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Hey all,

I’m looking for suggestions for training resources for someone whose new to the IT field entering with basic computer knowledge (specifically building PC’s). What are the recommended training platforms to help new people get caught up quickly?

Some context - I’m looking at bringing on someone whose new to IT but interested, so they’ll be paid to attended training for the first couple months to help get their feet under them. We’re a small MSP that focuses on helping small businesses with their IT needs (like ~10 office employee type businesses). We use the Microsoft 365 suite for everything, no on-prem servers. Up-To-Date information is obviously super important.

Another area is training them on Helpdesk issues. We don’t get many support calls, so it’s going to be hard getting hands-on experience quickly. Some platform that can simulate common issues or apply critical thinking and troubleshooting exercises would be a great reference as well.

Any thoughts on this?

Update: Thank you for all the responses! I checked out a lot of the recommended courses so far (6 comments at the time of writing). It seems like CBT Nuggets is the best option for us, to pursue the CompTIA certifications and Microsoft certifications. My thought is to at least start with training that they’ll be working in often - Microsoft Defender, Azure AD, Intune, etc.

If you have any other platform suggestions or specific Microsoft certs you think would be valuable I’d gladly check them out. Thank you all.

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There is quite a few different resources available when it comes to new to IT. I recommend using Udemy if you have specific courses or certifications in mind or maybe ITProTV if you’re wanting to give your new hire more of a free range into learning. I myself personally use INE which is mainly for Cyber Security/ Cisco Certs like CCNA/CCNP, etc. I have also heard that CBTNuggets is a really good platform as well. Another really good thing to is that these companies tend to give better deals for businesses. Best of luck to your new hire!

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Oh and I would recommend that this user get atleast A+ and Network + just to get the basic certs under their belt!

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Have them watch Professor Messer’s A+ material. It’s not dry and he explains everything very well. As for Office 365 material I’d recommend Pluralsight.

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All the companies mentioned above are great resources (Udemy, INE, PluralSight, CBT Buggets). You should look into them and compare. I agree with JR321, they should get their A+ and Net+ under their belt. Some of these systems allow you to monitor their progress.

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I know this might not help all IT people out there but definitley take a look at Pulseways resource center. We have E-books, blogs, articles and a bunch more of material about a bunch of IT topics from a MSP handbook to a Compliance Management blog. We also have a Knowledge Base on our Forum, however this is more Pulseway focused but check it out none the less.

You can find the Resource Center here

and the Knowledge base forum here

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OP, have you looked into the Google IT Support course? That course is designed to take someone with no experience to just above entry level in 3-6 months. The course fee is $50 bucks per month after the first month with Google stating the average student ends up spending about $300 dollars from start to finish (including the certification).

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I would second Professor Messor. It was free last I checked and having their A+ and Network+ certs is a good place to start.

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We have used Stormwinds and have been happy with the content, It has everything your probably looking for.

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For your mention of M365 Suite I would highly recommend MS Learn you can have them study those beginner courses and the exams aren’t to badly priced for the fundamental ones.

For general IT stuff I agree with most of what’s been mentioned here, CompTIA, is great for any starter and Prof Messer’s free courses will help alongside that also.

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Hey OP,
Just as an additional resource, @OpenText_Cybersecurity offers a variety of learning resources that might be interesting and helpful for your new staff member getting into IT. Your post made me think about our certification services and if you’re interested you can explore more about our training options here . You can browse our upcoming events and webinars here .
And since so many new folks rely upon our community for support when they’re just getting started, definitely get them to sign up for a Spiceworks account as well if you haven’t already.
Even though at first learning anything can feel overwhelming, they’re so fortunate to have a supportive environment that is investing in them. Wishing you and your team all the best and please let me know if you have any questions.

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We use to use CBT nuggets, but I began to find that the course material wasn’t being updated as regularly as we liked. We are looking at the site our MSP suggested which was ITPRO.TV. It seems pretty up to date, and the pricing structure wasn’t too bad.

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I agree there are quite a few different resources available when it comes to new to IT. CompTIA issues certifications for the information technology industry. It is considered one of the IT industry’s top trade associations.

What kind of certifications they are looking to achieve? Check out the different career pathways and their certs here: Which Certification is Right For Me | CompTIA IT Certifications

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Pluralsight, CBTNuggets, LinkedInLearning (formerly Linda.com) - I’ve found all of these to be very good. I think I was using CBTNuggets when I got a lot of my certifications.

Stormwinds is good but I think it’s better for a more entry level IT Pro, that might benefit from a mentor style teaching environment. I got annoyed with all the tangents some of the instructors would go off on that didn’t really add much to the course in my opinion. If you find their stories entertaining maybe this would be a plus.

A lot of these systems share content so definitely check the course catalog before you buy.