UK MCSE Training Possibilities – Update
As you’re in the process of finding out about MCSE training programs, the chances are you’re in 1 of 2 situations: You might be wondering about a complete career change to get into the IT field, and your research tells you there’s a massive need for men and women who are commercially qualified. Instead you’re already a professional – and you want to enhance your CV with a qualification such as MCSE.
Always make sure you check that your training company is actually training you on the latest version from Microsoft. Many trainees become very demoralised when they realise they’ve been learning from an old version of MCSE which will have to be revised. Don’t be pushed into a computer course before you feel comfortable. Find a training company that will put effort into advising you on an appropriate training track for your needs.
Make sure you don’t get caught-up, like so many people do, on the training course itself. Training is not an end in itself; this is about gaining commercial employment. Begin and continue with the end in mind. Students often train for a single year but end up doing a job for a lifetime. Ensure you avoid the fatal error of choosing what sounds like an ‘interesting’ training program only to waste your life away with something you don’t even enjoy!
Take time to understand how you feel about career development, earning potential, and if you’re ambitious or not. It’s vital to know what industry expects from you, which particular qualifications will be required and how you’ll gain real-world experience. Our recommendation would be to look for advice and guidance from an experienced professional before embarking on a learning program, so you’re sure from the outset that the content of a learning package provides the appropriate skill-set.
One interesting way that colleges make a lot more is through up-front charges for exams and then including an ‘Exam Guarantee’. This looks like a great idea for the student, until you think it through:
Of course it’s not free – you’re still being charged for it – the price has simply been included in the whole thing. It’s everybody’s ambition to qualify on the first attempt. Taking your exams progressively when it’s appropriate and paying as you go has a marked effect on pass-rates – you put the effort in and are aware of the costs involved.
Why pay your college at the start of the course for exam fees? Find the best deal you can at the time, instead of paying a premium – and sit exams more locally – not at somewhere of their bidding. Why borrow the money or pay in advance (plus interest of course) on examination fees when there was no need to? Big margins are netted by organisations getting money in early for exam fees – and hoping either that you won’t take them, or it will be a long time before you do. It’s also worth noting that you should consider what an ‘exam guarantee’ really means. The majority of companies won’t be prepared to pay for you to re-take until you have demonstrated conclusively that you won’t fail again.
Paying maybe a thousand pounds extra on ‘Exam Guarantees’ is foolish – when study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will really see you through.
One area often overlooked by those considering a training program is that of ‘training segmentation’. This is essentially the method used to break up the program to be delivered to you, which completely controls where you end up. Many companies enrol you into some sort of program spread over 1-3 years, and deliver each piece one-by-one as you finish each section. If you think this sound logical, then consider this: Students often discover that their providers standard order of study is not what they would prefer. You may find that a different order of study is more expedient. And what if you don’t get to the end at the pace they expect?
To be straight, the best solution is to have their ideal ‘order’ of training laid out, but make sure you have all of your learning modules right from the beginning. You then have everything in case you don’t finish within their ideal time-table.
With so much choice, there’s no surprise that most potential trainees don’t really understand the best career path they should even pursue. Because with no commercial background in the IT industry, how could any of us be expected to know what anyone doing a particular job actually does? Reflection on these issues is most definitely required when you need to expose a solution that suits you:
* Our personalities play a significant role – what gets you ‘up and running’, and what tasks you really dislike.
* Do you want to obtain training because of a certain reason – for example, is it your goal to work based at home (self-employment possibly?)?
* Does salary have a higher place on your wish list than other requirements.
* Considering all that Information Technology encapsulates, you’ll need to be able to see the differences.
* Our advice is to think deeply about what kind of effort and commitment you’re going to invest in gaining your certifications.
For the average person, considering these areas tends to require the help of someone that has direct industry experience. Not only the qualifications – you also need to understand the commercial needs and expectations of industry too.
A question; why ought we to be looking at commercial qualifications and not the usual academic qualifications obtained from schools, colleges or universities? With an ever-increasing technical demand on resources, industry has of necessity moved to the specialised training that the vendors themselves supply – in other words companies such as CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA. Often this saves time and money for the student. University courses, for instance, become confusing because of vast amounts of background study – and much too wide a syllabus. This prevents a student from learning the core essentials in sufficient depth.
Think about if you were the employer – and you wanted someone who could provide a specific set of skills. What is easier: Go through loads of academic qualifications from hopeful applicants, having to ask what each has covered and which commercial skills they’ve acquired, or pick out specific commercial accreditations that perfectly fit your needs, 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 having to work out if they can do the job.
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