Good for you! As you’re reading this article you’re probably toying with the idea of getting re-qualified for a new job - that puts you way ahead of the crowd. Less of us than you’d think are content with our jobs, but most complain but just stay there. You could join a select group who actually do something about it.
We recommend you seek advice first - talk to a knowledgeable person; an advisor who can discover your ideal job, and analyse the career tracks that will suit you:
* Do you operate better working alone or perhaps being around others is more important to you?
* Which criteria’s are fundamental regarding the industry you’ll work in?
* And how many years do you want to get out of your retraining, and will the industry provide you with that possibility?
* Would you like your study to be in an industry where you know your chances of gainful employment are high up to the time you want to stop?
Look at the IT sector, that’s our best advice - unusually, it’s one of the growing market sectors in this country and overseas. In addition, salaries and benefits exceed most other industries.
Most of us would love to think that our jobs will remain safe and our future is protected, but the growing reality for most jobs throughout the United Kingdom right now is that security just isn’t there anymore. We could however find security at the market sector level, by looking for areas of high demand, together with a shortage of skilled staff.
The computing Industry skills-gap around the country is standing at over twenty six percent, as shown by the 2006 e-Skills analysis. Alternatively, you could say, this shows that the UK can only find three qualified staff for every four jobs that exist now. This alarming notion underpins the urgent need for more technically accredited computer professionals in the UK. With the market expanding at such a rate, is there any other area of industry worth considering as a retraining vehicle.
Which kind of questions should we ask so as to take in the understanding required? Because it’s evident there are many fairly superb prospects for us all to look at.
Considering the amount of options that are available, is it any wonder that most potential career changers don’t really understand the best career path they could be successful with. Working through a list of IT job-titles is next to useless. The vast majority of us don’t even know what the neighbours do for a living - so we have no hope of understanding the intricacies of any specific IT role. Deliberation over these different factors is imperative if you need to get to a solution that suits you:
* The type of personality you have and interests - which work-centred jobs you enjoy or dislike.
* For what reasons you’re getting involved with IT - is it to achieve a long-held goal such as firing your boss and working for yourself maybe.
* Any personal or home requirements you have?
* Learning what the normal job areas and markets are - and what makes them different.
* How much time you will commit getting qualified.
The best way to avoid all the jargon and confusion, and uncover the best route for you, have an informal chat with an industry expert and advisor; an individual who understands the commercial reality while explaining the accreditations.
Many trainers provide piles of reference manuals and workbooks. Learning like this is dull and repetitive and not really conducive to achieving retention. Long-term memory is enhanced when multiple senses are involved - educational experts have expounded on this for decades now.
Interactive full motion video utilising video demo’s and practice lab’s will turn you off book-based study for ever more. And you’ll find them fun and interesting. It’s wise to view some of the typical study materials provided before you sign the purchase order. You should expect instructor demonstrations, video tutorials and interactive audio-visual sections with practice modules.
Some companies only have access to purely on-line training; and although this is okay the majority of the time, consider how you’ll deal with it when you don’t have access to the internet or you get a slow connection speed. A safer solution is the provision of DVD or CD discs that don’t suffer from these broadband issues.
Often, students don’t think to check on a painfully important area - how their training provider segments the training materials, and into what particular chunks. You may think it logical (with most training taking 1-3 years to pass all the required exams,) that a training provider will issue one section at a time, as you pass each element. But: What would happen if you didn’t finish each section at the proposed pace? Often the staged order won’t be as easy as another different route may.
Ideally, you’d get ALL the training materials right at the beginning - giving you them all for the future to come back to - at any time you choose. Variations can then be made to the order that you complete your exams if another more intuitive route presents itself.
Proper support should never be taken lightly - find a program offering 24×7 direct access to instructors, as anything less will frustrate you and could put a damper on the speed you move through things. Locate training schools where you can access help at all hours of the day and night (even 1am on Sunday morning!) Make sure it’s always access directly to professional tutors, and not a call-centre that will take messages so you’re waiting for tutors to call you back - probably during office hours.
Top training companies utilise several support facilities across multiple time-zones. Online access provides the interactive interface to seamlessly link them all together, any time of the day or night, help is at hand, without any contact issues or hassle. Never make do with anything less. 24×7 support is the only kind to make the grade when it comes to computer-based learning. Perhaps you don’t intend to study during the evenings; but for the majority of us however, we’re working when traditional support if offered.
It’s not uncommon for companies to offer inclusive exam guarantees - this always means exams have to be paid for upfront, when you pay for the rest of your course. But before you get taken in by the chance of a guarantee, be aware of the facts:
We all know that we’re still paying for it - it’s obviously already been included in the gross price invoiced by the training company. It’s certainly not free - don’t think these companies are so generous with their money! The honest truth is that if a student pays for each examination, one after the other, they’ll be in a better position to get through on the first attempt - since they’re aware of their payment and therefore will put more effort into their preparation.
Doesn’t it make more sense to find the best exam deal or offer at the appropriate time, instead of paying a premium to the training college, and also to sit exams more locally - rather than possibly hours away from your area? Why borrow the money or pay in advance (plus interest of course) on exams when you didn’t need to? Big margins are netted by organisations getting money in early for exam fees - and then hoping that you won’t take them all. The majority of organisations will insist on pre-tests and hold you back from re-takes until you’ve demonstrated an excellent ability to pass - so an ‘Exam Guarantee’ comes with many clauses in reality.
With average prices for VUE and Pro-metric exams costing in the region of 112 pounds in this country, it makes sense to pay as you go. 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.
A study programme must provide a properly recognised qualification at the finale - not some little ‘in-house’ plaque for your wall. The top IT companies such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco or Adobe all have widely renowned skills courses. These big-hitters will ensure your employability.