If you’re going through this material there’s a good chance that you’re about to make a move into the great world of IT and an MCSE certificate appeals to you, or you could already be in IT and you’ve realised that the next stage is the MCSE accreditation.
Always make sure you check that your training company is actually training you on the latest version from Microsoft. Many trainees become very demoralised when they realise they’ve been learning from an old version of MCSE which will have to be revised. Don’t be pushed into a computer course before you feel comfortable. Find a training company that will put effort into advising you on an appropriate training track for your needs.
Make sure you don’t get caught-up, like so many people do, on the training course itself. Training is not an end in itself; this is about gaining commercial employment. Begin and continue with the end in mind. Students often train for a single year but end up doing a job for a lifetime. Ensure you avoid the fatal error of choosing what sounds like an ‘interesting’ training program only to waste your life away with something you don’t even enjoy!
Take time to understand how you feel about career development, earning potential, and if you’re ambitious or not. It’s vital to know what industry expects from you, which particular qualifications will be required and how you’ll gain real-world experience. Our recommendation would be to look for advice and guidance from an experienced professional before embarking on a learning program, so you’re sure from the outset that the content of a learning package provides the appropriate skill-set.
One interesting way that colleges make a lot more is through up-front charges for exams and then including an ‘Exam Guarantee’. This looks like a great idea for the student, until you think it through:
Of course it’s not free – you’re still being charged for it – the price has simply been included in the whole thing. It’s everybody’s ambition to qualify on the first attempt. Taking your exams progressively when it’s appropriate and paying as you go has a marked effect on pass-rates – you put the effort in and are aware of the costs involved.
Isn’t it outrageous to have to pay your training company at the start of the course for examinations? Find the best exam deal or offer when you take the exam, instead of paying a premium – and sit exams more locally – instead of miles away at the college’s beck and call. Paying upfront for exams (and interest charges if you’re borrowing money) is bad financial management. It’s not your job to boost the training company’s account with extra money of yours just to give them more interest! A lot bank on the fact that you won’t get round to taking them – but they won’t refund the cash. Remember, with ‘Exam Guarantees’ from most places – the company decides when you can do your re-takes. They’ll only allow a re-take once completely satisfied.
Due to typical VUE and Prometric tests coming in at around 112 pounds in the UK, by far the best option is to pay for them as you take 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 way in which your courseware is broken down for you is usually ignored by most students. How is the courseware broken down? And in what order and how fast does each element come? Normally, you’ll join a programme taking 1-3 years and receive one element at a time until graduation. It seems to make sense on one level, but consider these issues: What if you find the order pushed by the company’s salespeople doesn’t suit all of us. You may find it a stretch to finalise every element inside of their particular timetable?
To be straight, the best solution is to have their ideal ‘order’ of training laid out, but make sure you have all of your learning modules right from the beginning. You then have everything in case you don’t finish within their ideal time-table.
In most cases, your typical IT hopeful really has no clue how they should get into a computing career, or what sector they should be considering getting trained in. Because in the absence of any solid background in computing, how could any of us be expected to know what someone in a particular job does? Reflection on these different factors is important if you want to dig down the right answer for you:
* Your personal interests and hobbies – often these highlight what possibilities will give you the most reward.
* Is your focus to re-train for a precise raison d’etre – e.g. do you aim to work from home (being your own boss?)?
* Does salary have a higher place on your wish list than other requirements.
* Often, trainees don’t consider the time demanded to achieve their goals.
* You have to understand what differentiates the myriad of training options.
For most people, considering these areas tends to require the help of an experienced pro that knows what they’re talking about. And not just the qualifications – but the commercial requirements of industry too.
A number of students think that the state educational path is still the most effective. So why are qualifications from the commercial sector becoming more in demand? As demand increases for knowledge about more and more complex technology, the IT sector has moved to the specialised core-skills learning that the vendors themselves supply – in other words companies such as Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA. This usually turns out to involve less time and financial outlay. Essentially, only that which is required is learned. It’s not quite as straightforward as that, but the principle remains that students need to master the precisely demanded skill-sets (with some necessary background) – without overdoing the detail in all sorts of other things (as universities often do).
It’s rather like the advert: ‘It does what it says on the tin’. Companies need only to know where they have gaps, and then match up the appropriate exam numbers as a requirement. Then they know that anyone who applies can do the necessary work.