With hundreds of computer study programs on the market today, it can be mind-boggling to know what to look for. Choose one that corresponds with your personality and your level of ability, and one that is in demand in the workforce. There are courses covering Microsoft User Skills to career courses in Networking, Programming, Databases and Web Design. There is a huge amount of choice and so you'll probably need to talk through your options with an experienced advisor before you confirm the course you want: it would be awful to get on the wrong course for a career that you can't relate to!
By using modern training methods and abolishing out-dated approaches, you will start to see a new kind of training company offering a finer level of computer training and back-up for considerably less than the more out-dated colleges.
Don't accept anything less than the current Microsoft (or any other key organisation's) accredited exam simulation and preparation packages. Sometimes people can get confused by trying to prepare themselves with questions that are not from authorised sources. It's not uncommon that the way questions are phrased can be completely unlike un-authorised versions and you should be prepared for this. You should make sure you verify your depth of understanding through tests and mock ups of exams to get you ready for the actual exam.
Be careful that the qualifications you're working towards are commercially relevant and are current. 'In-house' exams and the certificates they come with are usually worthless. If your certification doesn't come from a conglomerate such as Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco or CompTIA, then it's likely it will have been a waste of time - because no-one will recognise it.
Searching for your first position in IT is often made easier with the help of a Job Placement Assistance service. Because of the massive need for more IT skills in Britain right now, there's no need to make too much of this option though. It's actually not as hard as some people make out to secure your first job as long as you're correctly trained and certified.
CV and Interview advice and support may be available (if it isn't, consult one of our sites). Be sure to you polish up your CV right away - don't wait until you've finished your exams! It's not unusual to find that you will be offered your initial role while you're still a student (even in the early stages). If your CV doesn't show your latest training profile - or it's not getting in front of interviewers, then you don't stand a chance! Generally, you'll receive better performance from a specialised and independent local recruitment service than you'll experience from any training provider's employment division, because they'll know the area better.
To bottom line it, as long as you focus the same level of energy into securing a position as into studying, you won't have any problems. A number of people curiously spend hundreds of hours on their course materials and then just stop once qualified and seem to expect employers to find them.
We need to make this very clear: You absolutely must have proper 24x7 support from professional instructors. You'll definitely experience problems if you don't follow this rule rigidly. Never purchase study programmes that only provide support to students through a call-centre messaging system when it's outside of usual working hours. Colleges will always try to hide the importance of this issue. But, no matter how they put it - you need support when you need support - not at times when they find it cheaper to provide it.
Be on the lookout for training programs that have multiple support offices from around the world. These should be integrated to give a single entry point and round-the-clock access, when it's convenient for you, with the minimum of hassle. Never settle for less than you need and deserve. Support round-the-clock is really your only option with computer-based study. It's possible you don't intend to study late evenings; but for most of us, we're at work while the support is live.
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