Recent Posts

Everybody is busy these days, and generally should we decide to learn a new profession, getting educated at the same time as holding down a job is the only option open to us. Training tracks certified by Microsoft can fill that gap. You might like to find a training advisor, who can give you some ideas on whereabouts in industry would be best, and the kind of tasks that are a good match for someone with your personality. When you’ve settled on the career path you want, a suitable training program needs to be singled out that’s goes with your ability level and skill set. You should expect to be offered a bespoke package for you.

Getting your first commercial position sometimes feels easier to handle if you’re supported with a Job Placement Assistance program. Having said that, occasionally this feature is bigged up too much, because it is actually not that hard for a well trained and motivated person to secure a job in the IT environment - because companies everywhere are seeking skilled employees.

Help and assistance with preparing a CV and getting interviews should be offered (if not, see one of our sites for help). Make sure you update that dusty old CV immediately - not after you’ve qualified! Various junior support roles have been bagged by trainees who’re still on their course and have still to get qualified. This will at the very least get you on your way. Generally, a specialist independent regional recruitment consultant or service (who will get paid commission to place you) will perform better than any sector of a centralised training facility. It also stands to reason that they’ll be familiar with local industry and the area better.

A good number of men and women, so it seems, are prepared to study their hearts out (sometimes for years), and then just stop instead of looking for the right position. Sell yourself… Make an effort to get in front of employers. Don’t think a job’s just going to jump out in front of you.

You should only consider learning programs which progress to commercially acknowledged exams. There’s an endless list of trainers offering their own ‘in-house’ certificates which will prove unusable in the real world. From the perspective of an employer, only the big-boys such as Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco or CompTIA (to give some examples) provide enough commercial weight. Nothing else hits the mark.

A ridiculously large number of organisations only look at the plaque to hang on your wall, and avoid focusing on why you’re doing this - which is a commercial career or job. You should always begin with where you want to get to - don’t get hung-up on the training vehicle. Avoid becoming one of those unfortunate students who choose a training program that sounds really ‘interesting’ and ‘fun’ - and end up with a certification for something they’ll never enjoy.

It’s well worth a long chat to see what expectations industry may have of you. What particular exams they’ll want you to gain and how to gain experience. Spend some time considering how far you think you’ll want to progress your career as it will present a very specific set of accreditations. All students are advised to chat with experienced industry personnel before following a particular retraining course. This helps to ensure it has the required elements for that career path.

It’s essential to have accredited simulation materials and an exam preparation system as part of your course package. Due to the fact that many IT examination boards tend to be American, you’ll need to be used to the correct phraseology. It’s no use merely answering any old technical questions - it’s essential that you can cope with them in the proper exam format. Ensure that you ask for exam preparation tools so you’ll be able to verify your comprehension along the way. Simulated or practice exams add to your knowledge bank - so you won’t be quite so nervous at the actual exam.

At the top of your shopping list for a training program should be comprehensive 24×7 direct-access support with dedicated instructors and mentors. It’s an all too common story to find providers that only provide office hours (or extended office hours) support. Look for training with proper support available at all hours of the day and night (even if it’s early hours on Sunday morning!) You want access directly to professional tutors, and not a message system as this will slow you down - parked in a queue of others waiting to be called back when it’s convenient for them.

The best trainers incorporate three or four individual support centres across multiple time-zones. Online access provides the interactive interface to seamlessly link them all, at any time you choose, help is at hand, with no hassle or contact issues. If you accept anything less than online 24×7 support, you’ll end up kicking yourself. You might not want to use the service throughout the night, but what about weekends, evenings and early mornings at some point.

If Cisco training is your aspiration, but you’ve not yet worked with routers or network switches, you should first attempt the Cisco CCNA qualification. This teaches you the knowledge you need to understand routers. The world wide web is built up of many routers, and big organisations with many locations also rely on them to allow their networks of computers to communicate.

As routers are connected to networks, seek out training that features the basics on networks (such as CompTIA Network+ and A+) and then do a CCNA course. It’s vital that you’ve got this background understanding on networks prior to starting your Cisco training or you’ll probably struggle. When you’ve qualified and are on the job market, you’ll benefit from having a good knowledge of networks to complement your CCNA.

Getting your Cisco CCNA is the right level in this instance - don’t be pushed into attempting your CCNP for now. Get a couple of years experience behind you first, then you will know if you need to train up to this level. Should that be the case, you’ll have a much better chance of succeeding - as your experience will help you greatly.

A major candidate for the biggest issue to be got round for IT students is usually having to turn up to ‘In Centre’ days or workshops. Many training schools extol the virtues of the ‘benefits’ of going in to their classes, however, they quickly become a major problem because of:

* Many round journeys - usually 100’s of miles.

* If you’re working, then Monday to Friday workshops cause problems at work. Typically you are facing 2-3 days at a time as well.

* Lost annual leave - the majority of working people get just four weeks holiday each year. If you use up half of that with educational days, you haven’t got a great deal of holiday time remaining for students and their families.

* Classes can ’sell out’ fast and can be very crammed in.

* You may prefer to move at a somewhat more suitable pace - rather than be dictated to by the rest of the class. Sometimes this causes a lot of tension amongst the class.

* A lot of trainees report that the (not inconsiderable) costs of travelling back and forth to the training venue and paying for food and accommodation gets very expensive.

* Don’t risk the chance of letting yourself be overlooked for a lift up the ladder or pay-rises just because you’re retraining.

* Don’t think it’s unusual for students to not ask questions they want answered - purely down to the fact that they’re with their peers.

* You should remember, events are simply impossible to attend, if you live away for part of your week or month.

The ultimate convenience is by viewing a pre-made workshop - enabling you to learn at any time of day. Consider… If you have a laptop then you’re free to work wherever you happen to be at that time. And 24×7 support is only a web-browser click away in case of difficulty. Simply watch and re-watch the modules as many times as you want or need. And of course, you won’t need to write any notes as you’ll have direct access to the instruction whenever you want to go back to it. Essentially: Time and money is saved, you have reduced hassle and you avoid polluting the skies.

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 will follow. How likely is it for us to understand the many facets of a particular career if we’ve never been there? Often we have never met anyone who works in that sector anyway. Contemplation on the following factors is essential if you need to reveal a solution that suits you:

* Your individual personality and interests - what work-oriented areas please or frustrate you.

* For what reasons you’re starting in Information Technology - is it to conquer some personal goal like being self-employed for instance.

* Where is the salary on a scale of importance - is it the most important thing, or is day-to-day enjoyment higher up on the scale of your priorities?

* With so many ways to train in Information Technology - you’ll need to achieve some background information on what sets them apart.

* Our advice is to think deeply about the level of commitment that you will set aside for your education.

To be honest, it’s obvious that the only real way to seek advice on these matters is via a conversation with an experienced advisor that understands computing (and specifically it’s commercial needs and requirements.)

Many students assume that the school and FE college track is the way they should go. Why then are commercially accredited qualifications beginning to overtake it? As we require increasingly more effective technological know-how, industry has had to move to specialist courses that can only be obtained from the actual vendors - that is companies such as Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA. Often this saves time and money for the student. Clearly, a reasonable amount of associated detail must be learned, but precise specialisation in the areas needed gives a vendor trained person a huge edge.

Imagine if you were an employer - and you required somebody who had very specific skills. Which is the most straightforward: Trawl through loads of academic qualifications from several applicants, trying to establish what they know and what commercial skills have been attained, or choose a specific set of accreditations that specifically match what you’re looking for, and then select who you want to interview from that. You’ll then be able to concentrate on getting a feel for the person at interview - instead of long discussions on technical suitability.