Today, most companies would be severely hampered if it weren’t for support workers fixing both computers and networks, while advising users on a regular basis each week. Our hunger for those people is consistently on the grow, as industry becomes vastly more technologically advanced.
Finding job security nowadays is incredibly rare. Companies can drop us from the workplace with very little notice - whenever it suits. We can however discover market-level security, by digging for areas of high demand, together with shortages of trained staff.
Investigating the computing business, a recent e-Skills analysis brought to light an over 26 percent shortage in trained professionals. Basically, we can’t properly place more than 3 out of each 4 job positions in the computer industry. Well taught and commercially educated new employees are therefore at a total premium, and it’s estimated to remain so for much longer. Because the IT sector is increasing at such a rate, could there honestly be a better area of industry worth taking into account for your new career.
Without a doubt, the Information Technology (IT) market promises exceptional prospects. Yet, to properly investigate, which questions should we be posing, and which are the sectors we need to investigate?
Students hoping to start a career in IT generally haven’t a clue what path to consider, let alone which market to build their qualifications around. Working through long lists of different and confusing job titles is next to useless. The vast majority of us have no concept what the neighbours do for a living - so we have no hope of understanding the ins and outs of any specific IT role. To work through this, there should be a discussion of a number of definitive areas:
* Your hobbies and interests - as they can show the possibilities will give you the most reward.
* What length of time can you allocate for the retraining?
* What scale of importance is the salary - is it the most important thing, or does job satisfaction rate higher up on the scale of your priorities?
* Learning what typical work areas and sectors are - and what differentiates them.
* How much time you’ll have available to commit the training program.
To bypass the barrage of jargon, and reveal what’ll really work for you, have an in-depth discussion with an industry expert and advisor; an individual that understands the commercial reality whilst covering all the qualifications.
The classroom style of learning we remember from school, with books and manuals, can be pretty hard going sometimes. If you’re nodding as you read this, look for learning programmes which feature interactive and multimedia modules. Our ability to remember is increased when we use multiple senses - learning experts have been saying this for decades now.
Interactive audio-visual materials involving demonstration and virtual lab’s will beat books every time. And you’ll find them fun and interesting. It would be silly not to view a small selection of training examples before you make your decision. You should expect instructor demonstrations, video tutorials and a variety of audio-visual and interactive sections.
You should avoid purely online training. Ideally, you should opt for CD and DVD ROM courseware where obtainable, so you can use them wherever and whenever you want - you don’t want to be reliant on your internet connection always being ‘up’ and available.
Many students come unstuck over a single training area which is often not even considered: How the training is broken down and physically delivered to you. By and large, you will purchase a course staged over 2 or 3 years and receive a module at a time. While this may sound logical on one level, consider this: What if there are reasons why you can’t finish every single exam? And what if you find the order of the modules counter-intuitive? Due to no fault of yours, you mightn’t complete everything fast enough and not get all the study materials as a result.
Truth be told, the very best answer is to have their ideal ‘order’ of training laid out, but make sure you have all of your learning modules right from the beginning. You’re then in possession of everything if you don’t manage to finish at their required pace.
Some commercial training providers will only offer basic 9am till 6pm support (maybe a little earlier or later on certain days); very few go late in the evening or at weekends. Email support is too slow, and phone support is often to a call-centre that will make some notes and then email an advisor - who will attempt to call you within 24-48 hrs, when it’s convenient to them. This is not a lot of use if you’re sitting there confused over an issue and have a one hour time-slot in which to study.
The best training colleges tend to use a web-based 24×7 facility utilising a variety of support centres throughout multiple time-zones. You will be provided with an environment which accesses the most appropriate office irrespective of the time of day: Support when you need it. Don’t compromise when you’re looking for the right support service. The vast majority of trainees that fall by the wayside, just need the right support system.
Including exams upfront then including an exam guarantee is a common method with many training course providers. But look at the facts:
These days, we are a little more ‘marketing-savvy’ - and generally we cotton on to the fact that we are actually being charged for it (it isn’t free or out of the goodness of their hearts!) It’s everybody’s ambition to qualify on the first attempt. Taking your exams progressively one by one and funding them as you go makes it far more likely you’ll pass first time - you revise thoroughly and are conscious of what you’ve spent.
Do the examinations somewhere local and look for the very best offer you can at the time. Huge profits are made by many companies that get money upfront for exam fees. For quite legitimate reasons, a number of students don’t get to do their exams but no refunds are given. Amazingly, providers exist that rely on that fact - as that’s where a lot of their profit comes from. Many training companies will require you to do mock exams and hold you back from re-takes until you’ve completely proven that you’re likely to pass - which actually leaves you with no guarantee at all.
Exams taken at local centres are currently clocking in at an average of 112 pounds in Britain at the time of writing. What’s the point of paying huge fees for ‘exam guarantees’ (usually wrapped up in the course package price) - when the best course materials, the right level of support and commitment, effort and practice with quality exam preparation systems are the factors that really get you through.
Be alert that all exams that you’re considering will be recognised by employers and are bang up to date. ‘In-house’ exams and the certificates they come with are often meaningless. The main industry leaders such as Microsoft, Cisco, Adobe or CompTIA each have nationally renowned skills programmes. These heavyweights can make sure you stand out at interview.
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