by Jason Kendall
Well Done! As you’re looking at this you’ve doubtless been pondering on re-training to work in a different industry – so you’ve already done more than most. Only one in ten of us are satisfied with our careers, but most complain but just stay there. You could join a select group who actually do something about it.
We’d strongly advise that prior to beginning any individual training program, you discuss your plans with a person who has knowledge of the industry and can give you advice. They can assess your personality and help you sort out a role to fit 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?
* Building and Banking are struggling right now, so think carefully about the sector that will be best for you?
* Should this be the only time you will need more qualifications?
* Are you worried with regard to your chances of getting another job, and being gainfully employed all the way until retirement?
The most significant market sector in the UK that fulfils the above criteria is the IT industry. There’s a need for more skilled technicians in the industry, – take a look at any jobs website and you’ll see for yourself. Don’t let people tell you it’s all techie people looking at their computerscreens all day – it’s much more diverse than that. Most of the people in IT are people of average intelligence, with well paid and stimulating jobs.
Bearing in mind so much discussion on the area of computing technology nowadays, how can we appreciate what in particular to look for?
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.
A lot of training providers will only provide support to you inside of office hours (typically 9am-6pm) and sometimes a little earlier or later; very few go late in the evening or at weekends. Never buy study programmes that only provide support to you through a call-centre messaging service when it’s outside of usual working hours. Companies will always try to hide the importance of this issue. Essentially – you want to be supported when you need the help – not at times when they find it cheaper to provide it.
We recommend looking for colleges that utilise many support facilities across multiple time-zones. All of them should be combined to provide a single interface and 24×7 access, when it suits you, with no fuss. Find an educator that goes the extra mile. Because only live 24×7 support provides the necessary backup.
Students who consider this area of study often have a very practical outlook on work, and don’t always take well to classrooms, and struggling through thick study-volumes. If this is putting you off studying, try the newer style of interactive study, with on-screen demonstrations and labs. Many years of research has constantly verified that getting into our studies physically, 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.
Purely on-line training should be avoided. You want physical CD/DVD ROM course materials where possible, as you need to be able to use them whenever it’s convenient for you – ISP quality varies, so you don’t want to be totally reliant on a good broadband connection all the time.
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?
The ideal solution is to have all your study materials packed off to your home before you even start; every single thing! Thus avoiding any future problems that could impede the reaching of your goals.
One interesting way that course providers make extra profits is by adding exam fees upfront to the cost of a course and offering an exam guarantee. It looks like a good deal, but let’s just examine it more closely:
They’ve allowed costings for it by some means. You can be assured it’s not a freebie – it’s simply been shoe-horned into the price as a whole. If you want to qualify first ‘go’, evidence suggests you must fund each exam as you take it, prioritise it appropriately and apply yourself as required.
Hold on to your money and pay for the exam at the time, and avoid college mark-up fees. In addition, it’s then your choice where to sit the exam – so you can choose somewhere closer to home. A surprising number of so-called credible training providers make big margins by getting paid for exam fees early and banking on the fact that many won’t be taken. Most companies will insist on pre-tests and not allow you to re-take an exam until you’ve completely proven that you’re likely to pass – which actually leaves you with no guarantee at all.
Average exam fees were approximately 112 pounds twelve months or so ago via VUE or Pro-metric centres in the UK. So don’t be talked into shelling out hundreds or thousands of pounds more to get ‘Exam Guarantees’, when common sense dictates that what’s really needed is study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams.
At times individuals don’t catch on to what information technology is about. It is electrifying, revolutionary, and puts you at the fore-front of developments in technology that will change our world over the next few decades. Society largely thinks that the revolution in technology that’s been a familiar part of our recent lives is cooling down. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are huge changes to come, and the internet particularly is going to dominate how we conduct our lives.
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.
About the Author:
After 2 Decades in IT, Jason Kendall has turned his attention to computer training (UK based) consultancy. If you’re interested in
IT Training, visit LearningLolly
IT Training Courses.