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For those hoping to start an MCSA training program, it’s important to realise that there are many different types of training; some are easier than others. You will find a variety of courses, whether you’re a beginner, or a professional hoping to gain accredited qualifications. To become certified for an MCSA you need to pass 4 Microsoft Certified Professional exams (MCP’s). For a newcomer to the industry, it’s possible you will need to improve your skill-set before studying for the 4 MCP’s. Search for a training organisation with people who can identify the best action plan for you and can match a course start point to your current skill set.

If the UK Information Technology (IT) sector provides so many fantastic advancement possibilities for us all – then what are the questions we need to be posing and which aspects are important to consider?

So many training providers are all about the certification, and avoid focusing on what it’s all actually about – which will always be getting the job or career you want. You should always begin with the end goal – too many people focus on the journey. Don’t let yourself become one of those unfortunate students that choose a course which looks like it could be fun – and end up with a plaque on the wall for something they’ll never enjoy.

It’s a good idea to understand what expectations industry may have of you. Which accreditations you’ll be required to have and how to gain experience. It’s definitely worth spending time setting guidelines as to how far you wish to build your skill-set as it will often force you to choose a particular set of qualifications. Obtain help from a skilled professional that has commercial knowledge of your chosen market-place, and will be able to provide ‘A typical day in the life of’ understanding of what duties you’ll be performing on a day-to-day basis. It’d be sensible to know if this change is right for you well before your course begins. There’s little point in kicking off your training only to discover you’re on the wrong course.

Make sure that all your accreditations are commercially valid and current – don’t even consider studies which end up with a useless in-house certificate or plaque. All the major IT organisations such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco or Adobe have widely approved skills courses. These big-hitters will make your CV stand-out.

People attracted to this sort of work are often very practical, and don’t really enjoy classrooms, and slogging through piles of books. If you identify with this, go for more modern interactive training, where everything is presented via full motion video. We see a huge improvement in memory retention with an involvement of all our senses – learning experts have been saying this for many years.

Study programs now come on CD and DVD discs, so everything is learned directly from your own PC. Through video streaming, you are able to see your instructors showing you how to perform the required skill, and then have a go at it yourself – in an interactive lab. Every company that you look at should willingly take you through some examples of the materials provided for study. You’re looking for evidence of tutorial videos and demonstrations and many interactive sections.

You should avoid purely online training. Ideally, you should opt for CD and DVD ROM courseware where obtainable, so you can use them wherever and whenever you want – and not be totally reliant on your internet connection always being ‘up’ and available.

There is no way of over emphasising this: Always get full 24×7 professional support from mentors and instructors. You will have so many problems later if you don’t heed this. Never purchase study programmes that only provide support to students with an out-sourced call-centre message system after office-staff have gone home. Companies will always try to hide the importance of this issue. The simple fact of the matter is – support is required when it’s required – not as-and-when it’s suitable for their staff.

We recommend looking for providers that use several support centres across multiple time-zones. Each one should be integrated to give a single entry point and also 24×7 access, when it’s convenient for you, with the minimum of hassle. Don’t accept second best when it comes to your support. The majority of would-be IT professionals who drop-out or fail, are in that situation because of a lack of support.

Adding in the cost of exam fees with the course fee then including an exam guarantee is common for a good many training companies. But look at the facts:

Patently it isn’t free – you’re still coughing up for it – it’s just been included in your package price. Students who go in for their examinations when it’s appropriate, funding them one at a time are much better placed to get through first time. They’re conscious of what they’ve paid and take the necessary steps to be ready for the task.

Don’t pay up-front, but seek out the best deal for you at the appropriate time, and save having to find the money early. In addition, it’s then your choice where to sit the exam – so you can find somewhere local. A surprising number of so-called credible training course providers make huge profits because they’re getting paid for all the exam fees up-front and hoping either that you won’t take them, or it will be a long time before you do. Also, ‘Exam Guarantees’ often aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. The majority of organisations will not pay again for an exam until you’ve completely satisfied them that you’re ready this time.

On average, exams cost 112 pounds or thereabouts in the last 12 months when taken at Prometric or VUE centres around the United Kingdom. So what’s the point of paying maybe a thousand pounds extra to get ‘an Exam Guarantee’, when any student knows that what’s really needed is a regular, committed, study programme, with an accredited exam preparation system.

We’re regularly asked to explain why qualifications from colleges and universities are being overtaken by more qualifications from the commercial sector? The IT sector is now aware that to learn the appropriate commercial skills, proper accreditation supplied for example by Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe is closer to the mark commercially – for considerably less. They do this by focusing on the particular skills that are needed (alongside a proportionate degree of background knowledge,) as opposed to covering masses of the background non-specific minutiae that degree courses often do (because the syllabus is so wide).

Think about if you were the employer – and your company needed a person with some very particular skills. What is easier: Go through reams of different degrees and college qualifications from several applicants, asking for course details and what workplace skills they’ve acquired, or select a specialised number of commercial certifications that perfectly fit your needs, and then choose your interviewees based around that. Your interviews are then about personal suitability – instead of long discussions on technical suitability.

Technology and IT is one of the more electrifying and revolutionary industries that you can get into right now. Being up close and personal with technology puts you at the fore-front of developments that will impact the whole world for generations to come. We’re in the very early stages of beginning to get an inclination of how technology will define our world. Computers and the web will massively alter the way we regard and interact with the world as a whole over the years to come.

If making decent money is up there on your goal sheet, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised to hear that the usual remuneration for the majority of IT staff is much more than with other market sectors. It would appear there’s no easing up for IT development across Britain. The industry continues to grow quickly, and we don’t have anywhere near enough qualified skilled IT professionals to fill current job vacancies, so it’s not likely that things will be any different for a good while yet.

Well done! Discovering this piece suggests you’re thinking about your future, and if you’re considering retraining you’ve even now progressed more than most others. It’s a frightening thought that just one in ten of us would say we are satisfied and happy at work – yet the vast majority of us will take no corrective action. We encourage you to break free and move forward – think about how you could enjoy Monday mornings.

On the subject of training, it’s important to first define what you want and don’t want from the job you would like to get. Ensure that the grass actually is greener before you put a lot of energy into taking a new turn. So much better to look at the destination you’re hoping for, to avoid disappointment:

* Is it your preference to work in isolation or is being part of a team vital for your sanity?

* What’s important that you get from the industry your job is in? – We all know that things have changed, look at building and banking for instance.

* Having completed your retraining, are you hoping your new skills will give you the ability to take you through to retirement?

* Do you have the assurance that your industry training course will make you employable, and offer the chance to allow you to work until your pension kicks in?

Consider the IT sector, that’s our recommendation – it’s one of the only sectors of industry still growing in this country and overseas. Another benefit is that remuneration packages are much better than most.

How can we reach an informed choice then? With such prospects, it’s essential to be guided as to where to investigate – and what we should be searching for.

