In today's high speed society, support workers who have the ability to mend PC's and networks, plus give daily help to users, are essential in all areas of industry. Our requirement for better qualified personnel is enhanced, as we become vastly more reliant on PC's in the modern world.
Seeing as the computer market provides some outstanding career possibilities for everyone - what questions do we need to be posing and what elements carry the most importance?
A ridiculously large number of organisations only look at the plaque to hang on your wall, and completely miss the reasons for getting there - getting yourself a new job or career. Your focus should start with the end goal - don't get hung-up on the training vehicle. It's a sad testimony to the sales skills of many companies, but the majority of trainees begin programs that seem spectacular in the marketing materials, but which deliver a career which doesn't satisfy. Try talking to typical college students for a real eye-opener. It's a good idea to understand the expectations of your industry. Which particular accreditations you'll be required to have and how you'll go about getting some commercial experience. It's definitely worth spending time thinking about how far you think you'll want to progress your career as it will often present a very specific set of exams. Always seek guidance and advice from a skilled advisor, even if you have to pay - it's much safer and cheaper to find out at the start whether your choices are appropriate, instead of discovering following two years of study that you aren't going to enjoy the job you've chosen and have to return to the start of another program.
Be careful that the exams you're studying for are recognised by industry and are up-to-date. 'In-house' certificates are not normally useful in gaining employment. From an employer's viewpoint, only the big-boys such as Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA or Cisco (for example) provide enough commercial weight. Anything less just doesn't cut the mustard.
We'd hazard a guess that you probably enjoy fairly practical work - a 'hands-on' type. If you're like us, the unfortunate chore of reading reference guides can be just about bared when essential, but it's not ideal. Consider interactive, multimedia study if books just don't do it for you. Our ability to remember is increased with an involvement of all our senses - this has been an accepted fact in expert circles for decades now. Start a study-program in which you'll receive a selection of CD and DVD based materials - you'll learn by watching video tutorials and demonstrations, with the facility to practice your skills in interactive lab's. You must see the type of training provided by each company you're contemplating. Be sure that they contain instructor-led video demonstrations with virtual practice-lab's. Pick disc based courseware (On CD or DVD) if possible. You're then protected from internet connection failure and issues with signal quality.
If you forget everything else - then just remember this: It's essential to obtain proper 24x7 round-the-clock instructor and mentor support. You'll definitely experience problems if you let this one slide. Look for training with proper support available at all hours of the day and night (no matter if it's in the middle of the night on a weekend!) Make sure it's always direct access to tutors and not a message system as this will slow you down - waiting for tutors to call you back at a convenient time for them. The very best training providers have many support offices from around the world. They use an online interactive interface to provide a seamless experience; any time of the day or night - help is just a click away with no hassle or contact issues. If you accept anything less than 24x7 support, you'll regret it very quickly. It may be that you don't use it during late nights, but you're bound to use weekends, early mornings or even late evenings at some point?
Adding in the cost of exams upfront then including an exam guarantee is a common method with a number of training colleges. But look at the facts: Clearly it isn't free - you're still footing the bill for it - it's just been included in your package price. People who take each progressive exam, funding them one at a time are much better placed to get through first time. They are mindful of what they've paid and prepare more appropriately to be ready for the task. Doesn't it make more sense to hold on to your money and pay for the exam when you take the exam, instead of paying a premium to a training company, and also to sit exams more locally - instead of the remote centre that's convenient only to the trainer? Paying in advance for examinations (which also includes interest if you've taken out a loan) is madness. Resist being talked into filling the training company's account with additional funds simply to help their cash-flow! There are those who hope that you won't get to do them all - but they won't refund the cash. Also, exam guarantees often have very little value. The majority of organisations won't pay again for an exam until you've completely satisfied them that you're ready this time. On average, exams cost around the 112 pounds mark last year through local VUE or Pro-metric centres throughout the country. So don't be talked into shelling out hundreds or thousands of pounds more for 'Exam Guarantees', when common sense dictates that the responsible approach is study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams.
A question; why might we choose qualifications from the commercial sector instead of familiar academic qualifications taught at schools, colleges or universities? With 3 and 4 year academic degree costs climbing ever higher, alongside the industry's increasing awareness that vendor-based training is often far more commercially relevant, we have seen a great increase in Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe based training programmes that provide key skills to an employee at a far reduced cost both money and time wise. Academic courses, as a example, clog up the training with vast amounts of loosely associated study - with a syllabus that's far too wide. This prevents a student from learning the core essentials in sufficient depth. Just as the old advertisement said: 'It does what it says on the tin'. The company just needs to know where they have gaps and then match up the appropriate exam numbers as a requirement. Then they're assured that a potential employee can do exactly what's required.
The world of information technology is one of the more thrilling and changing industries that you can get into right now. Being a member of a team working on breakthroughs in technology means you're a part of the huge progress affecting everyone who lives in the 21st century. We're barely beginning to get a handle on what this change will mean to us. The way we communicate and interact with everyone around us will be massively affected by computers and the internet. The standard IT worker in the UK can demonstrate that they earn significantly more than employees on a par outside of IT. Mean average wages are around the top of national league tables. Apparently there is no end in sight for IT industry expansion across Britain. The industry continues to grow rapidly, and as we have a skills gap that means we only typically have three IT workers for every four jobs it's most unlikely that things will be any different for years to come.
