You should feel pleased that you’ve made it this far! Only one in ten folks say they enjoy their work, but vast numbers complain to each other and do nothing. As you’ve reached this page 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 research and follow-through.
When looking at training, it’s crucial to first define what you DO want and DON’T want from the career you’re hoping to qualify for. Ensure that a new career would suit you better before your energies are focused on taking a new turn. It’s good sense to regard the big picture first, to steer clear of regrets:
* Do you see yourself dealing with people? Would that be with the same people or with many new people? Possibly operating on your own in a task-based situation could suit you better?
* Are you considering which industry you could be employed in? (In this economy, it’s vital to choose carefully.)
* Is it important that this should be a one off time that you will need more qualifications?
* Do you think being qualified will give you the opportunity to discover new employment possibilities, and be gainfully employed until your retirement plans kick in?
It’s important that you don’t overlook the IT sector - it’s well known that it’s getting bigger. It’s not all nerdy people staring at computers all day - it’s true those roles do exist, but the majority of roles are carried out by ordinary men and women who get on very well.
A service that several companies offer is a programme of Job Placement assistance. This is to help you find your first job in the industry. At the end of the day it’s not as difficult as you may be led to believe to secure your first job - assuming you’re well trained and qualified; the shortage of IT personnel in Britain looks after that.
Get your CV updated straight-away though (advice can be sought on this via your provider). Don’t wait till you’ve finished your exams. Quite frequently, you’ll land your first position while you’re still a student (even when you’ve just left first base). If your CV doesn’t say what you’re learning (and it’s not being looked at by employers) then you don’t stand a chance! The best services to help you land that job are usually local IT focused employment agencies. Because they make their money when they’ve found you a job, they’re perhaps more focused on results.
Not inconsiderable numbers of people, it would appear, spend evenings and weekends on their training and studies (sometimes for years), and just give up when it comes to trying to get their first job. Sell yourself… Do your best to let employers know about you. A job isn’t just going to bump into you.
We need to make this very clear: You absolutely must have proper 24×7 instructor and mentor support. Later, you’ll kick yourself if you let this one slide. Avoid those companies who use ‘out-of-hours’ call-centres - with the call-back coming in during normal office hours. This is useless when you’re stuck and could do with an answer during your scheduled study period.
We recommend looking for study programmes that have multiple support offices from around the world. All of them should be combined to provide a single interface together with 24×7 access, when it suits you, without any problems. Never ever take second best when you’re looking for the right support service. Many would-be IT professionals that drop-out or fail, are in that situation because they didn’t get the support necessary for them.
A number of students presume that the state educational system is still the best way into IT. So why then are commercially accredited qualifications slowly and steadily replacing it? With a growing demand for specific technological expertise, the IT sector has been required to move to the specialised training that can only be obtained from the actual vendors - in other words companies such as Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA. This often comes in at a fraction of the cost and time. The training is effectively done through concentrating on the skills that are really needed (along with a proportionate degree of associated knowledge,) as opposed to covering masses of the background ‘extras’ that academic courses can often find themselves doing (because the syllabus is so wide).
Just as the old advertisement said: ‘It does what it says on the label’. The company just needs to know what areas need to be serviced, and then match up the appropriate exam numbers as a requirement. They’ll know then that all applicants can do what they need.
Looking at the myriad of choice out there, there’s no surprise that nearly all career changers have no idea which career they should even pursue. Because having no previous experience in computing, how should we possibly understand what someone in a particular job does? To attack this, we need to discuss several unique issues:
* Your personal interests and hobbies - these often point towards what possibilities will satisfy you.
* Are you hoping to obtain training for a precise raison d’etre - for instance, do you aim to work at home (working for yourself?)?
* Where do you stand on salary vs the travel required?
* Always think in-depth about the level of commitment needed to get fully certified.
* You need to understand the differences across each area of training.
The best way to avoid the industry jargon, and uncover the best route for you, have a good talk with an experienced professional; an individual who understands the commercial reality while explaining the accreditations.
You have to make sure that all your qualifications are commercially valid and current - don’t bother with studies which end up with a useless in-house certificate or plaque. From a commercial standpoint, only the major heavyweights such as Microsoft, Cisco, Adobe or CompTIA (for example) will make the right impression. Nothing else will cut the mustard.