Market and Investment

Well Done! As you’re reading this article you’re probably toying with the idea of getting re-qualified for a new job - so you’ve already done more than most. Only one in ten of us are pleased to go to work each day, but most just moan and do nothing about it. You could join a select group who take responsibility for their future.

Prior to considering individual training courses, seek out someone who can help you sort out which area will be right for you. A person who will get to know your personality, and find out what types of work suit you:

* Is collaborating with others important to you? Would that be with the same people or with a lot of new people? Possibly operating on your own with your own methodology may be your preference?

* What thoughts are fundamentally important regarding the industry you hope to work in?

* Should this be the only time you will need more qualifications?

* Are you worried about your chances of finding new employment, and staying employable right up to retirement?

A predominant industry in this country to meet the above criteria is the IT industry. There’s a need for more qualified people in IT, just check out any jobsite and there’ll be a long list. Don’t let people tell you it’s all techie people gazing towards theirscreens all day - there are loads more jobs than that. Large numbers of the people in the computer industry are just like the rest of us, but they enjoy their work and get well paid.

How can we make the right choice then? With so much reward available, we’ll need to know where to look - and of course, what to actually be looking for.

One fatal mistake that many potential students make is to concentrate on the course itself, and take their eye off the desired end-result. Schools have thousands of students that chose an ‘interesting’ course - instead of the program that would surely get them the job they want. It’s unfortunate, but the majority of trainees kick-off study that often sounds magnificent in the syllabus guide, but which gets us a career that is of no interest. Talk to many college leavers and you’ll see where we’re coming from.

Spend some time thinking about what you want to earn and what level of ambition fits you. This will influence which particular exams will be required and how much effort you’ll have to give in return. As a precursor to beginning a learning program, it makes sense to talk through specific career requirements with an experienced professional, in order to be sure the retraining programme covers all the bases.

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.

One thing you must always insist on is proper direct-access 24×7 support with professional mentors and instructors. It’s an all too common story to find providers that only seem to want to help while they’re in the office (9am till 6pm, Monday till Friday usually) and nothing at the weekends. Email support is too slow, and so-called telephone support is normally just routed to a call-centre which will take the information and email an instructor - who’ll call back sometime over the next 1-3 days, at a suitable time to them. This is not a lot of use if you’re stuck with a particular problem and only have a specific time you can study.

Top training companies incorporate three or four individual support centres around the globe in several time-zones. An online system provides an interactive interface to seamlessly link them all together, at any time you choose, there is always help at hand, without any problems or delays. Search out a training provider that gives this level of learning support. Because only round-the-clock 24×7 support gives you the confidence to make it.

Students who consider this area of study often have a very practical outlook on work, and won’t enjoy sitting at a desk in class, and struggling through thick study-volumes. If you identify with this, opt for more involving, interactive learning materials, with on-screen demonstrations and labs. Studies have consistently verified that connecting physically with our study, is much more conducive to long-term memory.

Courses are now available via DVD-ROM discs, so everything is learned directly from your own PC. Utilising the latest video technology, you can watch instructors demonstrating how something is done, with some practice time to follow - in an interactive lab. Make sure to obtain a look at some courseware examples from your training provider. You should ask for instructor videos, demonstrations, slide-shows and fully interactive skills-lab’s.

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.

It’s quite a normal occurrence for students not to check on a vitally important element - the way their training provider segments the courseware sections, and into what particular chunks. Many companies enrol you into some sort of program spread over 1-3 years, and courier the materials in pieces as you complete each section or exam. On the surface this seems reasonable - until you consider the following: What if you find the order insisted on by the company won’t suit you. It may be difficult to get through each and every section at the speed required?

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.

Due to typical VUE and Prometric exams coming in at around 112 pounds in the UK, the most cost-effective way to cover the cost is by paying when you need them. It’s not in the student’s interests to fork out hundreds or thousands of pounds for exams when enrolling on a course. Commitment, effort and practice with quality exam preparation systems are the factors that really get you through.

The world of information technology is one of the more thrilling and changing industries that you could be a part of. Being up close and personal with technology puts you at the fore-front of developments shaping life over the next few decades. We’re only just starting to get a feel for how technology will define our world. Computers and the Internet will massively change the way we see and interrelate with the rest of the world over the years to come.

If money is way up on your goal sheet, then you will be happy to know that the income on average for most men and women in IT is a lot greater than salaries in the rest of the economy. Due to the technological sector increasing nationally and internationally, it’s likely that demand for appropriately qualified IT professionals will flourish for decades to come.