IT Career Courses | education

We all have busy lives, and most often if we want to learn a new profession, getting educated alongside a job is what we're faced with. Microsoft certified training could be the answer. In addition, you may want to get advice on the careers that are available once you've qualified, and what sort of person those jobs might be right for. Many people prefer to discuss what would suit them individually. Training programs must be designed to meet your needs. Consequently, having worked out the right IT job for you, your next focus is the most applicable training course to get you there.

How can we go about making the right choice then? With all these possibilities, we have to know where we should dig - and of course, what to actually be looking for.

A ridiculously large number of organisations only look at the plaque to hang on your wall, and forget the reasons for getting there - getting yourself a new job or career. Always start with the final destination in mind - too many people focus on the journey. Imagine training for just one year and then end up doing the actual job for 10-20 years. Avoid the mistake of finding what seems like an 'interesting' training program only to spend 20 years doing something you don't even enjoy! You also need to know your leanings around earning potential, career development, and how ambitious you are. It's vital to know what (if any) sacrifices you'll need to make for a particular role, which particular certifications are required and in what way you can develop commercial experience. Before setting out on a learning programme, you'd be well advised to discuss specific career needs with an experienced industry professional, in order to be sure the retraining program covers all that is required.

It only makes sense to consider study programs which grow into commercially acknowledged exams. There are loads of minor schools promoting unknown 'in-house' certificates that are essentially useless in the real world. Unless your qualification is issued by a conglomerate such as Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA or Adobe, then you'll probably find it will be commercially useless - as no-one will have heard of it.

Proper support should never be taken lightly - locate a good company providing 24x7 full access, as not obtaining this level of support will severely hamper your progress. Never purchase study programmes that only provide support to trainees with a call-centre messaging system outside of normal office hours. Trainers will give you every excuse in the book why you don't need this. Essentially - support is needed when it's needed - not at times when they find it cheaper to provide it. The best training colleges opt for an online access round-the-clock facility combining multiple support operations from around the world. You will be provided with a single, easy-to-use interface which switches seamlessly to the best choice of centres no matter what time of day it is: Support when you need it. If you opt for less than direct-access 24x7 support, you'll quickly find yourself regretting it. It may be that you don't use it late at night, but what about weekends, early mornings or late evenings?

Often, trainers provide a big box of books. This can be very boring and not ideal for studying effectively. Memory is vastly improved when all our senses are brought into the mix - educational experts have expounded on this for many years. Find a course where you'll receive a library of CD and DVD based materials - you'll begin by watching videos of instructors demonstrating the skills, and then have the opportunity to use virtual lab's to practice your new skills. It's wise to view examples of the courseware provided before you sign the purchase order. The minimum you should expect would be videoed instructor demonstrations and a variety of audio-visual and interactive sections. Often, companies will only use purely on-line training; sometimes you can get away with this - but, imagine the problems if you lose your internet access or you get a slow connection speed. It's much safer to rely on physical CD or DVD discs which don't suffer from these broadband issues.

A subtle way that training providers make extra profits is via an 'exam inclusive' package and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams. It looks impressive, but is it really... It's very clear we're still paying for it - it's not so hard to see that it's been added into the overall figure from the college. It's definitely not free - and it's insulting that we're supposed to think it is! For those who want to pass first time, you must pay for one exam at a time, give it the necessary attention and apply yourself as required. Why pay a training course provider up-front for exam fees? Find the best deal you can at the appropriate time, instead of paying any mark-up - and take it closer to home - instead of miles away at the college's beck and call. What's the point in paying early for exam fees when you don't need to? A great deal of money is made because training colleges are charging all their exam fees up-front - and hoping either that you won't take them, or it will be a long time before you do. Many training companies will insist on pre-tests and with-hold subsequent exam entries from you until you've proven conclusively that you can pass - which makes an 'Exam Guarantee' frankly useless. Exams taken at VUE and Prometric centres are currently clocking in at an average of 112 pounds in the UK. Why pay exorbitant 'Exam Guarantee' costs (usually wrapped up in the course package price) - when a quality course, support and consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software is what will really see you through.

We're regularly asked to explain why traditional degrees are less in demand than the more qualifications from the commercial sector? With 3 and 4 year academic degree costs becoming a tall order for many, along with the IT sector's growing opinion that key company training often has more relevance in the commercial field, we have seen a great increase in Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA based training programmes that educate students at a fraction of the cost and time involved. Clearly, a certain amount of associated information has to be learned, but precise specialised knowledge in the exact job role gives a commercially trained person a real head start. When it comes down to the nitty-gritty: Commercial IT certifications tell an employer precisely what skills you have - the title says it all: for example, I am a Microsoft Certified Professional in Windows XP Administration and Configuration. Consequently companies can identify just what their needs are and what certifications will be suitable to deal with those needs.

Discovering job security these days is very rare. Companies can throw us out of the workforce at the drop of a hat - as long as it fits their needs. Whereas a marketplace with high growth, where staff are in constant demand (due to a big shortfall of properly qualified staff), provides a market for proper job security. Taking the IT industry as an example, the most recent e-Skills investigation highlighted massive skills shortages throughout the United Kingdom around the 26 percent mark. Meaning that for each four job positions that exist in the computer industry, there are only 3 trained people to perform that task. Attaining proper commercial computer accreditation is accordingly a 'Fast Track' to realise a continuing as well as gratifying line of work. Because the IT sector is evolving at such a rate, could there honestly be a better market worth looking at for your new career.

About the Author:

Scott Edwards advises and writes on the most up-to-date computer based education. To investigate IT Courses, visit LearningLolly Computer Training.

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