Well Done! As you’re reading this article you’re probably toying with the idea of getting re-qualified for a new job - so you’ve already done more than most. Only one in ten of us are pleased to go to work each day, but most just moan and do nothing about it. You could join a select group who take responsibility for their future.
With regard to individual courses, discuss your thoughts with an industry expert who will give you advice on the right type of training for you. A person who will get an understanding of your personality, and find out what types of work suit you:
* Is working with other people your thing? Are you better with new people or those you know well? Or are you better with things that you can get on with on your own?
* What thoughts are fundamentally important regarding the industry you hope to work in?
* How long a career do you hope to have once retrained, and can the industry you choose offer you the chance to do that?
* Are you worried about your chances of finding new employment, and staying employable right up to retirement?
A predominant industry in this country to meet the above criteria is the IT industry. There’s a need for more qualified people in IT, just check out any jobsite and there’ll be a long list. Don’t let people tell you it’s all techie people gazing towards theirscreens all day - there are loads more jobs than that. Large numbers of the people in the computer industry are just like the rest of us, but they enjoy their work and get well paid.
Be under no illusions, the UK computing industry promises outstanding possibilities. Yet, to investigate fully, what are the questions we need to ask, and which are the areas we need to look at?
So many training providers focus completely on the certification process, and completely miss why you’re doing this - which is of course employment. Always start with the final destination in mind - don’t make the journey more important than where you want to get to. It’s common, in many cases, to get a great deal of enjoyment from a year of study and then find yourself trapped for decades in a job you hate, simply because you did it without some quality research at the outset.
Take time to understand your feelings on career progression and earning potential, plus your level of ambition. You should understand what industry expects from you, which certifications will be required and where you’ll pick-up experience from. Seek out help from an industry professional that appreciates the market you’re interested in, and who can give you ‘A typical day in the life of’ outline of what you’ll actually be doing with each working day. It makes good sense to discover if this is the right course of action for you long before you jump into the study-program. What’s the reason in kicking off your training and then find you’ve taken the wrong route.
You have to make sure that all your certifications are commercially valid and current - don’t even consider programmes which provide certificates that are worthless because they’re ‘in-house’. To an employer, only top businesses such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco or Adobe (for instance) really carry any commercial clout. Anything less just doesn’t cut the mustard.
We need to make this very clear: Always get full 24×7 professional support from mentors and instructors. You’ll severely regret it if you don’t follow this rule rigidly. Never buy training that only supports students via a message system after 6-9pm in the evening and during weekends. Companies will give you every excuse in the book why you don’t need this. The simple fact of the matter is - you want support at the appropriate time - not when it suits them.
Top training companies incorporate three or four individual support centres around the globe in several time-zones. An online system provides an interactive interface to seamlessly link them all together, at any time you choose, there is always help at hand, without any problems or delays. Search out a training provider that gives this level of learning support. Because only round-the-clock 24×7 support gives you the confidence to make it.
Students who consider this area of study often have a very practical outlook on work, and won’t enjoy sitting at a desk in class, and struggling through thick study-volumes. If you identify with this, opt for more involving, interactive learning materials, with on-screen demonstrations and labs. Studies have consistently verified that connecting physically with our study, is much more conducive to long-term memory.
The latest home-based training features self-contained CD or DVD materials. Instructor-led tutorials will mean you’ll learn your subject by way of their teaching and demonstrations. Then it’s time to test your knowledge by interacting with the software and practicing yourself. Always insist on a demonstration of the study materials from your training provider. The package should contain expert-led demonstrations, slideshows and lab’s for you to practice your skills in.
Many companies provide just online versions of their training packages; sometimes you can get away with this - but, think what will happen if internet access is lost or you only get very a very slow connection sometimes. It’s much safer to rely on physical CD or DVD discs which removes the issue entirely.
One area often overlooked by trainees thinking about a course is the issue of ‘training segmentation’. Essentially, this is how the program is broken down into parts for timed release to you, which vastly changes how you end up. Many think it logical (with most training taking 1-3 years for a full commercial certification,) for your typical trainer to courier one section at a time, as you complete each part. However: Sometimes the steps or stages insisted on by the company won’t suit you. And what if you don’t finish each and every section within their timetable?
For the perfect solution, you’d get ALL the training materials right at the beginning - enabling you to have them all to come back to at any time in the future - as and when you want. Variations can then be made to the order that you complete each objective where a more intuitive path can be found.
Charging for exams with the course fee then including an exam guarantee is common for a good many training companies. Consider the facts:
Of course it’s not free - you are paying for it - it’s just been wrapped up in the price of the package. If it’s important to you to qualify first ‘go’, evidence suggests you must avoid exam guarantees and pay when entering exams, give it the priority it deserves and apply yourself as required.
Why pay a college early for exam fees? Find the best exam deal or offer at the appropriate time, don’t pay mark-ups - and sit exams more locally - rather than in some remote place. A surprising number of current training providers secure a great deal of profit because they’re getting paid for exams at the start of the course then cashing in if they’re not all taken. It’s worth noting that exam re-takes through companies with an ‘Exam Guarantee’ are always heavily controlled. You’ll be required to sit pre-tests till you’ve proven conclusively that you can pass.
Splashing out often many hundreds of pounds extra on ‘Exam Guarantees’ is naive - when consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software is what will really see you through.
The world of information technology is one of the more thrilling and changing industries that you could be a part of. Being up close and personal with technology puts you at the fore-front of developments shaping life over the next few decades. We’re only just starting to get a feel for how technology will define our world. Computers and the Internet will massively change the way we see and interrelate with the rest of the world over the years to come.
The typical IT man or woman throughout Britain has been shown to get much more money than employees on a par in other market sectors. Mean average salaries are around the top of national league tables. Excitingly, there is no easing up for IT sector increases across Britain. The market sector is continuing to expand quickly, and with the skills shortage of over 26 percent that we’re experiencing, it’s highly unlikely that this will change significantly for years to come.
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