Of Worlds

Well Done! As you’re reading this article you’re probably toying with the idea of getting re-qualified for a new job - so you’ve already done more than most. Only one in ten of us are pleased to go to work each day, but most just moan and do nothing about it. You could join a select group who take responsibility for their future.

With regard to individual courses, discuss your thoughts with an industry expert who will give you advice on the right type of training for you. A person who will get an understanding of your personality, and find out what types of work suit you:

* Is collaborating with others important to you? Would that be with the same people or with a lot of new people? Possibly operating on your own with your own methodology may be your preference?

* What do you require from the area of industry you choose? (If it’s stability you’re after, you might think twice about banks or the building industry right now.)

* Once you’ve qualified, would you like your new abilities to take you through to retirement?

* Are you worried about your chances of finding new employment, and staying employable right up to retirement?

A predominant industry in this country to meet the above criteria is the IT industry. There’s a need for more qualified people in IT, just check out any jobsite and there’ll be a long list. Don’t let people tell you it’s all techie people gazing towards theirscreens all day - there are loads more jobs than that. Large numbers of the people in the computer industry are just like the rest of us, but they enjoy their work and get well paid.

Be under no illusions, the UK computing industry promises outstanding possibilities. Yet, to investigate fully, what are the questions we need to ask, and which are the areas we need to look at?

So many training providers focus completely on the certification process, and completely miss why you’re doing this - which is of course employment. Always start with the final destination in mind - don’t make the journey more important than where you want to get to. It’s common, in many cases, to get a great deal of enjoyment from a year of study and then find yourself trapped for decades in a job you hate, simply because you did it without some quality research at the outset.

Spend some time thinking about what you want to earn and what level of ambition fits you. This will influence which particular exams will be required and how much effort you’ll have to give in return. As a precursor to beginning a learning program, it makes sense to talk through specific career requirements with an experienced professional, in order to be sure the retraining programme covers all the bases.

Ensure all your exams are commercially valid and current - forget courses that lead to in-house certificates. The main industry leaders such as Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA or Adobe each have globally recognised skills courses. These heavyweights will give some sparkle to your CV.

One thing you must always insist on is proper direct-access 24×7 support with professional mentors and instructors. It’s an all too common story to find providers that only seem to want to help while they’re in the office (9am till 6pm, Monday till Friday usually) and nothing at the weekends. Email support is too slow, and so-called telephone support is normally just routed to a call-centre which will take the information and email an instructor - who’ll call back sometime over the next 1-3 days, at a suitable time to them. This is not a lot of use if you’re stuck with a particular problem and only have a specific time you can study.

We recommend looking for colleges that utilise many support facilities across multiple time-zones. All of them should be combined to provide a single interface and 24×7 access, when it suits you, with no fuss. Find an educator that goes the extra mile. Because only live 24×7 support provides the necessary backup.

Students who consider this area of study often have a very practical outlook on work, and don’t always take well to classrooms, and struggling through thick study-volumes. If this is putting you off studying, try the newer style of interactive study, with on-screen demonstrations and labs. Many years of research has constantly verified that getting into our studies physically, is much more conducive to long-term memory.

The latest home-based training features self-contained CD or DVD materials. Instructor-led tutorials will mean you’ll learn your subject by way of their teaching and demonstrations. Then it’s time to test your knowledge by interacting with the software and practicing yourself. Always insist on a demonstration of the study materials from your training provider. The package should contain expert-led demonstrations, slideshows and lab’s for you to practice your skills in.

Many companies provide just online versions of their training packages; sometimes you can get away with this - but, think what will happen if internet access is lost or you only get very a very slow connection sometimes. It’s much safer to rely on physical CD or DVD discs which removes the issue entirely.

Most people don’t even think to ask about something that can make a profound difference to their results - how their company divides up the courseware elements, and into how many parts. Many think it logical (with most training taking 1-3 years to pass all the required exams,) that a training provider will issue one module at a time, until you’ve passed all the exams. But: What could you expect if you didn’t actually complete all the exams at the speed they required? And maybe you’ll find their order of completion doesn’t come as naturally as another different route may.

The ideal solution is to have all your study materials packed off to your home before you even start; every single thing! Thus avoiding any future problems that could impede the reaching of your goals.

Charging for exams with the course fee then including an exam guarantee is common for a good many training companies. Consider the facts:

We all know that we’re still footing the bill for it - it’s quite obvious to see that it’s already in the gross price invoiced by the training company. Certainly, it’s not a freebie - and it’s insulting that we’re supposed to think it is! Evidence shows that if a student pays for each progressive exam, one at a time, the chances are they’re going to pass first time - since they’ll think of their payment and so will prepare more thoroughly.

