If your dream is to become a great web designer qualified appropriately for the current working environment, the course you need is Adobe Dreamweaver. In order to use Dreamweaver commercially in web design, an in-depth and thorough understanding of the whole Adobe Web Creative Suite (including Flash and Action Script) is something to consider very seriously. With these skills, you have the choice to become either an Adobe Certified Expert or Adobe Certified Professional (ACE or ACP).
The construction of a website only scratches the surface of the skills needed though - to drive traffic, update content, and work with dynamic database-driven sites, you’ll need to bolt on further programming skills, namely ones like HTML and PHP, and database engines like MySQL. In addition, you should gain a working knowledge of E-Commerce and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).
Many people question why qualifications from colleges and universities are being replaced by more qualifications from the commercial sector? Corporate based study (as it’s known in the industry) is far more specialised and product-specific. The IT sector has acknowledged that specialisation is necessary to meet the requirements of a technologically complex world. CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA are the key players in this arena. The training is effectively done by focusing on the particular skills that are needed (together with a relevant amount of related knowledge,) rather than covering masses of the background detail and ‘fluff’ that degree courses are prone to get tied up in (because the syllabus is so wide).
In simple terms: Accredited IT qualifications tell an employer precisely what skills you have - the title says it all: i.e. I am a ‘Microsoft Certified Professional’ in ‘Windows XP Administration and Configuration’. Consequently an employer can look at the particular needs they have and which qualifications are required to perform the job.
Searching for your first position in IT can be a little easier if you’re offered a Job Placement Assistance facility. The honest truth is that it’s not as hard as some people make out to land a job - as long as you’re correctly trained and certified; because there’s still a great need for IT skills in the UK today.
CV and Interview advice and support should be offered (if it isn’t, consult one of our sites). Be sure to you polish up your CV straight away - not when you’re ready to start work! Being considered a ‘maybe’ is more than not being known. Many junior support jobs are bagged by students who are still at an early stage in their studies. The most reliable organisations to get you a new position are normally local IT focused employment agencies. Because they only get paid when they place you, they have the necessary incentive to try that bit harder.
In a nutshell, if you put the same amount of effort into getting your first IT position as into studying, you won’t have any problems. A number of trainees curiously put hundreds of hours into their course materials and then call a halt once certified and appear to be under the impression that jobs will come to them.
We’d hazard a guess that you’ve always enjoyed practical work - the ‘hands-on’ person. Typically, the trial of reading reference books and manuals is something you’ll make yourself do if you have to, but it’s not ideal. You should use video and multimedia based materials if books just don’t do it for you. Research into the way we learn shows that we remember much more when we involve as many senses as possible, and we take action to use what we’ve learned.
Study programs now come in disc format, so everything is learned directly from your own PC. Using video-streaming, you can watch instructors demonstrating how something is done, and then practice yourself - via the interactive virtual lab’s. Always insist on a look at some courseware examples from the training company. You should ask for slide-shows, instructor-led videos and interactive labs where you get to practice.
Some companies only have access to purely on-line training; sometimes you can get away with this - but, think what will happen when you don’t have access to the internet or you only get very a very slow connection sometimes. A safer solution is the provision of CD and DVD ROM materials which removes the issue entirely.
Students hoping to start an IT career generally haven’t a clue what route to consider, let alone what market to obtain accreditation for. Because without any commercial skills in Information Technology, in what way could we know what someone in a particular job does? To get through to the essence of this, a discussion is necessary, covering several different aspects:
* The kind of person you reckon you are - what tasks do you really enjoy, and conversely - what you hate to do.
* Are you driven to obtain training due to a specific raison d’etre - e.g. are you looking at working from home (self-employment possibly?)?
* Is salary further up on your priority-list than anything else.
* Looking at the many markets that computing encompasses, it’s important to be able to see how they differ.
* It’s wise to spend some time thinking about the level of commitment you’re going to give to the accreditation program.
At the end of the day, your only chance of covering these is from a good talk with an experienced advisor who has enough background to be able to guide you.
Remember: the training course or a certification isn’t what this is about; a job you’re training for is. Far too many training organisations put too much weight in the certificate itself. Don’t let yourself become part of that group that choose a course that on the surface appears interesting - only to end up with a qualification for something they’ll never enjoy.
Get to grips with earning potential and how ambitious you are. This will influence what particular certifications will be expected and how much effort you’ll have to give in return. Before you embark on a study course, you’d be well advised to discuss specific job needs with an experienced industry professional, so as to be sure the training path covers all the necessary elements.
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