An advisor that doesn’t ask you a lot of questions – it’s likely they’re just trying to sell you something. If they’re pushing towards a particular product before looking at your personality and whether you have any commercial experience, then you know it’s true. Don’t forget, if you’ve had any relevant qualifications that are related, then you can sometimes expect to begin at a different level to a student who’s starting from scratch. It’s usual to start with some basic user skills first. This can set the scene for your on-going studies and make your learning curve a bit more manageable.

The classroom style of learning we remember from school, utilising reference manuals and books, is usually pretty hard going. If you’re nodding as you read this, check out study materials that are multimedia based. If we can involve all our senses in the learning process, then we normally see dramatically better results.

Fully interactive motion videos involving demonstration and virtual lab’s will turn you off book-based study for ever more. And they’re a lot more fun to do. You’ll definitely want a demonstration of the study materials from any training college. The package should contain expert-led demonstrations, slideshows and interactive labs where you get to practice.

It’s folly to choose training that is only available online. Connection quality and reliability varies hugely across the ISP (internet service provider) market, make sure you get actual CD or DVD ROM’s.

One of the most important things to insist on has to be 24×7 round-the-clock support with expert mentors and instructors. Far too often we see trainers who only provide support to you inside of office hours (typically 9am-6pm) and sometimes a little earlier or later (but not weekends usually). Look for training with proper support available at any time of the day or night (no matter if it’s in the middle of the night on a weekend!) You’ll need access directly to professional tutors, and not simply some messaging service that means you’re constantly waiting for a call-back during office hours.

Top training providers opt for an online round-the-clock service pulling in several support offices from around the world. You’ll have a single, easy-to-use interface which switches seamlessly to the best choice of centres any time of the day or night: Support on demand. Find a company that gives this level of learning support. As only true live 24×7 support provides the necessary backup.

If you’re considering a training academy that still provides workshops as a necessary part of their training, then take note of these difficulties met by many students:

* Loads of travelling – lots of trips and quite often over 100 miles a pop.

* Access to classes; frequently Mon-Fri and two or three days in a row. You then have the difficulty of the work-leave.

* With only 4 weeks off each year, giving half of them to study events means we’ll be hard-pushed to get a holiday with our families.

* Workshop days normally are over-subscribed, so we end up having to take a slot that doesn’t really suit.

* Class pace – workshops often have trainees of mixed talent, consequently tension can run high between students that want a quicker pace to the ones who need a little longer.

* The growing costs associated with travel – travelling to the training college and of course over-night bed and breakfast can mount up over several visits. If you only assumed 5-10 centre-days at a cost of 35 pounds for one night’s accommodation, plus forty pounds for petrol and 15.00 for food, that becomes a minimum of four to nine hundred pounds of hidden costs that we now have to fund.

* A lot of attendees would like to keep their training completely private thus avoiding all come-back at work.

* Surely, all of us at some time have avoided asking a question, because we wanted to fit in?

* Where students have to on occasion live or work away from home, imagine the increased difficulty in making the required events, as time becomes even more scarce.

Surely it makes so much more sense to study at a time that’s convenient for you – not the school – and make use of instructor-led videos with interactive lab’s. Whenever you get stuck, utilise the 24×7 Support (that should’ve been packaged with any technical type of training.) Don’t forget, if you have a laptop, you can study just about anywhere. Lessons and modules can be repeated as often as you want – doing something over will help you remember it. And no worrying about keeping up with note-taking either – it’s already ready to go. Essentially: You save time, hassle, money and steer clear of polluting our environment.

There are colossal changes about to hit technology in the near future – and the industry becomes more ground-breaking every year. We’ve barely started to scrape the surface of how technology will affect our lives in the future. The internet will significantly revolutionise the way we regard and interact with the rest of the world over the coming decades.

Incomes in IT are not a problem moreover – the usual income in Great Britain for the usual man or woman in IT is much greater than average salaries nationally. Odds are you’ll bring in quite a bit more than you’d typically expect to bring in elsewhere. Due to the technological sector growing year on year, it’s likely that the need for certified IT professionals will remain buoyant for a good while yet.

If you’ve aspirations to be a professional web designer and have the most recognised qualification for the job market today, the course you need is Adobe Dreamweaver. Additionally, it’s good practice that you gain an in-depth and thorough understanding of the complete Adobe Web Creative Suite, which includes Flash and Action Script, to be able to take advantage of Dreamweaver as a commercial web-designer. This can result in you subsequently becoming an ACP (Adobe Certified Professional) or an ACE (Adobe Certified Expert).

Knowing how to create the website is just the start. Driving traffic, maintaining content and various programming skills are the next things. Think about courses that also contain modules to include these skills perhaps HTML, PHP and MySQL, along with search engine optimisation (SEO) and E-Commerce skills.

Being aware of so much talk on the area of Information Technology (IT) at present, how are we supposed to understand what in particular to look for?

Potential Students looking to kick off an Information Technology career normally haven’t a clue which path to consider, or even what market to build their qualifications around. Since without any solid background in IT, how should we possibly know what a particular job actually consists of? Arriving at the right answer can only grow via a detailed investigation of several different criteria:

* Our personalities play an important role – what things get your juices flowing, and what tasks you really dislike.

* Is it your desire to realise a closely held goal – like being your own boss as quickly as possible?

* Where is the salary on a scale of importance – is it the most important thing, or do you place job satisfaction a lot higher on your priority-list?

* Always think in-depth about the energy required to gain all the necessary accreditation.

* Our advice is to think deeply about the level of commitment you’re going to invest in your education.

The best way to avoid all the jargon and confusion, and reveal the best route for you, have an in-depth discussion with an industry expert and advisor; someone who appreciates and can explain the commercial realities as well as the accreditations.

Usually, trainers will provide a bunch of books and manuals. It’s not a very interesting way to learn and not really conducive to achieving retention. We see a huge improvement in memory retention when all our senses are brought into the mix – learning experts have been saying this for many years.

Top of the range study programs now offer self-contained CD or DVD materials. By watching and listening to instructors on video tutorials you’ll take everything in by way of the expert demonstrations. Knowledge can then be tested by utilising the practice lab’s and modules. You really need to look at the type of training provided by your chosen company. Be sure that they contain full motion videos of instructors demonstrating the topic with lab’s to practice the skills in.

You’ll find that many companies will only provide purely on-line training; and although this is okay the majority of the time, consider what happens if your access to the internet is broken or you get slow speeds and down-time etc. It is usually safer to have CD and DVD ROM materials which removes the issue entirely.

Students often end up having issues because of one area of their training which doesn’t even occur to them: The breakdown of the course materials before being delivered to your home. You may think it logical (with most training taking 1-3 years for a full commercial certification,) for a training company to release one section at a time, until you’ve passed all the exams. But: What would their reaction be if you find it difficult to do each and every module within the time limits imposed? Sometimes their preference of study order won’t fit you as well as some other order of studying might.