Why pay a college early for exam fees? Find the best exam deal or offer at the appropriate time, don’t pay mark-ups - and sit exams more locally - rather than in some remote place. A surprising number of current training providers secure a great deal of profit because they’re getting paid for exams at the start of the course then cashing in if they’re not all taken. It’s worth noting that exam re-takes through companies with an ‘Exam Guarantee’ are always heavily controlled. You’ll be required to sit pre-tests till you’ve proven conclusively that you can pass.

Average exam fees were approximately 112 pounds twelve months or so ago via VUE or Pro-metric centres in the UK. So don’t be talked into shelling out hundreds or thousands of pounds more to get ‘Exam Guarantees’, when common sense dictates that what’s really needed is study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams.

Sometimes, individuals don’t understand what IT means. It’s thrilling, changing, and means you’re a part of the huge progress of technology that will affect us all over the next generation. Computing technology and dialogue via the internet will noticeably alter the way we live our lives over future years; profoundly so.

If earning a good living is way up on your list of priorities, then you will welcome the news that the average salary of a typical IT worker is a lot greater than salaries in other market sectors. There is a significant national demand for trained and qualified IT technicians. It follows that with the constant growth in the marketplace, it looks like this will be the case for the significant future.

What kind of things do you expect the finest training companies certified by Microsoft to give a student in the United Kingdom at present? Undoubtedly, the most supreme Gold Partner Microsoft authorised training routes, providing a range of options to lead you to a variety of careers in the IT workplace. Perhaps you’d like to find advisors with experience of the IT industry, who can offer guidance on whereabouts in industry would be right for you, and the kind of responsibilities that are a good match for an individual with your character and ability. When you’ve chosen the job you’d like to get into, an applicable training course has to be singled out that’s reflects your ability level and skill set. This can be personally tailored for your requirements.

Wouldn’t it be great to know for sure that our jobs are safe and our future is protected, however, the truth for most sectors throughout England currently appears to be that security just isn’t there anymore. It’s possible though to discover security at the market sector level, by searching for areas that have high demand, tied with a shortage of skilled staff.

Investigating the IT business, a recent e-Skills analysis showed a twenty six percent deficit in trained staff. Accordingly, for each 4 job positions that exist in IT, businesses are only able to find certified professionals for 3 of them. This disquieting idea reveals the validity and need for more commercially accredited Information Technology professionals throughout Great Britain. As the Information Technology market is expanding at such a speed, there really isn’t any other area of industry worth investigating for your new career.

How do we make an informed decision then? With all these possibilities, it’s essential to be guided as to where to be looking - and what it is we should be investigating.

A capable and professional advisor (vs a salesperson) will cover in some detail your current situation. This is paramount to understanding your starting level of study. With some real-world experience or some accreditation, it may be that your starting point of study is not the same as someone new to the industry. It’s usual to start with user-skills and software training first. This can set the scene for your on-going studies and make the learning curve a less steep.

Student support is absolutely essential - look for a package offering 24×7 direct access to instructors, as not obtaining this level of support will severely hold up your pace and restrict your intake. Try and find training where you can receive help at any time of day or night (even if it’s early hours on Sunday morning!) You want 24×7 direct access to mentors and instructors, and not a call-centre that will take messages so you’re constantly waiting for a call-back at a convenient time for them.

Be on the lookout for providers that have multiple support offices around the globe in several time-zones. Every one of them needs to be seamlessly combined to give a single entry point and also round-the-clock access, when it’s convenient for you, with the minimum of hassle. If you fail to get yourself online 24×7 support, you’ll quickly find yourself regretting it. You may not need it late in the night, but what about weekends, evenings and early mornings at some point.

Most trainers typically provide mainly work-books and reference manuals. This can be very boring and not ideal for achieving retention. Studies have time and time again shown that an ‘involved’ approach to study, where we utilise all our senses, is much more conducive to long-term memory.

Modern training can now be done at home via interactive CD and DVD ROM’s. Instructor-led tutorials will mean you’ll learn your subject through the expert demonstrations. Then you test your knowledge by practicing and interacting with the software. Always insist on a study material demo’ from your training provider. The materials should incorporate instructor videos, demonstrations, slide-shows and lab’s for you to practice your skills in.

Avoid training that is purely online. Physical CD or DVD ROM materials are preferable where offered, enabling them to be used at your convenience - ISP quality varies, so you don’t want to be totally reliant on a good broadband connection all the time.

