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There is no way of over emphasising this: You have to get round-the-clock 24x7 support from professional instructors. You'll definitely experience problems if you don't follow this rule rigidly. Never accept certification programs which can only support you via a call-centre messaging service outside of normal office hours. Colleges will always try to hide the importance of this issue. Essentially - you want support at the appropriate time - not at their convenience.
We recommend looking for training programs that have multiple support offices across multiple time-zones. Every one of them needs to be seamlessly combined to enable simple one-stop access together with round-the-clock access, when it suits you, without any problems. Unless you insist on support round-the-clock, you'll end up kicking yourself. It may be that you don't use it during late nights, but what about weekends, early mornings or late evenings.
Look at the points below carefully if you think that over-used sales technique about 'guaranteeing' exams sounds like a benefit to the student:
Certainly it isn't free - you're still paying for it - it's just been included in your package price. For those who want to qualify first 'go', then you should pay for each exam as you go, prioritise it appropriately and apply yourself as required.
Hold on to your money and pay for the exam at the appropriate time, and save having to find the money early. You'll also be able to choose where to take your exam - which means you can stay local. Big margins are netted by many training colleges who get money upfront for exam fees. A number of students don't take them for various reasons but the company keeps the money. Amazingly, there are training companies that depend on students not taking their exams - and that's how they increase their profits. It's worth noting, with 'Exam Guarantees' from most places - you are not in control of when you can re-take the exam. You'll have to prove conclusively that you can pass before they'll pay for another exam.
Average exam fees were about 112 pounds twelve months or so ago when taken at UK VUE or Prometric centres. Therefore, why splash out often many hundreds of pounds extra to have 'an Exam Guarantee', when it's no secret that the best guarantee is a commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools.
Often, students don't think to check on something that can make a profound difference to their results - the way their training provider segments the training materials, and into how many parts. Training companies will normally offer a program typically taking 1-3 years, and send out each piece as you get to the end of each exam. On the surface this seems reasonable - until you consider the following: Students often discover that the trainer's standard order of study isn't the easiest way for them. They might find a different order of study is more expedient. And what if you don't get to the end within their exact timetable?
Ideally, you want everything at the start - so you'll have them all to come back to at any time in the future - as and when you want. This also allows you to vary the order in which you move through the program as and when something more intuitive seems right for you.
Make sure you don't get caught-up, like so many people do, on the training course itself. Training for training's sake is generally pointless; this is about gaining commercial employment. Stay focused on what it is you want to achieve. You could be training for only a year and end up doing the actual job for 10-20 years. Ensure you avoid the fatal error of taking what may be a very 'interesting' program and then spend decades in a job you don't like!
Make sure you investigate your leanings around career development, earning potential, and whether you intend to be quite ambitious. You should understand what industry expects from you, which particular certifications are needed and how you'll gain real-world experience. We advise all students to chat with experienced industry personnel before deciding on their training program. This is required to ensure it has the required elements for the chosen career.
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