In an ideal situation, you’d get ALL the training materials right at the beginning – giving you them all to come back to at any time in the future – at any time you choose. Variations can then be made to the order that you complete each objective if you find another route more intuitive.

It’s so important to understand this key point: Always get full 24×7 instructor and mentor support. Later, you’ll kick yourself if you don’t follow this rule rigidly. Be wary of any training providers that use ‘out-of-hours’ messaging systems – with your call-back scheduled for typical office hours. It’s no use when you’re stuck on a problem and need help now.

Top training providers opt for an online 24×7 service involving many support centres across the globe. You’ll have a single, easy-to-use interface that accesses the most appropriate office irrespective of the time of day: Support available as-and-when you want it. If you accept anything less than 24×7 support, you’ll quickly find yourself regretting it. You might not want to use the service during late nights, but what about weekends, evenings and early mornings at some point.

Be careful that the qualifications you’re studying for will be recognised by employers and are current. Training companies own certificates are often meaningless. Only fully recognised qualifications from the major players like Microsoft, Cisco, Adobe and CompTIA will have any meaning to employers.

Look at the following facts and pay great regard to them if you believe that over-used sales technique about ‘guaranteeing’ exams sounds like a benefit to the student:

Everyone knows they’re still footing the bill for it – it’s obviously been inserted into the overall price charged by the training provider. Certainly, it’s not a freebie – don’t think these companies are so generous with their money! If it’s important to you to qualify first ‘go’, evidence suggests you must pay for one exam at a time, give it the necessary attention and give the task sufficient application.

Look for the very best offer you can when you take the exam, and keep hold of your own money. You’ll then be able to select where you take your exam – meaning you can choose a local testing centre. A great deal of money is secured by some training companies that get money upfront for exam fees. Many students don’t take them for one reason or another and so the company is quids-in. Astoundingly enough, there are providers that actually rely on students not sitting all the exams – and that’s how they increase their profits. The majority of companies will insist that you take mock exams first and with-hold subsequent exam entries from you until you’ve demonstrated an excellent ability to pass – which actually leaves you with no guarantee at all.

Exams taken at VUE and Prometric centres are around 112 pounds in Britain at the time of writing. Students should be very wary of forking out hundreds of pounds extra in ‘Exam Guarantee’ costs (often covertly rolled into the cost of the course) – when the best course materials, the right level of support and consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software is what will really see you through.

We can all agree: There really is absolutely no personal job security anymore; there’s only market and sector security – companies can just drop any single member of staff whenever it fits the business’ commercial requirements. In times of escalating skills shortfalls together with high demand areas however, we often locate a newly emerging type of market-security; driven forward by the conditions of constant growth, companies just can’t get the influx of staff needed.

A recent UK e-Skills analysis highlighted that 26 percent of all available IT positions are unfilled because of an appallingly low number of properly qualified workers. Showing that for every four jobs available in the computer industry, we have only 3 certified professionals to perform that task. Accomplishing in-depth commercial Information Technology exams is as a result a ‘Fast Track’ to a life-long as well as gratifying livelihood. It would be hard to imagine if a better time or market state of affairs is ever likely to exist for obtaining certification in this quickly expanding and evolving sector.

Should you be looking for certified training from Microsoft, you’ll obviously be expecting training providers to supply a good number of the finest learning programmes currently available. You might like to find advisors with experience of the IT industry, who could offer counsel on whereabouts in industry would work for you, and what sort of tasks are correct for a person with a personality like yours. When you’ve chosen the career track for you, you will require an appropriate course personalised to your needs. The standard of teaching should more than match your expectations.

Listening to all this debate around IT these days, how are we supposed to recognize what in particular to look for?

Beware of putting too much emphasis, as a lot of students can, on the accreditation program. Training is not an end in itself; this is about gaining commercial employment. Stay focused on what it is you want to achieve. Imagine training for just one year and then end up performing the job-role for decades. Ensure you avoid the fatal error of finding what seems like a program of interest to you only to spend 20 years doing something you don’t even enjoy!

You must also consider your feelings on career development, earning potential, and if you’re ambitious or not. It makes sense to understand what industry expects from you, which qualifications are required and how you’ll gain real-world experience. It’s good advice for all students to speak with an experienced industry advisor before they embark on a learning programme. This is essential to ensure it has the required elements for the career that is sought.

Proper support is incredibly important – look for a package offering 24×7 direct access to instructors, as anything else will annoy you and definitely impede your ability to learn. Always avoid study programmes that only provide support to students with an out-sourced call-centre message system after office-staff have gone home. Training companies will always try to hide the importance of this issue. Essentially – support is needed when it’s needed – not at their convenience.

Be on the lookout for study programmes that use several support centres around the globe in several time-zones. All of them should be combined to give a single entry point and 24 hours-a-day access, when it’s convenient for you, with no hassle. Don’t under any circumstances take a lower level of service. 24×7 support is the only kind that ever makes the grade with technical learning. It’s possible you don’t intend to study late evenings; but for the majority of us however, we’re at work while the support is live.

Many trainers provide a big box of books. This can be very boring and not a very good way of achieving retention. If we can get all of our senses involved in our learning, our results will often be quite spectacular.

Locate a program where you’ll get a host of CD or DVD ROM’s – you’ll begin by watching videos of instructors demonstrating the skills, and then have the opportunity to practice your skills in interactive lab’s. Every company that you look at should willingly take you through a few samples of their courseware. You should hope for instructor-led videos and interactive areas to practice in.

You should avoid purely online training. Always choose CD or DVD based study materials where available, enabling them to be used at your convenience – you don’t want to be reliant on a quality and continuous internet connection.

Some training schools are still offering the slightly musty old method of classroom lessons. Often sold as a benefit, if you talk to a student who has had to attend a few, don’t be surprised to be lectured on several if not most of the following problems:

* Periodic travelling – hundreds of miles usually.

* Mon-Fri availability to events is usual, and trying to take several days leave in a single chunk causes a lot of problems for most working students.

* Don’t disregard the lost holiday days. We typically get twenty days annual leave. If over 50 percent is used in classes, then there’s very little left over for us.

* With the high costs involved, most schools fill the classes up to the brim – which is not ideal (and with less one-on-one time).

* You may prefer to move at a slower or quicker pace than the rest of the class. This can create a lot of tension amongst the class.

* The growing costs associated with travel – arranging transport backwards and forwards to the training college plus several days accommodation can start to get expensive with each visit. If we just assume five to ten workshops costing 35 pounds for a single over-night room, plus 40 pounds petrol and food at 15 pounds, we arrive at 450-900 pounds of hidden costs on top.

* We all enjoy our privacy. We wouldn’t want to run the risk of losing any lift up the ladder that could awarded to us just because we’re retraining.

* Posing questions in front of other class-mates often makes us feel self-conscious. Would you admit that you’ve occasionally avoided posing a question because you were worried it might make you look silly?

* If your work takes you away from home, it’s a fact of life that events can become difficult to get to – and yet, they’ve been paid for in advance.

