Choosing IT Training - Insights
Good for you! As you're reading this article we guess you must be considering getting re-qualified for a new job - that means you've already taken one more step than the majority. A small minority of us are pleased to go to work each day, but it's rare anyone does more than moan. So, why not be one of the few who take responsibility for their future.
It's in your interests that prior to beginning any study program, you have a conversation with someone who can see the bigger picture and can give you advice. They can look at aspects of your personality and help you sort out a role to fit you:
* Is it your preference to work in isolation or is being part of a team an important option?
* Have you given much thought to which area you would be suited to? (In this economy, it's even more crucial to be selective.)
* Is this the final time you want to study, and based on that, will this new career allow you to do that?
* Would it be useful for your study to be in an area where you're comfortable your chances of gainful employment are high until retirement?
We would advise you to really explore Information Technology - there are greater numbers of jobs than workers to do them, because it's one of the few choices of career where the industry is on the grow. In contrast to what some people believe, it isn't a bunch of techie geeks gazing at their computer screens every day (if you like the sound of that though, they do exist.) The vast majority of roles are filled by people like you and me who enjoy better than average salaries.
A number of people presume that the traditional school, college or university track is the way they should go. So why then are commercial certificates becoming more in demand? Corporate based study (in industry terminology) is more effective in the commercial field. Industry is aware that this level of specialised understanding is vital to handle an increasingly more technical world. Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA are the key players in this arena. Many degrees, for instance, can often get caught up in vast amounts of loosely associated study - with much too broad a syllabus. This holds a student back from learning the core essentials in sufficient depth.
If an employer knows what areas need to be serviced, then all they have to do is advertise for the particular skill-set required. Commercial syllabuses all have to conform to the same requirements and don't change between schools (in the way that degree courses can).
An all too common mistake that many potential students make is to look for the actual course to take, rather than starting with where they want to get to. Training academies have thousands of students who chose a course based on what sounded good - in place of something that could gain them an enjoyable career or job. It's possible, in many cases, to find immense satisfaction in a year of study only to end up putting 20 long years into a tiresome job role, simply because you did it without some decent due-diligence at the beginning.
Make sure you investigate your leanings around career progression and earning potential, plus your level of ambition. It makes sense to understand what (if any) sacrifices you'll need to make for a particular role, which qualifications they want you to have and where you'll pick-up experience from. Before setting out on a study course, it's good advice to chat over the exact market needs with a professional advisor, in order to be sure the retraining course covers all the necessary elements.
Ensure all your qualifications are current and commercially required - don't even consider courses which provide certificates that are worthless because they're 'in-house'. From a commercial standpoint, only top businesses such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco or Adobe (as an example) really carry any commercial clout. Anything less just doesn't cut the mustard.
Quite often, students have issues with one aspect of their training which is often not even considered: The breakdown of the course materials before being couriered to your address. Normally, you'll enrol on a course staged over 2 or 3 years and get sent one module each time you pass an exam. This may seem sensible until you think about these factors: Often, the staged breakdown prescribed by the provider doesn't suit you. You may find it a stretch to finalise every element within their timetable?
Ideally, you'd get ALL the training materials right at the beginning - meaning you'll have all of them to return to any point - irrespective of any schedule. Variations can then be made to the order that you attack each section if you find another route more intuitive.
A top of the range training program will also include accredited exam preparation systems. Don't go for training programs depending on unauthorised exam papers and questions. The terminology of their questions can be quite different - and this leads to huge confusion when it comes to taking the real exam. Why don't you analyse whether you're learning enough by doing quizzes and mock ups of exams to prepare you for taking the real thing.
It's in your interests that prior to beginning any study program, you have a conversation with someone who can see the bigger picture and can give you advice. They can look at aspects of your personality and help you sort out a role to fit you:
* Is it your preference to work in isolation or is being part of a team an important option?
* Have you given much thought to which area you would be suited to? (In this economy, it's even more crucial to be selective.)
* Is this the final time you want to study, and based on that, will this new career allow you to do that?
* Would it be useful for your study to be in an area where you're comfortable your chances of gainful employment are high until retirement?
We would advise you to really explore Information Technology - there are greater numbers of jobs than workers to do them, because it's one of the few choices of career where the industry is on the grow. In contrast to what some people believe, it isn't a bunch of techie geeks gazing at their computer screens every day (if you like the sound of that though, they do exist.) The vast majority of roles are filled by people like you and me who enjoy better than average salaries.
A number of people presume that the traditional school, college or university track is the way they should go. So why then are commercial certificates becoming more in demand? Corporate based study (in industry terminology) is more effective in the commercial field. Industry is aware that this level of specialised understanding is vital to handle an increasingly more technical world. Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA are the key players in this arena. Many degrees, for instance, can often get caught up in vast amounts of loosely associated study - with much too broad a syllabus. This holds a student back from learning the core essentials in sufficient depth.
If an employer knows what areas need to be serviced, then all they have to do is advertise for the particular skill-set required. Commercial syllabuses all have to conform to the same requirements and don't change between schools (in the way that degree courses can).
An all too common mistake that many potential students make is to look for the actual course to take, rather than starting with where they want to get to. Training academies have thousands of students who chose a course based on what sounded good - in place of something that could gain them an enjoyable career or job. It's possible, in many cases, to find immense satisfaction in a year of study only to end up putting 20 long years into a tiresome job role, simply because you did it without some decent due-diligence at the beginning.
Make sure you investigate your leanings around career progression and earning potential, plus your level of ambition. It makes sense to understand what (if any) sacrifices you'll need to make for a particular role, which qualifications they want you to have and where you'll pick-up experience from. Before setting out on a study course, it's good advice to chat over the exact market needs with a professional advisor, in order to be sure the retraining course covers all the necessary elements.
Ensure all your qualifications are current and commercially required - don't even consider courses which provide certificates that are worthless because they're 'in-house'. From a commercial standpoint, only top businesses such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco or Adobe (as an example) really carry any commercial clout. Anything less just doesn't cut the mustard.
Quite often, students have issues with one aspect of their training which is often not even considered: The breakdown of the course materials before being couriered to your address. Normally, you'll enrol on a course staged over 2 or 3 years and get sent one module each time you pass an exam. This may seem sensible until you think about these factors: Often, the staged breakdown prescribed by the provider doesn't suit you. You may find it a stretch to finalise every element within their timetable?
Ideally, you'd get ALL the training materials right at the beginning - meaning you'll have all of them to return to any point - irrespective of any schedule. Variations can then be made to the order that you attack each section if you find another route more intuitive.
A top of the range training program will also include accredited exam preparation systems. Don't go for training programs depending on unauthorised exam papers and questions. The terminology of their questions can be quite different - and this leads to huge confusion when it comes to taking the real exam. Why don't you analyse whether you're learning enough by doing quizzes and mock ups of exams to prepare you for taking the real thing.
About the Author:
After 20 yrs in IT, Jason Kendall has turned his attention to computer training consultancy in the UK. For advice on IT Training, visit LearningLolly IT Courses.