In the UK today, industry would struggle were it not for support workers mending networks and computers, while advising users on a day to day basis. As we get to grips with the daunting complexities of technology, greater numbers of trained staff are being sought to dedicate themselves to the various different areas we rely on.

You have to be sure that all your accreditations are current and also valid commercially – forget studies which provide certificates that are worthless because they’re ‘in-house’.

Unless your qualification is issued by a big-hitter like Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA or Cisco, then you’ll probably find it won’t be commercially viable – because it won’t give an employer any directly-useable skills.

With all the options available, it’s not really surprising that a large percentage of trainees don’t really understand the best career path they should even pursue.

How can most of us possibly understand the many facets of a particular career when we’ve never done it? Most likely we don’t even know anybody who is in that area at all.

To get through to the essence of this, we need to discuss a number of different aspects:

* Your personality can play a starring role – what gives you a ‘kick’, and what tasks really turn you off.

* What time-frame are you looking at for the retraining?

* Any personal or home requirements that are important to you?

* Considering all that computing encapsulates, it’s important to be able to absorb the differences.

* You’ll also need to think hard about any sacrifices you’ll need to make, as well as what commitment and time you’ll put into the accreditation program.

In these situations, it’s obvious that the only real way to gain help on these issues is via a conversation with a professional that has years of experience in Information Technology (and specifically it’s commercial needs.)

One area often overlooked by potential students mulling over a new direction is the concept of ‘training segmentation’. This is essentially how the program is broken down into parts for drop-shipping to you, which completely controls the point you end up at.

Most companies will sell you a program spread over 1-3 years, and courier the materials in pieces as you pass each exam. On the surface this seems reasonable – until you consider the following:

Maybe the order of study insisted on by the company won’t suit you. It may be difficult to get through all the elements inside of their particular timetable?

The ideal solution is to have all the learning modules couriered to your home before you even start; the complete package! This way, nothing can happen down the line which could affect your ability to finish.

A number of men and women assume that the state educational path is the right way even now. So why then is commercial certification beginning to overtake it?

With a growing demand for specific technological expertise, industry has of necessity moved to the specialised core-skills learning only available through the vendors themselves – in other words companies like CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA. This usually turns out to involve less time and financial outlay.

Academic courses, as a example, can often get caught up in vast amounts of background study – and much too wide a syllabus. Students are then prevented from getting enough specific knowledge about the core essentials.

When it comes down to the nitty-gritty: Authorised IT qualifications let employers know exactly what you’re capable of – the title is a complete giveaway: for example, I am a ‘Microsoft Certified Professional’ in ‘Designing Security for a Windows 2003 Network’. Consequently companies can look at the particular needs they have and what certifications are required to perform the job.

(C) Jason Kendall. Look at LearningLolly.com for clear information. www.it-training-sheffield.co.uk or Comptia Networking Certification.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, December 19th, 2009 at 12:31 am and is filed under Jobs and Careers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.