IT Careers Training Examined
Congratulate yourself that you’ve already got this far! Only one in ten folks say they enjoy their work, but vast numbers complain to each other and take no action. Because you’ve done research it’s likely that you’ve a personal interest in re-training, which means you’re already ahead of the pack. Take your time now to discover where you want to go and get going.
We’d politely request that in advance of taking any individual training program, you discuss your plans with a person who has knowledge of the industry and can point you in the right direction. Such a person will go through personality profiling with you and assist in finding the right role for you:
* Do you want to interact with other people? If the answer’s yes, would you enjoy being part of a team or is meeting new people important to you? Or would you rather work alone with a task?
* The building trade and the banking industry are facing difficulties at the moment, so it’s important to look very carefully at what sector will answer your needs?
* How long a career do you hope to have once retrained, and will the industry offer you the chance to do that?
* Will this new qualification give you the opportunity to discover new employment possibilities, and remain in employment until you choose to stop?
Think about the IT sector, that’s our recommendation – unusually, it’s one of the market sectors still on the grow in the UK and Europe. In addition, salaries and benefits exceed most other industries.
The perhaps intimidating chore of finding your first job can be made easier because some trainers offer a Job Placement Assistance programme. Ultimately it’s not as hard as some people make out to get employment – once you’re trained and certified; employers in this country need your skills.
Bring your CV up to date as soon as possible however – you should get plenty of help from your training provider on this. Don’t put it off till you’ve finished your exams.
It’s not unusual to find that you’ll land your first position whilst you’re still studying (even when you’ve just left first base). If you haven’t updated your CV to say what you’re studying (and it’s not being looked at by employers) then you won’t even be considered!
The most efficient companies to help you find a job are generally independent and specialised local recruitment services. As they will get paid by the employer when they’ve placed you, they have the necessary incentive to try that bit harder.
Fundamentally, if you put as much hard work into getting a position as into training, you’re not likely to experience problems. Some people strangely put hundreds of hours into their learning program and just give up once they’ve passed their exams and appear to be under the impression that jobs will come to them.
If your advisor doesn’t dig around with lots of question – it’s more than likely they’re actually nothing more than a salesman. If they wade straight in with a specific product before learning about your history and current experience level, then you know it’s true.
Often, the starting point of study for a trainee with some experience is largely dissimilar to someone just starting out.
Starting with a user skills course first may be the ideal way to start into your computer studies, but depends on your skill level.
Be watchful that any accreditations that you’re considering will be commercially viable and are the most recent versions. ‘In-house’ exams and the certificates they come with are usually worthless.
If your certification doesn’t come from a conglomerate such as Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco or CompTIA, then chances are it will have been a waste of time – as no-one will have heard of it.
Think about the points below carefully if you believe that old marketing ploy of examination guarantees seems like a good idea:
These days, we tend to be a little more ‘marketing-savvy’ – and generally we grasp that it is something we’re paying for – it’s not because they’re so generous they want to give something away!
Evidence shows that if students pay for their own exams, one by one, they will be much more likely to get through on the first attempt – because they’ll think of the cost and their application will be greater.
Don’t you think it’s more sensible to find the best exam deal or offer when you’re ready, not to pay the fees marked up by a training college, and to do it in a local testing office – rather than in some remote centre?
Considerable numbers of unscrupulous training companies secure huge amounts of money because they’re asking for exam fees early then hoping either that you won’t take them, or it will be a long time before you do.
Re-takes of any failed exams via companies with an ‘Exam Guarantee’ inevitably are heavily regulated. They will insist that you take pre-tests first to make sure they think you’re going to pass.
Exam fees averaged 112 pounds or thereabouts last year through Prometric or VUE centres around the United Kingdom. So don’t be talked into shelling out hundreds or thousands of pounds more for ‘Exam Guarantees’, when it’s obvious that the most successful method is consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software.
(C) S. Edwards 2009. Browse around MCITP Training or HR Career.