Now, why should we consider commercially accredited qualifications as opposed to traditional academic qualifications obtained from schools, colleges or universities? Vendor-based training (to use industry-speak) is most often much more specialised. The IT sector has acknowledged that a specialist skill-set is necessary to handle a technologically complex workplace. CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA are the key players in this arena. Essentially, only that which is required is learned. It isn’t quite as lean as that might sound, but principally the objective has to be to focus on the exact skills required (with some necessary background) - without going into too much detail in all sorts of other things (as academia often does).

It’s a bit like the TV advert: ‘It does what it says on the tin’. All an employer has to do is know what areas need to be serviced, and then request applicants with the correct exam numbers. They’ll know then that all applicants can do what they need.

It’s essential to have the latest Microsoft (or any other key organisation’s) authorised simulation materials and exam preparation packages. Some students can get confused by trying to prepare themselves with questions that don’t come from the authorised examining boards. It’s not uncommon that the terminology in the real exams can be quite different and you need to be ready for this. ‘Mock’ or practice exams can be invaluable as a resource to you - then when the time comes for you to take the real thing, you don’t get phased.

Some training providers supply a practical Job Placement Assistance program, to help you into your first commercial role. Because of the huge need for more IT skills in the UK at the moment, there’s no need to make too much of this option though. It really won’t be that difficult to land a job as long as you’ve got the necessary skills and qualifications.

Advice and support about getting interviews and your CV may be available (alternatively, check out one of our sites for help). Make sure you work on your old CV immediately - not when you’re ready to start work! Getting your CV considered is better than being rejected. A decent number of junior support jobs are got by students (who’ve only just left first base.) In many cases, a local IT focused employment service (who will get paid commission to place you) should get better results than any division of a training company. In addition, they will no doubt be familiar with the local industry and employment needs.

A common aggravation of various training providers is how much trainees are prepared to work to pass exams, but how un-prepared that student is to get the position they have studied for. Have confidence - the IT industry needs YOU.

If you’re interested in Cisco training and you haven’t worked with routers before, the right certification is the CCNA. This training course was created to teach people who want practical know how on routers. Big organisations who have several locations need routers to join up their various different networks of computers to keep in contact with each other. The Internet is made up of vast numbers of routers also.

Routers connect to networks, so it’s important to have an understanding of how networks operate, or you’ll struggle with the course and not be able to do the work. Seek out a program that features the basics on networks (such as CompTIA) before you start the CCNA.

The appropriate skill-set and understanding ahead of starting your Cisco CCNA course skills is crucial. Therefore, discuss the requirements expected of you with someone who will know what you need.

It would be wonderful to believe that our jobs will remain safe and our work prospects are protected, but the growing reality for the majority of jobs around the United Kingdom currently is that the marketplace is far from secure. In actuality, security now only emerges via a rapidly rising market, pushed forward by work-skills shortages. It’s this alone that creates just the right conditions for market-security - a more attractive situation all round.

Looking at the computing industry, a recent e-Skills survey highlighted a twenty six percent skills deficit. Or, to put it differently, this means that the United Kingdom only has three properly accredited workers for each 4 positions available today. This disturbing reality reveals the validity and need for more properly accredited computing professionals throughout Great Britain. No better time or market state of affairs will exist for getting certified in this quickly growing and budding business.

So, which questions do we need to ask so as to gain the understanding we want? Because it seems there are many rather great prospects for everyone to investigate.

Beginning with the idea that we have to choose the market that sounds most inviting first, before we’re even able to ponder which educational program fulfils our needs, how do we know the right path? After all, if you’ve got no experience in the IT sector, how are you equipped to know what someone in a particular field spends their day doing? Let alone decide on what certification program provides the best chances for a successful result. Ultimately, a well-informed conclusion can only grow from a methodical examination across many altering factors:

* Personality plays a significant role - what things get your juices flowing, and what are the activities that get you down.

* Why you want to consider starting in Information Technology - it could be you’re looking to achieve a long-held goal such as firing your boss and working for yourself for example.

* Where do you stand on salary vs job satisfaction?

* Getting to grips with what the normal job roles and markets are - including what sets them apart.

* Taking a cold, hard look into the effort, commitment and time you can give.

When all is said and done, your only chance of investigating all this is through a good talk with a professional who understands the market well enough to provide solid advice.

