IT Career Courses
What might you expect the best training companies certified by Microsoft to give a student in Britain in this day and age? Undoubtedly, the ultimate in Microsoft certified training tracks, presenting a range of courses to lead you into a selection of professions with IT. Maybe you’d like to talk to industry experts, who could help you sort out whereabouts in industry would be best, and what sort of duties are a good match for someone with your abilities and personal preferences. Once you’ve decided on your career path, your next search is for a relevant course tailored to your needs. The standard of teaching should leave no room for complaints.
Apparently, the IT market shows exceptional prospects. But, to arm ourselves with the correct information, what questions do we need to be posing, and which elements are the most important?
A ridiculously large number of organisations only look at the plaque to hang on your wall, and forget the reasons for getting there – getting yourself a new job or career. Always start with the final destination in mind – too many people focus on the journey. Imagine training for just one year and then end up doing the actual job for 10-20 years. Avoid the mistake of finding what seems like an ‘interesting’ training program only to spend 20 years doing something you don’t even enjoy! You also need to know your leanings around earning potential, career development, and how ambitious you are. It’s vital to know what (if any) sacrifices you’ll need to make for a particular role, which particular certifications are required and in what way you can develop commercial experience. Before setting out on a learning programme, you’d be well advised to discuss specific career needs with an experienced industry professional, in order to be sure the retraining program covers all that is required.
Only consider study paths which will progress to commercially accepted exams. There are far too many small companies suggesting their own ‘in-house’ certificates which will prove unusable when it comes to finding a job. All the major IT organisations like Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA or Cisco have internationally recognised proficiency programmes. These heavyweights can make sure you stand out at interview.
Proper support should never be taken lightly – locate a good company providing 24×7 full access, as not obtaining this level of support will severely hamper your progress. Never purchase study programmes that only provide support to trainees with a call-centre messaging system outside of normal office hours. Trainers will give you every excuse in the book why you don’t need this. Essentially – support is needed when it’s needed – not at times when they find it cheaper to provide it. The best training colleges opt for an online access round-the-clock facility combining multiple support operations from around the world. You will be provided with a single, easy-to-use interface which switches seamlessly to the best choice of centres no matter what time of day it is: Support when you need it. If you opt for less than direct-access 24×7 support, you’ll quickly find yourself regretting it. It may be that you don’t use it late at night, but what about weekends, early mornings or late evenings?
If you’re like many of the students we talk to then you probably enjoy fairly practical work – the ‘hands-on’ individual. Typically, the painful task of reading endless manuals would be considered as a last resort, but it doesn’t suit your way of doing things. You should use video and multimedia based materials if book-based learning really isn’t your style. Long-term memory is enhanced with an involvement of all our senses – this has been an accepted fact in expert circles for years now. The latest audio-visual interactive programs with demonstrations and practice sessions beat books hands-down. And you’ll find them fun and interesting. Every company that you look at should be able to show you a few examples of their training materials. You should hope for instructor-led videos and a variety of interactive modules. Pick disc based courseware (On CD or DVD) every time. Thus avoiding all the issues associated with internet connection failure and issues with signal quality.
Exam ‘guarantees’ are sometimes offered as part of a training package – inevitably that means paying for the exams when you pay for the rest of your course. However, prior to embracing the chance of a guarantee, be aware of the facts: These days, we are a tad more knowledgeable about sales gimmicks – and the majority of us ought to realise that of course we’re actually paying for it (it’s not a freebie because they like us so much!) Passing first time is everyone’s goal. Taking your exams progressively when it’s appropriate and funding them as you go sees you much better placed to get through first time – you prepare appropriately and are mindful of the investment you’ve made. Do the examinations as locally as possible and don’t pay up-front, but seek out the best deal for you when you’re ready. Considerable numbers of questionable training providers make huge amounts of money through getting in the money for examinations upfront and hoping you won’t see them all through. Many training companies will require you to sit pre-tests and hold you back from re-takes until you’ve demonstrated an excellent ability to pass – so an ‘Exam Guarantee’ comes with many clauses in reality. Splashing out often many hundreds of pounds extra on ‘Exam Guarantees’ is remiss – when a commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools is what will really guarantee success.
We’re regularly asked to explain why traditional degrees are less in demand than the more qualifications from the commercial sector? With 3 and 4 year academic degree costs becoming a tall order for many, along with the IT sector’s growing opinion that key company training often has more relevance in the commercial field, we have seen a great increase in Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA based training programmes that educate students at a fraction of the cost and time involved. Clearly, a certain amount of associated information has to be learned, but precise specialised knowledge in the exact job role gives a commercially trained person a real head start. When it comes down to the nitty-gritty: Commercial IT certifications tell an employer precisely what skills you have – the title says it all: for example, I am a Microsoft Certified Professional in Windows XP Administration and Configuration. Consequently companies can identify just what their needs are and what certifications will be suitable to deal with those needs.
Discovering job security these days is very rare. Companies can throw us out of the workforce at the drop of a hat – as long as it fits their needs. Whereas a marketplace with high growth, where staff are in constant demand (due to a big shortfall of properly qualified staff), provides a market for proper job security. Taking the IT industry as an example, the most recent e-Skills investigation highlighted massive skills shortages throughout the United Kingdom around the 26 percent mark. Meaning that for each four job positions that exist in the computer industry, there are only 3 trained people to perform that task. Attaining proper commercial computer accreditation is accordingly a ‘Fast Track’ to realise a continuing as well as gratifying line of work. Because the IT sector is evolving at such a rate, could there honestly be a better market worth looking at for your new career.
