Of Worlds

Well Done! By landing here we guess you must be considering getting re-qualified for a new job - so you’ve already done more than most. Only one in ten of us are satisfied with our careers, but most complain but just stay there. Why not be one of a small number who make a difference in their lives.

We’d strongly advise that before you start any individual training program, you run through some things with a mentor who is familiar with the working environment and can point you in the right direction. Such a person will go through personality profiling with you and give you guidance on the right role for you:

* Do you want to interact with other people? If so, do you like working with the same people or are you hoping to meet new people? Or are you better working in isolation?

* What elements are you looking for from the market sector you work in? (Building and banking - not so stable as they once were.)

* Is this the final time you envisage re-training, and if it is, will this new career offer that choice?

* Do you think being qualified will give you the chance to find the work you’re looking for, and remain in employment until your retirement plans kick in?

The largest sector in this country that fulfils the above criteria is Information Technology. There’s a demand for more skilled people in IT, - take a look at any job site and there’ll be a long list. However, it’s not full of techie geeks staring at theirscreens every day - it’s much more diverse than that. Large numbers of employees in the computer industry are just like the rest of us, with jobs they enjoy and better than average salaries.

Many trainers are still using the rather old-fashioned idea of in-centre classes. Very often portrayed as a huge benefit, following a chat with most students who’ve had to attend a couple, you’ll find them listing some or all of the following problems:

* Repeated visits to the centre - 100’s of miles in many cases.

* Workshop availability; often weekdays only and two or three days in a row. It’s never convenient to take the required leave of absence.

* Most of us find 4 weeks off each year is not really enough. Spend at least half of this for educational classes and you’ll experience even more problems.

* Classes often end up too big.

* The pace of the class - centre-days usually have trainees of varied aptitude, so tension can be created between those that want to go quickly as opposed to those who prefer a more relaxed pace.

* You shouldn’t ignore the added financial outlay of travelling or accommodation either. This can run to a lot of money - from hundreds to thousands. Do the maths yourself - you’ll be (unpleasantly) surprised.

* Do you really want the chance of letting yourself be side-stepped for a lift up the ladder or income boosts just because you’re retraining.

* Most of us find that, at times, it’s uncomfortable to raise questions in a class full of other trainees - who wants to look like they’re the only one who doesn’t get it?

* It should be remembered that days in-centre become basically unreachable, if you work elsewhere in the country for days at a time.

Many students discover a more flexible approach is to utilise videoed workshops wherever you want to take them - studying at your own pace, when it suits you - not anyone else.

Do them at home on your desktop computer or out in the garden on your laptop. Any questions that pop up, just make use of the 24×7 support (that we hope you’ll insist on with any technical courses.)

There’s no need to take notes - every lesson is laid out for you already. Anything you want to do over, just go for it.

Quite simply: Time and money is saved, you have reduced hassle and you completely avoid polluting our environment.

A proficient and professional consultant (vs a salesman) will cover in some detail your current situation. This is paramount to calculating your study start-point.

If you have a strong background, or sometimes a little work-based experience (some certifications gained previously perhaps?) then it could be that your starting level will be quite dissimilar from someone with no background whatsoever.

If this is going to be your opening crack at an IT exam then you may want to begin with user-skills and software training first.

Almost exclusively, Adobe Dreamweaver is the first base for all web designers. It is thought to be the most used web-development environment in the world.

In order to take advantage of Dreamweaver professionally in web design, a full understanding of the complete Adobe Web Creative Suite (which includes Flash and Action Script) is without doubt a bonus. With these skills, you might lead on to becoming an Adobe Certified Expert or Adobe Certified Professional (ACE or ACP).

Understanding how to make a website is simply the first base. Traffic creation, maintaining content and knowledge of some programming essentials should come next. Look for courses with additional features that teach these subjects maybe PHP, HTML, and MySQL, along with Search Engine Optimisation and E Commerce.

Qualifications from the commercial sector are now, very visibly, beginning to replace the traditional academic paths into the IT industry - why then is this?

Industry is of the opinion that to learn the appropriate commercial skills, proper accreditation supplied for example by Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe is far more effective and specialised - saving time and money.

Patently, a necessary amount of associated detail has to be covered, but focused specialised knowledge in the exact job role gives a commercially trained person a massive advantage.

Think about if you were the employer - and you required somebody who had very specific skills. Which is the most straightforward: Trawl through loads of academic qualifications from hopeful applicants, struggling to grasp what they’ve learned and what vocational skills they have, or pick out specific commercial accreditations that perfectly fit your needs, and then choose your interviewees based around that. You can then focus on how someone will fit into the team at interview - instead of having to work out if they can do the job.

Being a part of revolutionary new technology is as thrilling as it comes. Your actions are instrumental in creating a future for us all.

We’re at the dawn of beginning to understand how all this will mould and change our lives. How we correlate with the world as a whole will be significantly affected by computers and the web.

If earning a good living is high on your list of priorities, you will be happy to know that the regular income of the majority of IT staff is much better than with much of the rest of industry.

It’s evident that we have a considerable country-wide need for certified IT specialists. In addition, as growth in the industry shows little sign of contracting, it appears this will be the case for years to come.

Students will sometimes miss checking on something that can make a profound difference to their results - how their company actually breaks down and delivers the courseware elements, and into how many separate packages.

Normally, you’ll join a programme taking 1-3 years and receive one element at a time until graduation. It seems to make sense on one level, but consider these issues:

What would happen if you didn’t finish all the exams at the proposed pace? Often the prescribed exam order doesn’t work as well as some other structure would for you.

Put simply, the perfect answer is to have their ideal ‘order’ of training laid out, but make sure you have all of your learning modules right from the beginning. You’re then in possession of everything in case you don’t finish at their required pace.

Many training companies only give office hours or extended office hours support; most won’t answer after 8-9pm at the latest and frequently never at the weekends.

Never accept training courses that only support students with a call-centre messaging service after office-staff have gone home. Trainers 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 when it’s convenient for them.

The best trainers have many support offices active in different time-zones. Online access provides the interactive interface to seamlessly link them all, no matter what time you login, help is just seconds away, avoiding all the delays and problems.

Seek out a company that is worth purchasing from. Only true round-the-clock 24×7 support truly delivers for technical programs.