If we didn’t have a continuous flood of trained PC and network support personnel, commerce in the United Kingdom (along with most other places) would be likely to run into problems. Consequently, there’s a constantly increasing requirement for technicians to support both users and the systems they work with. Our desire for such skilled and qualified members of the workforce is growing at an impressive rate, as everywhere we work becomes more and more dependent upon technology.
With all the options available, does it really shock us that a large percentage of newcomers to the industry don’t really understand the best career path they could be successful with.
Reading a list of IT job-titles is no use whatsoever. 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 complexities of a new IT role.
To attack this, a discussion is necessary, covering many different aspects:
* Which type of person you are – which things you really enjoy, and on the other side of the coin – what you hate to do.
* Are you aiming to realise a closely held aspiration – for instance, working from home sometime soon?
* Where is the salary on a scale of importance – is it the most important thing, or is job satisfaction a lot higher on the priority-scale?
* Understanding what the normal job roles and markets are – and what differentiates them.
* The level of commitment and effort you’ll have available to spend on obtaining your certification.
In all honesty, the only way to seek advice on these issues tends to be through a good talk with an advisor or professional that has a background in IT (and more importantly it’s commercial requirements.)
The best type of training course package will undoubtedly also include fully authorised exam simulation and preparation packages.
Ensure that the simulated exams aren’t just asking you the right questions on the correct subjects, but ask them in the way that the actual final exam will phrase them. This can really throw some trainees if they’re met with completely different formats and phraseologies.
Mock exams will prove very useful for confidence building – so when it comes to taking the real thing, you don’t get phased.
A knowledgeable and specialised advisor (in contrast with a salesperson) will talk through your current situation. There is no other way of establishing the starting point for your education.
If you’ve got any live experience or some accreditation, it may be that your starting point of study is not the same as someone new to the industry.
For students starting IT studies and exams as a new venture, it’s often a good idea to avoid jumping in at the deep-end, beginning with some basic user skills first. This can be built into most training packages.
A sneaky way that training companies make more money is through up-front charges for exams and offering an exam guarantee. It looks impressive, until you think it through:
Patently it’s not free – you’re still coughing up for it – the cost has just been rolled into the whole training package.
People who take each progressive exam, funding them one at a time are in a much stronger position to qualify at the first attempt. They’re conscious of their investment and so are more inclined to ensure they are ready.
Isn’t it outrageous to have to pay the training course provider up-front for exam fees? Find the best deal you can when you take the exam, instead of paying a premium – and do it in a local testing centre – rather than in some remote place.
Why borrow the money or pay in advance (plus interest of course) on examination fees when there’s absolutely nothing that says you have to? Huge profits are made because training colleges are getting money in early for exam fees – and then cashing in when they’re not all taken.
It’s also worth noting that ‘Exam Guarantees’ often aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. Most companies won’t pay for re-takes until you have demonstrated conclusively that you won’t fail again.
Prometric and VUE exams are currently clocking in at an average of 112 pounds in this country. What’s the point of paying huge ‘Exam Guarantee’ costs (often covertly rolled into the cost of the course) – when the best course materials, the right level of support and commitment, effort and practice with quality exam preparation systems are the factors that really get you through.
Sometimes trainees assume that the tech college or university track is still the most effective. So why are commercial certificates slowly and steadily replacing it?
The IT sector now recognises that to learn the appropriate commercial skills, the right accreditation from such organisations as Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe most often has much more specialised relevance – for much less time and money.
Vendor training works through concentrating on the particular skills that are needed (along with an appropriate level of related knowledge,) instead of covering masses of the background detail and ‘fluff’ that degree courses often do – to fill a three or four year course.
If an employer understands what they’re looking for, then they just need to look for someone with a specific qualification. Syllabuses are set to exacting standards and aren’t allowed to deviate (as academic syllabuses often do).
(C) Jason Kendall. Go to LearningLolly.com for smart career tips on IT Training Course and Comptia Network+ Certification.