Congratulations! Reading this subject matter means you’re likely to be contemplating your career, and if you’re considering retraining you’ve even now progressed more than the majority of people will. Are you aware that hardly any of us consider ourselves contented at work – yet the vast majority of us will take no corrective action. We implore you to be different and take action – don’t you think you deserve it.
When looking at training, it’s vital that you have in mind what you want and don’t want from the position you’re looking to get into. It’s important to discover if a new career would suit you better before you put a lot of energy into re-directing your life. It’s good sense to regard the big picture first, to make an informed decision:
* Do you hope for interaction with others? If the answer’s yes, would you enjoy being part of a team or are you hoping to meet new people? Maybe you’d rather be left alone to get on with things?
* What ideas are fundamental with regard to the sector of industry you hope to work in?
* How long a career do you hope to have once retrained, and will the market sector give you the confidence that will happen?
* Would it be useful for the course you’re re-training in to be in an area where you believe your chances of gainful employment are high up to retirement age?
We would advise you to consider the IT industry – there are greater numbers of jobs than staff to fill them, because it’s a rare career choice where the sector is expanding. Contrary to the opinions of certain people, IT isn’t all techie people lost in their PC’s the whole day (though those jobs exist.) The majority of jobs are taken by people like you and me who like receiving larger than average salaries.
Usually, the normal person doesn’t know in what direction to head in IT, or what area they should be considering getting trained in.
Because in the absence of any commercial skills in IT, how could any of us be expected to understand what anyone doing a particular job actually does?
Getting to a well-informed resolution really only appears through a systematic analysis covering many different key points:
* Personality factors plus what interests you – what work-related things you like and dislike.
* Is it your desire to reach a key dream – like working from home as quickly as possible?
* Is the money you make further up on your list of priorities than other factors.
* Often, trainees don’t consider the amount of work required to get fully certified.
* Taking a proper look at the level of commitment, time and effort you can give.
Ultimately, the best way of checking this all out is via a meeting with a professional that knows the industry well enough to give you the information required.
An advisor that doesn’t ask many questions – it’s likely they’re just a salesperson. If they’re pushing towards a particular product before learning about your history and current experience level, then it’s definitely the case.
With a strong background, or even a touch of work-based experience (some industry qualifications maybe?) then it could be that your starting point will be quite dissimilar from someone who is just starting out.
Where this will be your first attempt at studying for an IT examination then you should consider whether to start out with some basic Microsoft package and Windows skills first.
How the program is actually delivered to you isn’t always given the appropriate level of importance. How many stages do they break the program into? What is the order and at what speed is it delivered?
You may think that it makes sense (with most training taking 1-3 years to gain full certified status,) that a training provider will issue the courseware in stages, as you complete each part. Although:
Maybe the order of study pushed by the company’s salespeople doesn’t suit all of us. And what if you don’t finish all the elements at the speed required?
The ideal circumstances are to get all the training materials sent to your address right at the beginning; the entire thing! This way, nothing can happen down the line which could affect your progress.
A useful feature that many training companies provide is a programme of Job Placement assistance. This is designed to steer you into your first IT role. Ultimately it isn’t a complex operation to get 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.
Get your CV updated straight-away though – look to your training company for advice on how to do this. Don’t put it off till you’ve finished your exams.
Various junior support jobs have been bagged by students who are in the process of training and haven’t got any qualifications yet. This will at least get you on your way.
The most efficient companies to help get you placed are usually local IT focused employment agencies. As they’re keen to place you to receive their commission, they’re perhaps more focused on results.
A regular grievance of many course providers is how hard people are focused on studying to become certified, but how un-prepared they are to work on getting the position they’re acquired skills for. Get out there and hustle – you might find it’s fun.
Copyright Scott Edwards. Go to www.it-training-com.co.uk or CLICK HERE.
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