The perfect situation comes from viewing a pre-made lesson – having instructor-led teaching on hand whenever you wish. You can study from home on your computer or out in the garden on your laptop. If you’ve got questions, then utilise the 24×7 Support (that you should have insisted on for any technical study.) It really doesn’t matter how often you would like to re-take a quiz or test, on-screen instructors aren’t ever likely to rush you! And remember, in this situation, there’s no need to take notes. It’s already there for quick access. The upshot: Reduced stress and hassle, more money in the bank, and you’ve got no travelling to do.

How can job security really exist anywhere now? In a marketplace like the UK, where business constantly changes its mind on a whim, there doesn’t seem much chance. In actuality, security now only emerges via a swiftly escalating marketplace, fuelled by a lack of trained workers. These circumstances create the appropriate setting for a secure market – definitely a more pleasing situation.

The IT skills shortfall across the United Kingdom is standing at over 26 percent, as noted by the latest e-Skills study. Therefore, for every 4 jobs existing around IT, employers can only locate trained staff for three of the four. Accomplishing full commercial IT exams is as a result a ‘Fast Track’ to achieve a long-lasting as well as worthwhile livelihood. Without a doubt, this really is the very best time for retraining into IT.

Because you’re looking at information about courses for MCSE, you’ll probably be in one of the following categories: You might be wondering about a complete career change to the world of IT, and research demonstrates there’s a growing demand for properly qualified people. Instead you could already be in IT – and you need to formalise your skill-set with an MCSE.

As you find out about training colleges, steer clear of those who reduce their out-goings by failing to up-grade to the latest Microsoft version. Over time, this will frustrate and cost the student much more because they’ve been taught from an old version of MCSE which inevitably will have to be up-dated pretty much straight away. Don’t be pushed into a training program without the right advice. Look for a computer training company who will make sure that you’re on an appropriate training track for you.

Picking up on the sheer volume of debate covering computing technology at present, how can we understand what in particular to look for?

With all the options available, does it really shock us that nearly all newcomers to the industry don’t really understand the best career path they should even pursue. Scanning a list of odd-sounding and meaningless job titles is just a waste of time. The vast majority of us have no concept what the neighbours do for a living – so what chance do we have in understanding the ins and outs of a particular IT career. To get through to the essence of this, there should be a discussion of a number of definitive areas:

* Personality plays a significant part – what gets you ‘up and running’, and what tasks put a frown on your face.

* Is it your desire to realise an important dream – for example, working for yourself as quickly as possible?

* Is salary further up on your wish list than other factors.

* Always think in-depth about the time expected to attain their desired level.

* You will need to take in what is different for the myriad of training options.

To be honest, the only way to research these issues will be via a meeting with an experienced advisor that has years of experience in Information Technology (and chiefly the commercial requirements.)

You have to be sure that all your accreditations are what employers want – you’re wasting your time with courses that lead to in-house certificates. The top IT companies such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco or Adobe each have internationally approved skills courses. Major-league companies like these will ensure your employability.

Most commercial training providers only provide support to you inside of office hours (typically 9am-6pm) and sometimes a little earlier or later; It’s rare to find someone who offers late evening or full weekend cover. Locate training schools where you can access help at all hours of the day and night (even 1am on Sunday morning!) Ensure you get 24×7 direct access to mentors and instructors, and not a message system as this will slow you down – constantly waiting for a call-back – probably during office hours.

Top training companies use multiple support centres around the globe in several time-zones. By utilising an interactive interface to join them all seamlessly, no matter what time you login, help is at hand, without any problems or delays. Search out a trainer that goes the extra mile. Because only 24×7 round-the-clock live support delivers what is required.

Traditional teaching in classrooms, using textbooks and whiteboards, is usually pretty hard going. If this describes you, look for learning programmes that are multimedia based. Many years of research has repeatedly shown that becoming involved with our studies, to utilise all our senses, will more likely produce memories that are deeper and longer-lasting.

The latest audio-visual interactive programs with demonstrations and practice sessions will turn you off book-based study for ever more. And you’ll actually enjoy doing them. Each company you’re contemplating must be able to demonstrate samples of their courseware. You’re looking for evidence of tutorial videos and demonstrations and interactive areas to practice in.

It is generally unwise to choose training that is only available online. Connection quality and reliability varies hugely across your average broadband company, it makes sense to have disc based courseware (On CD or DVD).

Exam ‘guarantees’ are sometimes offered as part of a training package – they always involve paying for the exam fees up-front, when you pay for the rest of your course. But before you get taken in by the chance of a guarantee, consider this:

You’ll be charged for it somehow. It certainly isn’t free – they’ve just worked it into the package price. Trainees who enter their exams one by one, paying as they go are much better placed to get through first time. They’re conscious of their spending and prepare more appropriately to ensure they are ready.

Don’t you think it’s more sensible to hold on to your money and pay for the exam at the appropriate time, rather than coughing up months or even a year or two in advance to a training college, and also to sit exams more locally – rather than in some remote centre? Buying a course that includes payments for examination fees (plus interest – if you’re financing your study) is bad financial management. Don’t line companies bank accounts with extra money of yours just to give them a good cash-flow! There are those who hope that you don’t even take them all – so they don’t need to pay for them. You should fully understand that re-takes with organisations who offer an ‘Exam Guarantee’ are monitored with tight restrictions. They will insist that you take pre-tests first so you can prove to them you have a good chance of passing.

Shelling out hundreds or thousands of pounds on an ‘Exam Guarantee’ is naive – when study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will get you through.

Now, why might we choose commercial certification as opposed to traditional academic qualifications taught at schools and Further Education colleges? With an ever-increasing technical demand on resources, the IT sector has had to move to specialist courses that can only come from the vendors – for example companies such as Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA. This usually turns out to involve less time and financial outlay. Academic courses, as a example, become confusing because of a lot of background study – with a syllabus that’s far too wide. Students are then prevented from understanding the specific essentials in enough depth.

Put yourself in the employer’s position – and you required somebody who had very specific skills. What is easier: Pore through loads of academic qualifications from hopeful applicants, struggling to grasp what they’ve learned and what vocational skills they have, or choose particular accreditations that perfectly fit your needs, and draw up from that who you want to speak to. 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.

Locating job security in the current climate is problematic. Companies can throw us out of the workforce with very little notice – as and when it suits them. However, a sector experiencing fast growth, with huge staffing demands (due to a massive shortage of trained staff), provides a market for true job security.

Reviewing the IT market, a recent e-Skills survey highlighted an over 26 percent deficit in trained staff. Or, to put it differently, this reveals that Great Britain can only find 3 certified professionals for each 4 job positions that exist at the moment. Properly trained and commercially educated new workers are as a result at an absolute premium, and it’s estimated to remain so for many years longer. For sure, this really is such a perfect time to train for the IT industry.

If it’s Cisco training you’re after, but you’ve not yet worked with switches and routers, then you’ll need the CCNA training. This will give you skills for setting up and maintaining routers. The internet is made up of hundreds of thousands of routers, and large commercial ventures with several different sites also use them to keep their networks in touch.