Seeing as the computer market provides some outstanding career possibilities for everyone - what questions do we need to be posing and what elements carry the most importance?
A ridiculously large number of organisations only look at the plaque to hang on your wall, and completely miss the reasons for getting there - getting yourself a new job or career. Your focus should start with the end goal - don't get hung-up on the training vehicle. It's a sad testimony to the sales skills of many companies, but the majority of trainees begin programs that seem spectacular in the marketing materials, but which deliver a career which doesn't satisfy. Try talking to typical college students for a real eye-opener. It's a good idea to understand the expectations of your industry. Which particular accreditations you'll be required to have and how you'll go about getting some commercial experience. It's definitely worth spending time thinking about how far you think you'll want to progress your career as it will often present a very specific set of exams. Always seek guidance and advice from a skilled advisor, even if you have to pay - it's much safer and cheaper to find out at the start whether your choices are appropriate, instead of discovering following two years of study that you aren't going to enjoy the job you've chosen and have to return to the start of another program.
Be careful that the exams you're studying for are recognised by industry and are up-to-date. 'In-house' certificates are not normally useful in gaining employment. From an employer's viewpoint, only the big-boys such as Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA or Cisco (for example) provide enough commercial weight. Anything less just doesn't cut the mustard.
We'd hazard a guess that you probably enjoy fairly practical work - a 'hands-on' type. If you're like us, the unfortunate chore of reading reference guides can be just about bared when essential, but it's not ideal. Consider interactive, multimedia study if books just don't do it for you. Our ability to remember is increased with an involvement of all our senses - this has been an accepted fact in expert circles for decades now. Start a study-program in which you'll receive a selection of CD and DVD based materials - you'll learn by watching video tutorials and demonstrations, with the facility to practice your skills in interactive lab's. You must see the type of training provided by each company you're contemplating. Be sure that they contain instructor-led video demonstrations with virtual practice-lab's. Pick disc based courseware (On CD or DVD) if possible. You're then protected from internet connection failure and issues with signal quality.
If you forget everything else - then just remember this: It's essential to obtain proper 24x7 round-the-clock instructor and mentor support. You'll definitely experience problems if you let this one slide. Look for training with proper support available at all hours of the day and night (no matter if it's in the middle of the night on a weekend!) Make sure it's always direct access to tutors and not a message system as this will slow you down - waiting for tutors to call you back at a convenient time for them. The very best training providers have many support offices from around the world. They use an online interactive interface to provide a seamless experience; any time of the day or night - help is just a click away with no hassle or contact issues. If you accept anything less than 24x7 support, you'll regret it very quickly. It may be that you don't use it during late nights, but you're bound to use weekends, early mornings or even late evenings at some point?
Adding in the cost of exams upfront then including an exam guarantee is a common method with a number of training colleges. But look at the facts: Clearly it isn't free - you're still footing the bill for it - it's just been included in your package price. People who take each progressive exam, funding them one at a time are much better placed to get through first time. They are mindful of what they've paid and prepare more appropriately to be ready for the task. Doesn't it make more sense to hold on to your money and pay for the exam when you take the exam, instead of paying a premium to a training company, and also to sit exams more locally - instead of the remote centre that's convenient only to the trainer? Paying in advance for examinations (which also includes interest if you've taken out a loan) is madness. Resist being talked into filling the training company's account with additional funds simply to help their cash-flow! There are those who hope that you won't get to do them all - but they won't refund the cash. Also, exam guarantees often have very little value. The majority of organisations won't pay again for an exam until you've completely satisfied them that you're ready this time. On average, exams cost around the 112 pounds mark last year through local VUE or Pro-metric centres throughout the country. So don't be talked into shelling out hundreds or thousands of pounds more for 'Exam Guarantees', when common sense dictates that the responsible approach is study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams.
A question; why might we choose qualifications from the commercial sector instead of familiar academic qualifications taught at schools, colleges or universities? With 3 and 4 year academic degree costs climbing ever higher, alongside the industry's increasing awareness that vendor-based training is often far more commercially relevant, we have seen a great increase in Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe based training programmes that provide key skills to an employee at a far reduced cost both money and time wise. Academic courses, as a example, clog up the training with vast amounts of loosely associated study - with a syllabus that's far too wide. This prevents a student from learning the core essentials in sufficient depth. Just as the old advertisement said: 'It does what it says on the tin'. The company just needs to know where they have gaps and then match up the appropriate exam numbers as a requirement. Then they're assured that a potential employee can do exactly what's required.
The world of information technology is one of the more thrilling and changing industries that you can get into right now. Being a member of a team working on breakthroughs in technology means you're a part of the huge progress affecting everyone who lives in the 21st century. We're barely beginning to get a handle on what this change will mean to us. The way we communicate and interact with everyone around us will be massively affected by computers and the internet. The standard IT worker in the UK can demonstrate that they earn significantly more than employees on a par outside of IT. Mean average wages are around the top of national league tables. Apparently there is no end in sight for IT industry expansion across Britain. The industry continues to grow rapidly, and as we have a skills gap that means we only typically have three IT workers for every four jobs it's most unlikely that things will be any different for years to come.
About the Author:
Author Scott Edwards divides his time between advising and consulting on superior education and support in the UK. To find out more on Computer Courses, visit LearningLolly Computer Training Courses.
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