a compliment to an existing Engineering or Computer Science program, and may offer the opportunity to achieve a Minor or Area of Concentration through the university.  Depending upon the schools financing or partnership with the commercial sector, RFID labs might be present and offer a "hands on" opportunity.  At the conclusion of instruction, you may have the opportunity to take the CompTIA RFID+ exam through your school, although you will most likely need to engage a commercial testing facility.

While either a commercial provider or college will provide the necessary foundation to learn RFID, you need the select the one that best meets your needs. 

 You need to ask yourself these questions:

1. Am I a tech guy/girl by "choice" or by "nature"?  
2. How much can I afford to spend?
3. How much time can I allocate to learn RFID?  
4. How far away is the training location I want?
5. Does the training offer a "hands on" experience?

Lets go through each of these questions:

Am I a tech guy/girl by "choice" or by "nature"?
We all have gifts, whether its beauty or smarts or height or whatever!  But we have to be honest with ourselves and choose the most appropriate learning methods consistent with our abilities.  Take myself for example; I'm a tech guy by choice, not by nature.  What I mean is, I don't have a math brain, I'm not going to learn difficult concepts the first time they are presented to me.  I might not even learn it the second time, but I will learn it the third or fourth time, and my gift is that whatever I learn, I can teach.  You need to ask yourself how intensive and how long of a program would be beneficial to you?  Is it a "boot camp" (a couple of days), a week, or a semester long program?  Remember, it's not how quickly you learn, its how effectively you learn and what you do with that knowledge.

How much can I afford to spend?
Obviously, this is a very critical question.  For the most part, learning RFID through a commercial provider, college, or even "boot camp" provider, can be an expensive proposition.  Commercial providers are around four thousand dollars (4-days), just for the course, not including travel, lodging, some meals, etc.  I don't know about you, but four thousand dollars is a lot of money to me.  College pricing today is staggering, and could easily range in the thousands if you include course(s), activity fees, relocation (if necessary), etc.  These options are not cheap, be sure to pick the right solution, the cost effective solution for you.

How much time can I allocate to learn RFID?
Commercial courses are normally around 4 days (not including travel).  At the conclusion, in theory, you are prepared to take the CompTIA RFID+ exam.  The reality is, you're not even close.  Could you just pass the test?  Maybe, but you wouldn't know the material really well like you should.  You are going to need to spend at least a couple of more weeks reading your books, reviewing your material, and committing concepts and rules to memory.  A semester long course, or courses, offers a much more comprehensive understanding of the technology, and a cumulative learning affect.  You will still need to study for the exam, but your knowledge will be slowly built upon, and you'll be much more likely to remember the material for a lot longer.  Although not all of us have the time to commit to a semester to learn anything.  Once we're out of college, our "life responsibilities" make it difficult to go back.  However, if you are in a favorable position to go to college, consider if it is the right choice?

How far away is the training location I want?
Unfortunately the training locations available today are all over the map (literally).  However, the major commercial providers are forging partnerships with established training organizations and more and more locations are becoming available.  While ideally the training center or school is in your home town, it's advisable to shop around 2 or 3 sites and compare their curriculums and instructors.  Not all training is created equal!

Does the training offer a "hands on" experience?
To develop an RFID Lab or "hands on" training center is equally an expensive proposition.  Just the hardware alone in labs can cost $25,000 or more.  Some training organizations have 1 or 2 labs, but provide instructional courses over many locations.  If the lab is in close proximity to the course training then great, but if not, it will most likely be an added cost to you in dollars and time.  Make sure you are aware of where the "hands on" training will take place before you commit to any program.  In addition, if your provider does NOT offer "hands on" training, you need to find another provider.

Check out 2-Day - Training Examined.