Successfully achieving this qualification means you’ll probably end up working for large commercial ventures that have several locations, but need their computer networks to talk to each other. On the other hand, you might end up joining an internet service provider. These jobs are well paid and in demand.

Getting your Cisco CCNA is what you should be aiming for – you’re not ready for your CCNP straight away. After gaining experience in the working environment, you’ll know if CCNP is something you want to do. Should that be the case, you’ll be much more capable to succeed at that stage – because you’ll have so much more experience.

We can all agree: There really is no such thing as personal job security available anymore; there’s only industry or sector security – as any company can remove anyone whenever it fits the business’ trade requirements. Now, we only experience security via a fast rising market, fuelled by a lack of trained workers. It’s this alone that creates the right environment for a secure market – a far better situation.

Reviewing the computing sector, the most recent e-Skills study demonstrated a twenty six percent skills deficit. To put it another way, this clearly demonstrates that Great Britain is only able to source three qualified staff for each four job positions that are available at the moment. This alarming certainty shows the requirement for more commercially qualified IT professionals in the United Kingdom. While the market is developing at such a speed, it’s unlikely there’s any better area of industry worth considering as a retraining vehicle.

So, which are the questions we should raise if we’re to get the understanding we want? After all, it’s evident there are many pretty superb prospects for us all to investigate.

Don’t forget: the actual training program or a qualification isn’t what this is about; a job you’re training for is. Many trainers unfortunately place too much importance on the piece of paper. It’s possible, in many cases, to get a great deal of enjoyment from a year of study only to end up putting 20 long years into something completely unrewarding, entirely because you stumbled into it without the correct level of soul-searching at the outset.

Set targets for earning potential and what level of ambition fits you. Often, this changes what accreditations will be expected and what’ll be expected of you in your new role. Seek out help from an experienced industry professional who appreciates the market you’re interested in, and who can give you ‘A day in the life of’ understanding of what you’ll actually be doing on a day-to-day basis. It’d be sensible to discover if this is the right course of action for you before the training program is started. There’s really no point in beginning your training and then find you’ve taken the wrong route.

A lot of trainers will only provide support available from 9-6 (office hours) and sometimes later on specific days; It’s rare to find someone who offers late evening or full weekend cover. Many only provide email support (too slow), and telephone support is usually to a call-centre which will make some notes and then email an advisor – who’ll call back sometime over the next 1-3 days, at a suitable time to them. This is no good if you’re sitting there confused over an issue and can only study at specific times.

It’s possible to find the top providers which offer direct-access online support around the clock – even in the middle of the night. Never compromise where support is concerned. Many students who fall by the wayside, just need the right support system.

The old fashioned style of teaching, with books and manuals, is usually pretty hard going. If this describes you, dig around for more practical courses which have a majority of interactive, multimedia parts. Recent studies into the way we learn shows that long term memory is improved when we use all our senses, and we get practically involved in what we’re studying.

Start a study-program in which you’ll get a host of CD or DVD ROM’s – you’ll start with videos of instructor demonstrations, with the facility to use virtual lab’s to practice your new skills. You really need to look at examples of the study materials provided by the company you’re considering. You’ll want to see that they include video, demonstrations and various interactive elements.

Avoid training that is purely online. Always choose CD or DVD based study materials where obtainable, so you can use them wherever and whenever you want – you don’t want to be reliant on your broadband being ‘up’ 100 percent of the time.

So, why might we choose qualifications from the commercial sector and not familiar academic qualifications taught at schools, colleges or universities? With 3 and 4 year academic degree costs becoming a tall order for many, together with the IT sector’s recognition that vendor-based training often has more relevance in the commercial field, we’ve seen a great increase in CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA accredited training routes that educate students for much less time and money. Essentially, the learning just focuses on what’s actually required. It’s slightly more broad than that, but the most important function is always to master the precisely demanded skill-sets (along with a certain amount of crucial background) – without attempting to cover a bit about every other area (as universities often do).

Assuming a company knows what they’re looking for, then they just need to look for a person with the appropriate exam numbers. The syllabuses all have to conform to the same requirements and do not vary between trainers (like academia frequently can and does).

A key training program will have accredited simulation materials and exam 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 phraseology can be quite different and you should be prepared for this. Ensure that you ask for exam preparation tools so you’ll be able to test your understanding along the way. Simulations of exams help to build your confidence – so the actual exam is much easier.

A useful feature that several companies offer is job placement assistance. The service is put in place to help you get your first commercial position. But don’t place too much emphasis on it – it’s easy for companies marketing departments to make too much of it. Ultimately, the need for well trained IT people in this country is what will enable you to get a job.

CV and Interview advice and support should be offered (alternatively, check out one of our sites for help). Ensure you polish up your CV straight away – don’t leave it till you pass the exams! Various junior support roles have been bagged by students who are in the process of training and have yet to take their exams. At the very least this will get you on your way. If you don’t want to travel too far to work, then you may well find that a local IT focused recruitment consultancy may be of more use than a centralised service, as they’re far more likely to know local employment needs.

Various men and women, it would appear, put a great deal of effort into their studies (sometimes for years), and just give up when it comes to looking for a job. Market yourself… Work hard to put yourself out there. Don’t think a job’s just going to jump out in front of you.

Computer and network support technicians are increasingly in demand in the United Kingdom, as organisations are becoming more reliant upon their knowledge and fixing and repairing abilities. Our desire for such qualified and commercially astute people is growing at an impressive rate, as everywhere we work becomes vastly more dependent upon technology.

Understanding the right career choice is fraught with stress – so which areas should we be checking out and what kind of questions should we pose?

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. You need to remain focused on where you want to go. It’s quite usual, in many cases, to thoroughly enjoy one year of training only to end up putting 20 long years into a job you hate, entirely because you stumbled into it without the correct level of soul-searching when you should’ve – at the outset.

It’s well worth a long chat to see the expectations of your industry. Which precise exams you’ll be required to have and how to gain experience. Spend some time assessing how far you think you’ll want to build your skill-set as often it can force you to choose a particular set of certifications. Seek out help from a professional advisor that has commercial knowledge of your chosen market-place, and who can offer ‘A day in the life of’ synopsis of what you’ll actually be doing with each working day. It’s good sense to know if this change is right for you before you commence your studies. There’s really no point in starting to train and then find you’ve taken the wrong route.

All programs you’re considering has to build towards a widely recognised accreditation at the end – and not a worthless ‘in-house’ piece of paper. Unless the accreditation comes from a company like Microsoft, Cisco, Adobe or CompTIA, then you’ll probably find it will be commercially useless – as it’ll be an unknown commodity.