We’d hazard a guess that you’re a practical sort of person - a ‘hands-on’ personality type. Typically, the world of book-reading and classrooms is something you’ll make yourself do if you have to, but it’s not really your thing. So look for on-screen interactive learning packages if books just don’t do it for you. Memory is vastly improved when we use multiple senses - educational experts have expounded on this for as long as we can remember.

Search for a course where you’ll receive a selection of CD and DVD based materials - you’ll begin by watching videos of instructors demonstrating the skills, and be able to practice your skills in interactive lab’s. It’s very important to see the type of training provided by any company that you may want to train through. They have to utilise video, demonstrations and various interactive elements.

Some companies only have access to training that is purely available online; while you can get away with this much of the time, imagine the problems when you don’t have access to the internet or you only get very a very slow connection sometimes. It’s much safer to rely on CD and DVD ROM materials that will solve that problem.

Considering how a program is ‘delivered’ to you is often missed by many students. How many stages do they break the program into? And in what sequence and do you have a say in when you’ll get each part? You may think it logical (with training often lasting 2 or 3 years for a full commercial certification,) for a training company to release one module at a time, as you complete each part. Although: Maybe the order of study prescribed by the provider doesn’t suit you. You may find it a stretch to finalise all the modules inside their defined time-scales?

In an ideal situation, you want ALL the study materials up-front - enabling you to have them all to return to any point - as and when you want. This allows a variation in the order that you complete each objective where a more intuitive path can be found.

Proper support is incredibly important - locate a good company that provides 24×7 direct access, as anything less will frustrate you and could hold up your pace and restrict your intake. Try and find training with proper support available at any time you choose (no matter if it’s in the middle of the night on a weekend!) You want direct access to tutors, and not a message system as this will slow you down - waiting for tutors to call you back when it’s convenient for them.

It’s possible to find professional companies who give students direct-access online support all the time - including evenings, nights and weekends. Don’t under any circumstances take less than this. 24×7 support is really your only option with technical training. Maybe late-evening study is not your thing; usually though, we’re out at work at the time when most support is available.

Don’t accept anything less than the latest Microsoft (or any other key organisation’s) authorised simulation materials and exam preparation packages. Be sure that the practice exams are not just posing the correct questions from the right areas, but ask them in the way that the actual final exam will formulate them. It throws people if the questions are phrased in unfamiliar formats. Always ask for testing modules that will allow you to test your comprehension whenever you need to. Practice exams help to build your confidence - so the real thing isn’t quite as scary.

One feature offered by some training providers is a programme of Job Placement assistance. This is designed to assist your search for your first position. Sometimes, people are too impressed with this facility, for it is actually not that hard for any focused and well taught person to land a job in this industry - because there’s a great need for skilled employees.

CV and Interview advice and support should be offered (if not, see one of our sites for help). Make sure you work on your old CV immediately - don’t wait until you’ve finished your exams! Many junior support jobs are offered to people who’re still on their course and have still to get qualified. This will at least get you on your way. If it’s important to you to find work near your home, then you may well find that a specialist locally based employment agency may serve you better than a centralised service, because they’re going to have insider knowledge of the local job scene.

A good number of students, it would appear, are prepared to study their hearts out (sometimes for years), only to do nothing special when attempting to secure a good job. Sell yourself… Do everything you can to put yourself out there. A job isn’t just going to bump into you.

Nearly all aspiring web designers start their careers with Adobe Dreamweaver training. It is thought to be the most used web-development environment in the world. For applications in the commercial world you’ll need an in-depth understanding of the entire Adobe Web Creative Suite. This is including (but isn’t limited to) Flash and Action Script. Should you have ambitions to become an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) or Adobe Certified Professional (ACP) these skills will be absolutely essential.

Creating the website only scratches the surface of what you’ll need - to drive traffic, update content, and work with dynamic database-driven sites, you’ll need to bolt on more programming skills, namely ones like PHP, HTML, and MySQL. A good web designer will additionally develop a good understanding of E-Commerce and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

How can we arrive at the right decisions then? With all these possibilities, it’s imperative to understand where to search - and what we should be searching for.

You should remember: a training program or a qualification isn’t the end-goal; the particular job you’re training for is. Far too many training organisations place too much importance on the certificate itself. It’s a testament to the marketing skills of the big companies, but a great many students begin programs that seem marvellous from the syllabus guide, but which gets us a career that is of no interest. Just ask several university leavers for examples.

Stay tuned-in to where you want to go, and formulate your training based on that - don’t do it the other way round. Stay focused on the end-goal - making sure you’re training for a job you’ll enjoy for years to come. Chat with an experienced industry professional that has a commercial understanding of the realities faced in the industry, and who’ll explain to you detailed descriptions of what to expect in that role. Researching these areas long before you start on any study programme makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?

