We all have a great number of demands on our time, and most often if we desire to learn a new profession, training at the same time as holding down a job is what we're faced with. Certified training from Microsoft could be the answer. Maybe you'd choose to talk to industry experts, who can offer guidance on whereabouts in industry would be right for you, and what sort of duties are a good match for someone with your personality. Having selected the career track for you, an appropriate course has to be picked that's goes with your needs. Make sure it's well designed for you.
Remember: a course itself or the accreditation isn't what this is about; the career that you want is. Far too many training organisations place too much importance on the piece of paper. Students often train for a single year but end up performing the job-role for decades. Don't make the mistake of choosing what sounds like an 'interesting' training program only to spend 20 years doing something you don't even enjoy!
Stay focused on where you want to get to, and formulate your training based on that - not the other way round. Stay focused on the end-goal and study for something you'll enjoy for years to come. It's worth seeking guidance from someone that understands the sector you've chosen, and is able to give you 'A typical day in the life of' type of explanation of what you actually do on the job. All of these things are of paramount importance as you'll need to fully understand if this change is right for you.
One crafty way that training companies make a lot more is by charging for exams up-front and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams. It looks impressive, till you look at the facts:
These days, we are a bit more aware of hype - and generally we know that for sure we're actually paying for it - it's not because they're so generous they want to give something away! It's well known in the industry that when trainees fund each examination, when they're ready to take them and not before, there's a much better chance they'll pass first time - since they are conscious of their investment in themselves and will therefore apply themselves appropriately.
Go for the best offer you can find at the time, and keep hold of your own money. In addition, it's then your choice where to sit the exam - which means you can stay local. A lot of current training colleges net huge amounts of money by charging for exams at the start of the course then cashing in if they're not all taken. Re-takes of any failed exams through training companies who offer an 'Exam Guarantee' are tightly controlled. You will be required to do mock exams until you've demonstrated an excellent ability to pass.
Exam fees averaged 112 pounds or thereabouts in the last 12 months through Prometric or VUE centres around the United Kingdom. So why pay hundreds or thousands of pounds extra for 'an Exam Guarantee', when any student knows that what's really needed is a regular, committed, study programme, with an accredited exam preparation system.
Be on the lookout that any qualifications you're considering doing are commercially relevant and are bang up to date. Training companies own certificates are generally useless. From an employer's perspective, only the big-boys like Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco or Adobe (to give some examples) provide enough commercial weight. Nothing else hits the mark.
Locating job security in the current climate is very rare. Companies frequently remove us from the workforce with very little notice - as long as it fits their needs. We could however reveal market-level security, by digging for areas that have high demand, tied with a shortage of skilled staff.
The 2006 UK e-Skills survey brought to light that over 26 percent of computing and IT jobs cannot be filled due to a chronic shortage of well-trained staff. Put simply, we can only fill 3 out of every four jobs in Information Technology (IT). This troubling fact shows the requirement for more commercially certified Information Technology professionals across Great Britain. For sure, now, more than ever, really is the very best time to retrain into the computing industry.
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