Full support is of the utmost importance – find a program offering 24×7 direct access to instructors, as anything less will not satisfy and will also hamper your progress. You’ll be waiting ages for an answer with email based support, and so-called telephone support is normally just routed to a call-centre which will chat nicely with you for 5 minutes to ask what the issue is and then simply send an email to an instructor – who will call back over the next day or so (assuming you’re there), at a suitable time to them. This isn’t a lot of good if you’re stuck and can’t continue and only have certain times available in which to do your studies.

We recommend looking for providers that use several support centres from around the world. All of them should be combined to offer a simple interface and round-the-clock access, when you want it, with no hassle. Find a training school that goes the extra mile. Because only 24×7 round-the-clock live support truly delivers for technical programs.

Trainees looking at this market are usually quite practically-minded, and aren’t really suited to the classroom environment, and poring through books and manuals. If this is putting you off studying, use multimedia, interactive learning, where you can learn everything on-screen. Memory is vastly improved when we use multiple senses – this has been an accepted fact in expert circles for decades now.

You can now study via interactive discs. Through instructor-led video classes you’ll find things easier to remember by way of the demonstrations and explanations. Knowledge can then be tested by utilising the practice lab’s and modules. Always insist on a demonstration of the study materials from the training company. You should ask for instructor videos, demonstrations, slide-shows and interactive labs where you get to practice.

It’s usually bad advice to go for purely on-line training. Connection quality and reliability varies hugely across all internet service providers, ensure that you have access to actual CD or DVD ROM’s.

Adding in the cost of exams up-front then including an exam guarantee is common for many training course providers. But let’s examine why they really do it:

Everyone knows they’re still footing the bill for it – it’s quite obvious to see that it’s been added into the gross price invoiced by the college. It’s definitely not free – and it’s insulting that we’re supposed to think it is! Evidence shows that when trainees fund each examination, one by one, they’ll be in a better position to pass every time – because they are conscious of their investment in themselves and their application will be greater.

Why pay a college up-front for examination fees? Go for the best offer when you’re ready, don’t pay mark-ups – and take it closer to home – not at somewhere of their bidding. Why tie up your cash (or borrow more than you need) for examination fees when there’s absolutely nothing that says you have to? Big margins are secured by training companies charging upfront for all their exams – and then hoping that you won’t take them all. Pay heed to the fact that, in the majority of cases of ‘exam guarantees’ – the company controls how often and when you are allowed to have another go. You’ll have to prove conclusively that you can pass before they’ll pay for another exam.

Average exam fees were around the 112 pounds mark last year through local VUE or Pro-metric centres throughout the country. So what’s the point of paying maybe a thousand pounds extra to get ‘an Exam Guarantee’, when it’s obvious that what’s really needed is consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software.

A lot of trainees assume that the traditional school, college or university path is the right way even now. So why then is commercial certification becoming more in demand? With a growing demand for specific technological expertise, the IT sector has been required to move to the specialised core-skills learning that can only come from the vendors – for example companies such as CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA. Often this saves time and money for the student. Essentially, only that which is required is learned. It isn’t quite as lean as that might sound, but the most important function is always to concentrate on the fundamentally important skill-sets (including a degree of required background) – without overdoing the detail in every other area (as degree courses are known to do).

Just as the old advertisement said: ‘It does what it says on the tin’. Companies need only to know where they have gaps, and then request applicants with the correct exam numbers. That way they can be sure they’re interviewing applicants who can do the job.

Let’s admit it: There really is pretty much no personal job security now; there’s only industry or sector security – as any company can fire a solitary member of staff whenever it fits the company’s commercial needs. However, a quickly growing market-place, with huge staffing demands (due to a growing shortfall of trained professionals), enables the possibility of true job security.

Taking the Information Technology (IT) industry for instance, the 2006 e-Skills investigation demonstrated a skills gap around the country of over 26 percent. Basically, we only have the national capacity to fill just 3 out of every four jobs in IT. This basic idea clearly demonstrates an urgent requirement for more technically trained computing professionals in the UK. Surely, now really is such a perfect time to consider retraining into IT.

Choosing a study program that fulfils industries needs is vital in our turbulent times. In addition, it’s also necessary to discover one that you’ll enjoy, that fits your character and ability level. Training ranges from Microsoft User Skills to career courses in Databases, Programming, Networking and Web Design. There’s a great deal of choice and so the chances are you’ll want to talk through your options with an experienced advisor prior to deciding which way to go: the last thing you want to do is get on the wrong course for something that doesn’t suit you!

By taking advantage of the latest training methods and keeping costs to a minimum, there is a new type of organisation supplying a superior brand of teaching and assistance for hundreds of pounds less.

Being aware of so much debate about computing technology at present, how are we supposed to appreciate what exactly to look for?

Make sure you don’t get caught-up, as can often be the case, on the certification itself. Your training isn’t about getting a plaque on your wall; you should be geared towards the actual job at the end of it. Focus on the end-goal. It’s a testament to the marketing skills of the big companies, but a great many students commence training that sounds marvellous from the syllabus guide, but which delivers a career that doesn’t fulfil at all. Try talking to typical college leavers for examples.

Prioritise understanding the exact expectations industry will have. What precise accreditations you’ll need and in what way you can gain some industry experience. You should also spend a little time considering how far you wish to build your skill-set as often it can affect your choice of accreditations. The best advice for students is to chat with an experienced industry professional before they make a decision on a particular study program. This helps to ensure it contains the commercially required skills for the chosen career path.

One of the most important things to insist on has to be full 24×7 support with dedicated instructors and mentors. It’s an all too common story to find providers that will only offer a basic 9am till 6pm support period (maybe later on certain days) with very little availability over the weekend. some companies only provide email support (slow), and telephone support is usually to a call-centre that will take the information and email an instructor – who will attempt to call you within 24-48 hrs, at a time suitable for them. This is no good if you’re stuck with a particular problem and have a one hour time-slot in which to study.

The best trainers have many support offices across multiple time-zones. They use an online interactive interface to seamlessly link them all, any time of the day or night, help is just a click away, without any problems or delays. Never compromise when it comes to your support. The vast majority of would-be IT professionals that can’t get going properly, just need the right support system.

Those that are drawn to this type of work are often very practical, and don’t always take well to classrooms, and struggling through thick study-volumes. If you identify with this, opt for more involving, interactive learning materials, where everything is presented via full motion video. Many studies have proved that much more of what we learn in remembered when we receive multi-sensorial input, and we get practically involved in what we’re studying.

Top of the range study programs now offer interactive discs. Instructor-led tutorials will mean you’ll absorb the modules, one by one, via the demonstrations and explanations. Then you test your knowledge by interacting with the software and practicing yourself. Always insist on a look at some courseware examples from the school that you’re considering. You should ask for slide-shows, instructor-led videos and virtual practice lab’s for your new skills.

It’s folly to choose training that is only available online. With highly variable reliability and quality from most broadband providers, ensure that you have access to physical media such as CD or DVD ROM’s.

In first place for the most common difficulty in the IT training sector is often the ‘in-centre’ workshop requirement. Most training schools push the so-called ‘benefits’ of these classes, however, they quickly become a major problem because of:

* The amount of travel required – frequent trips and often 100′s of miles each time.