You have to be sure that all your qualifications are current and also valid commercially - don’t even consider programmes which provide certificates that are worthless because they’re ‘in-house’. Only properly recognised qualifications from companies such as Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA and Cisco will have any meaning to employers.

A lot of training providers will only offer support available from 9-6 (office hours) and sometimes later on specific days; not many go late into the evening (after 8-9pm) or cover weekends properly. Be wary of any training providers which use ‘out-of-hours’ messaging systems - with the call-back coming in during normal office hours. It’s not a lot of help when you’ve got study issues and need an answer now.

The very best training providers have many support offices across multiple time-zones. Online access provides the interactive interface to seamlessly link them all, at any time you choose, help is at hand, without any problems or delays. Never settle for anything less. Online 24×7 support is the only viable option with IT courses. Maybe burning the midnight-oil is not your thing; often though, we’re working during the provided support period.

Trainees looking at this market are often very practical, and don’t really enjoy classrooms, and struggling through thick study-volumes. If this is putting you off studying, opt for more involving, interactive learning materials, where you can learn everything on-screen. Research into the way we learn shows that memory is aided when we receive multi-sensorial input, and we put into practice what we’ve been studying.

Fully interactive motion videos featuring instructor demo’s and practice lab’s will beat books every time. And you’ll find them fun and interesting. It’s very important to see some example materials from the company you’re considering. You’ll want to see that they include full motion videos of instructors demonstrating the topic with lab’s to practice the skills in.

It’s folly to opt for on-line only training. Connection quality and reliability varies hugely across the ISP (internet service provider) market, it makes sense to have physical media such as CD or DVD ROM’s.

Think about the points below in detail if you believe the sales ploy of ‘guaranteeing’ exams sounds like a benefit to the student:

It’s very clear we’re ultimately paying for it - obviously it has been added into the gross price invoiced by the course provider. It’s definitely not free (although some people will believe anything the marketing companies think up these days!) We all want to pass first time. Progressively working through your exams one at a time and funding them as you go puts you in a much stronger position to qualify at the first attempt - you take it seriously and are aware of the costs involved.

Don’t pay up-front, but seek out the best deal for you when you’re ready, and keep hold of your own money. You also get more choice of where you do your exams - so you can find somewhere local. Paying in advance for examinations (plus interest - if you’re financing your study) is insane. Why fill a company’s coffers with your hard-earned cash only to please their Bank Manager! Many will hope you won’t get round to taking them - then they’ll keep the extra money. You should fully understand that re-takes through training course providers with an ‘Exam Guarantee’ are monitored with tight restrictions. They will insist that you take pre-tests first until you’ve demonstrated an excellent ability to pass.

Exams taken at local centres are in the region of 112 pounds in the United Kingdom today. Students should be very wary of forking out hundreds of pounds extra in fees for ‘exam guarantees’ (usually wrapped up in the course package price) - when the best course materials, the right level of support and a commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools are actually the key to your success.

We’re regularly asked to explain why traditional degrees are being replaced by more commercially accredited qualifications? Corporate based study (in industry terminology) is far more specialised and product-specific. The IT sector has become aware that this level of specialised understanding is necessary to service the demands of an acceleratingly technical commercial environment. Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe are the key players in this arena. Of course, a reasonable quantity of associated detail needs to be taught, but focused specifics in the exact job role gives a commercially trained student a distinct advantage.

Put yourself in the employer’s position - and you needed to take on someone with a very particular skill-set. Which is the most straightforward: Trawl through a mass of different academic qualifications from several applicants, asking for course details and what vocational skills they’ve mastered, or select a specialised number of commercial certifications that specifically match what you’re looking for, and make your short-list from that. Your interviews are then about personal suitability - instead of having to work out if they can do the job.

Does job security really exist anymore? In the UK for example, where business constantly changes its mind whenever it suits, it seems increasingly unlikely. Security only exists now in a fast increasing marketplace, driven forward by work-skills shortages. These circumstances create just the right background for a higher level of market-security - a more attractive situation all round.

Looking at the computing industry, the 2006 e-Skills analysis highlighted a twenty six percent skills deficit. To put it another way, this clearly demonstrates that the United Kingdom only has 3 trained people for each 4 positions existing currently. Attaining the appropriate commercial computer exams is consequently a fast-track to achieve a long-term and rewarding profession. No better time or market state of affairs will exist for gaining qualification for this hugely expanding and evolving market.