We all have a great number of demands on our time, and generally should we have cause to improve our career prospects, taking a course alongside a job is what we’re faced with. Training tracks certified by Microsoft can fill that gap. Additionally you might like to be given advice on the types of jobs that are available once you have passed your exams, and the kind of person such a career could suit. Many people feel happier if they can be advised on what they might be good at. Courses should be customised to match your current skills and aptitude. Consequently, after working out the right IT job for you, your next requirement is the most suitable program to get you there.
Each programme of learning has to build towards a nationally accepted accreditation at the end - and not some unimportant ‘in-house’ plaque for your wall. Only nationally recognised accreditation from the top companies like Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA and Cisco will mean anything to employers.
At the top of your shopping list for a training program should be full 24×7 support via professional mentors and instructors. It’s an all too common story to find providers that 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 phone support is usually just a call-centre that will just take down the issue and email it over to their technical team - who will then call back sometime over the next 24hrs, at a suitable time to them. This isn’t a lot of good if you’re sitting there confused over an issue and have a one hour time-slot in which to study.
The best trainers utilise several support facilities active in different time-zones. Online access provides the interactive interface to seamlessly link them all, at any time you choose, there is always help at hand, with no hassle or contact issues. If you opt for less than support round-the-clock, you’ll very quickly realise that you’ve made a mistake. You may not need it during the night, but you may need weekends, late evenings or early mornings.
Commercial certification is now, undoubtedly, already replacing the older academic routes into the IT industry - but why is this? With fees and living expenses for university students increasing year on year, together with the industry’s recognition that accreditation-based training is often far more commercially relevant, we have seen a large rise in Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe certified training routes that provide key skills to an employee for considerably less. Academic courses, for example, become confusing because of a great deal of background study - with a syllabus that’s far too wide. Students are then held back from getting enough core and in-depth understanding on a specific area.
It’s a bit like the TV advert: ‘It does what it says on the tin’. Employers simply need to know where they have gaps, and then advertise for someone with the specific certification. Then they’re assured that a potential employee can do exactly what’s required.
It’s essential to have the very latest Microsoft (or Cisco, CompTIA etc.) authorised exam preparation packages. Due to the fact that a lot of examination boards in IT are American, you’ll need to be used to the correct phraseology. It isn’t good enough simply going through the right questions - they must be in an exam format that exactly replicates the real thing. Obviously, it’s very important to ensure that you are completely prepared for your commercial exam before taking it. Rehearsing mock-up exams will help to boost your attitude and helps to avoid thwarted exam entries.
An area that’s often missed by those weighing up a particular programme is that of ‘training segmentation’. This is essentially how the program is broken down into parts for timed release to you, which can make a dramatic difference to where you end up. Usually, you will purchase a course taking 1-3 years and get posted one section at a time - from one exam to the next. This sounds logical on one level, until you consider this: Maybe the order of study insisted on by the company won’t suit you. It may be difficult to get through all the sections at the speed required?
For future safety and flexibility, many trainees now want to insist that all study materials are posted to them in one go, with nothing held back. It’s then your own choice in what order and how fast or slow you’d like to take your exams.
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