* Workshop availability; frequently Monday to Friday and sometimes 2-3 days at a time. It’s not easy to get the work-leave.

* Annual leave lost – the majority of employed people only have 20 days holiday. If over half of it is swallowed up by study events, vacation time is going to be quite short for the family as a whole.

* In a situation where running costs are very high, many trainers really push the size of the class – which is not ideal (increasing the ratio of students to teachers).

* A lot of trainees want to work as quickly as possible, while others are looking to take a more ‘steady’ pace and not be pushed beyond their comfort-zone. This brings tension and difficulty a lot of the time.

* Rising travel prices – driving or taking public transport backwards and forwards to the training facility plus bed and breakfast can cost a lot with each visit. If you only assumed a basic 5-10 workshops costing 35 pounds for one night’s accommodation, plus 40 pounds petrol and 15.00 for food, that becomes a minimum of 450-900 pounds of costs that we weren’t expecting.

* Most trainees want study privacy to avoid any kind of management questions in their job.

* It’s common to feel awkward about asking questions in a room full of our fellow trainees – who wants to look like they’re the only one who doesn’t get it?

* If you on occasion live or work away from home, consider the added problems of getting to the requisite classes, when time-off becomes even harder to obtain.

A more flexible training route is to employ pre-filmed workshops in the comfort of your own home – studying at your own pace, when it suits you – not anyone else. You can study anywhere you want. If your PC is a laptop, you could get a little fresh air outside while you learn. If you have any difficulties then make use of the 24×7 support. You have the ability to do the modules as often as you want or need. There’s also no need to jot down any notes because the class is available whenever you want it. Could it be simpler: No travelling, wasted time or money; and of course you end up with a more stress-free study environment.

There is a tidal wave of change washing over technology in the near future – and it only gets more exciting every day. There are people who believe that the technological revolution that’s been a familiar part of our recent lives is cooling down. All indicators point in the opposite direction. Massive changes are on the horizon, and the internet particularly will become an increasingly dominant part of our lives.

And don’t forget salaries either – the usual income throughout Britain for a typical IT professional is much higher than the national average. Odds are that you’ll earn a much better deal than you could reasonably hope to get in other industries. Due to the technological sector growing with no sign of a slow-down, one can predict that the need for certified IT professionals will flourish for a good while yet.

If you’d like to get involved in the web design industry, an Adobe Dreamweaver course is vital for getting professional credentials that are recognised around the world. For commercial applications you’ll need a thorough comprehension of the entire Adobe Web Creative Suite. This includes (but is by no means restricted to) Action Script and Flash. If your goal is to become an Adobe Certified Professional (ACP) or an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) then these skills are paramount.

Understanding how to make a website is only the beginning. Creating traffic, maintaining content and programming database-driven sites are the next things. Think about training programmes that also contain modules to teach these subjects perhaps HTML, PHP and MySQL, along with Search Engine Optimisation and E Commerce.

How are we supposed to reach an educated choice then? With all this potential, it’s essential to be guided as to where to look – and what to be searching for.

Potential Students hoping to kick off a career in computers and technology often aren’t sure what path they should take, let alone what market to obtain accreditation for. Flicking through long lists of different and confusing job titles is a complete waste of time. Most of us have no idea what our next-door neighbours do at work each day – so what chance do we have in understanding the subtleties of a specific IT job. To get through to the essence of this, a discussion is necessary, covering a variety of definitive areas:

* Which type of person you reckon you are – what kind of jobs you find interesting, plus of course – what don’t you like doing.

* Are you hoping to re-train for a certain raison d’etre – for example, are you pushing to work based from home (being your own boss?)?

* What scale of importance is the salary – is an increase your main motivator, or do you place job satisfaction a little higher on your priority-list?

* Because there are so many markets to choose from in Information Technology – you’ll need to gain a solid grounding on what makes them different.

* How much time you will commit your training.

To completely side-step the industry jargon, and find the best route for you, have a good talk with an experienced professional; an individual that appreciates and can explain the commercial realities whilst covering each qualification.

It’s likely that you probably enjoy fairly practical work – the ‘hands-on’ personality type. If you’re like us, the painful task of reading endless manuals 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 book-based learning really isn’t your style. Where we can study while utilising as many senses as possible, then we often see hugely increased memory retention as a result.

Programs are now found in the form of CD and DVD ROM’s, where everything is taught on your PC. Video streaming means you can sit back and watch the teachers showing you precisely how to do something, with some practice time to follow – via the interactive virtual lab’s. You must ensure that you see some example materials from the company you’re considering. You’ll want to see that they include instructor-led video demonstrations with virtual practice-lab’s.

Often, companies will only use purely on-line training; 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 is usually safer to have CD and DVD ROM materials which will not have these problems.

Some training providers are still using the rather old-fashioned idea of classroom lessons. Very often portrayed as a huge benefit, after discussion with someone who has first-hand experience, you’ll most likely hear about many or all of these problems:

* Constant journeys to the workshops – sometimes very long trips.

* Mon-Fri accessibility to events is usual, and with two or three days required at a time, this is usually problematic for a lot of trainees who are working.

* Usually, we end up feeling 4 weeks annual leave is not really enough. Take away a big chunk of this for training events and see your problems doubled.

* Training events sometimes end up overly large as well.

* Maybe you like to work at a slower or quicker pace than the rest of the class. Sometimes this causes tension in the class.

* A lot of students tell us of the considerable cost of travelling back and forth to the training facility whilst paying for accommodation and food becomes prohibitively expensive.

* Many attendees want to keep their training private to avoid any kind of management questions in their work.

* How many of us have avoided asking a question, because we wanted to look smarter?

* Usually, classes frequently become pretty much unreachable, when you work away for part of your week or month.

Infinitely more flexible is to use filmed classes at the location of your choice – and do it when it’s convenient to you – not someone else. Ponder this… Using a laptop then you’re free to work in the garden, a park, or just outside. And live 24 hr-a-day support is only a web-click away when you get challenged. It doesn’t matter how often you have to re-cover a topic, video teachers will never get annoyed or frustrated! And don’t forget, in this situation, you can forget taking notes. It’s already there for you when you need it. Even though it’s impossible to stop any normal learning difficulties, it surely removes stress and makes things simpler. Plus you’ve got less hassle, travel and costs.

Some trainers only provide office hours or extended office hours support; not many go late into the evening (after 8-9pm) or cover weekends properly. Avoid, like the plague, any organisations that use call-centres ‘out-of-hours’ – with the call-back coming in during normal office hours. This is no use if you’re stuck and could do with an answer during your scheduled study period.

The best trainers use multiple support centres from around the world. Online access provides the interactive interface to seamlessly link them all together, at any time you choose, help is just seconds away, without any contact issues or hassle. Seek out an educator that goes the extra mile. As only round-the-clock 24×7 support truly delivers for technical programs.

Let’s face it: There really is no such thing as personal job security now; there can only be industry and sector security – companies can just drop any single member of staff when it meets their trade interests. In times of rising skills shortfalls and growing demand though, we often discover a newer brand of market-security; driven forward by the conditions of constant growth, businesses struggle to find the staff required.

Using the IT industry for example, a recent e-Skills analysis showed a skills deficit in the UK of around 26 percent. Showing that for every 4 jobs that exist across Information Technology (IT), we have only 3 certified professionals to fill that need. This one concept in itself shows why the UK desperately needs a lot more people to become part of the industry. Actually, retraining in Information Technology throughout the years to come is very likely the greatest career direction you could choose.

A+ consists of four exams and specialised sectors, but you only need to pass two of them to qualify for your A+. This is why a great number of colleges stick to just two options. But giving you all four options will provide you with a far deeper level of understanding of your subject, something you’ll appreciate as a Godsend in the commercial world.

CompTIA A+ training programs are about fault finding and diagnosing – both through hands-on and remote access, alongside building computers and repairing them and working in antistatic conditions. It could be a good idea to consider supplementing the A+ with Network + as it will give you the knowledge to take care of computer networks, and become a more senior IT professional.

Massive developments are coming via technology over the next generation – and the industry becomes more ground-breaking every year. We’re only just beginning to get to grips with what this change will mean to us. How we correlate with the world as a whole will be inordinately affected by technology and the internet.

And don’t forget that typical remuneration in the world of IT across the UK is a lot higher than in the rest of the economy, which means you will be in a good position to gain a lot more in the IT sector, than you could reasonably hope to achieve elsewhere. It’s evident that we have a significant country-wide requirement for qualified IT professionals. And with the marketplace continuing to expand, it seems there’s going to be for a good while yet.

Apparently, the Information Technology (IT) market promises tremendous potential. Yet, to arm ourselves with the correct information, which questions do we need to pose, and what are the sectors we need to investigate?

Many companies only concern themselves with gaining a certificate, and forget why you’re doing this – which is of course employment. Always begin with the end in mind – don’t get hung-up on the training vehicle. It’s a testament to the marketing skills of the big companies, but a great many students start out on programs that sound magnificent from the sales literature, but which gets us a career that is of no interest. Try talking to typical college students for examples.

Spend some time thinking about how much you want to earn and what level of ambition fits you. Sometimes, this affects what qualifications will be required and what industry will expect from you in return. You’d also need help from an advisor who knows the commercial realities of the market you’re considering, and who can give you ‘A day in the life of’ synopsis for each job considered. All of these things are absolutely essential as you’ll need to know if you’re going down the right road.

Of all the important things to consider, one of the most essential is always full 24×7 support from trained professional instructors and mentors. Too many companies only provide support to you inside of office hours (typically 9am-6pm) and sometimes a little earlier or later (but not weekends usually). Email support is too slow, and telephone support is usually to a call-centre which will chat nicely with you for 5 minutes to ask what the issue is and then simply send an email to an instructor – who will attempt to call you within 24-48 hrs, at a suitable time to them. This is not a lot of use if you’re sitting there confused over an issue and only have a specific time you can study.

We recommend that you search for study programmes that use several support centres active in different time-zones. All of them should be combined to give a single entry point and also access round-the-clock, when you want it, with the minimum of hassle. Always choose a training company that cares. As only live 24×7 support gives you the confidence to make it.

If you’re like many of the students we talk to then you probably enjoy fairly practical work – the ‘hands-on’ individual. Usually, the trial of reading reference books and manuals is something you’ll force on yourself if you absolutely have to, but it’s not really your thing. Consider interactive, multimedia study if you’d really rather not use books. Research has constantly demonstrated that an ‘involved’ approach to study, where we utilise all our senses, is far more likely to produce long-lasting memories.

Study programs now come in the form of CD and DVD ROM’s, so you can study at your own computer. Video streaming means you can watch instructors demonstrating how to do something, and then have a go at it yourself – with interactive lab sessions. All companies must be able to demonstrate some samples of their training materials. Expect video tutorials, instructor led classes and many interactive sections.

Many companies provide online training only; and although this is okay the majority of the time, imagine the problems if you lose your internet access or you only get very a very slow connection sometimes. It is usually safer to have DVD or CD discs that removes the issue entirely.

Considering how a program is ‘delivered’ to you can often be overlooked. How many parts is the training broken down into? And in what order and do you have a say in when you’ll get each part? Normally, you’ll enrol on a course taking 1-3 years and receive a module at a time. This may seem sensible until you think about these factors: It’s not unusual for trainees to realise that the company’s usual training route is not what they would prefer. Sometimes, varying the order of study will be far more suitable. And what happens if they don’t finish inside of the expected timescales?

To provide the maximum security and flexibility, it’s not unusual for students to make sure that every element of their training is couriered out in one package, all at the beginning. You can then decide in what order and how fast or slow you want to work.

Consider the following points in detail if you’ve been persuaded that that over-used sales technique about ‘guaranteeing’ exams sounds like a benefit to the student:

In this day and age, we tend to be a bit more aware of hype – and usually we grasp that it is actually an additional cost to us (it isn’t free or out of the goodness of their hearts!) If you want to get a first time pass, you must avoid exam guarantees and pay when entering exams, prioritise it appropriately and apply yourself as required.

Do your exams somewhere local and hold on to your money and pay for the exam when you take it. Why tie up your cash (or borrow more than you need) for examinations when you didn’t need to? Huge profits are secured by training companies charging upfront for all their exams – and banking on the fact that many won’t be taken. It’s worth noting that exam re-takes via organisations with an ‘Exam Guarantee’ are always heavily controlled. They will insist that you take pre-tests first to make sure they think you’re going to pass.

VUE and Prometric examinations are currently clocking in at an average of 112 pounds in Britain at the time of writing. Why spend so much more on ‘Exam Guarantee’ fees (often hidden in the cost) – when good quality study materials, the proper support and consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software is what will really see you through.

One useful service that several companies offer is job placement assistance. This is to help you get your first commercial position. In reality it’s not as difficult as you may be led to believe to land employment – as long as you’re correctly trained and certified; the growing UK skills shortage sees to that.

However, what is relevant is to have help with your CV and interview techniques though; and we’d recommend everyone to update their CV right at the beginning of their training – don’t put it off for when you’re ready to start work. Quite often, you will be offered your initial job whilst still on the course (sometimes when you’ve only just got going). If you haven’t updated your CV to say what you’re studying (and it hasn’t been posted on jobsites) then you don’t stand a chance! The most efficient companies to help get you placed are usually independent and specialised local recruitment services. As they’re keen to place you to receive their commission, they have more incentive to get on with it.

Not inconsiderable numbers of students, it would appear, spend evenings and weekends on their training and studies (for years sometimes), and just give up when it comes to finding a good job. Promote yourself… Work hard to get in front of employers. Don’t expect a job to just fall into your lap.