by Jason Kendall
You should feel pleased that you’ve already got this far! Just ten percent of people are happy and satisfied by their jobs, but a huge number just bitch about it and that’s it. Because you’ve done research it’s likely that you’re finding out about training, so you’ve already stood out from the crowd. Now you just need to research and follow-through.
Before you make decisions on specific training programs, seek out someone who will be able to guide you on the right type of training for you. A person who will get an understanding of your personality, and find out what types of work suit you:
* Do you see yourself dealing with people? Would that be with the same people or with many new people? Possibly operating on your own in a task-based situation could suit you better?
* Are you considering which industry you could be employed in? (In this economy, it’s vital to choose carefully.)
* Is it important that this should be a one off time that you will need more qualifications?
* Is it important for your retraining to be in an industry where as far as you can see you’ll have a job until your pension kicks in?
When listing your options, it’s relevant that you don’t overlook the IT sector – it’s well known that it is one of the few growth sectors. It’s not all nerdy people lost in their computer screens every day – naturally some IT jobs demand that, but the majority of roles are carried out by people like you and me who earn considerably more than most.
The somewhat scary thought of finding your first job is often eased by some training providers because they offer a Job Placement Assistance service. Don’t get caught up in this feature – it’s easy for eager sales people to make too much of it. The fact of the matter is, the huge shortage of staff in Great Britain is what will make you attractive to employers.
One important thing though, don’t wait till you have finished your training before updating your CV. As soon as you start studying, mark down what you’re doing and tell people about it! Having the possibility of an interview is more than not being known. A surprising amount of junior jobs are given to people (sometimes when they’ve only just got going.) Actually, a specialist independent regional employment service (who will get paid by the employer when they’ve placed you) will be more pro-active than a centralised training company’s service. They should, of course, also know the local industry and employment needs.
Just be sure that you don’t put hundreds of hours of effort into your studies, and then do nothing more and expect somebody else to land you a job. Stand up for yourself and make your own enquiries. Channel as much resource into getting a good job as it took to pass the exams.
We need to make this very clear: You absolutely must have proper 24×7 instructor and mentor support. Later, you’ll kick yourself if you let this one slide. Avoid those companies who use ‘out-of-hours’ call-centres – with the call-back coming in during normal office hours. This is useless when you’re stuck and could do with an answer during your scheduled study period.
We recommend looking for study programmes that have multiple support offices from around the world. All of them should be combined to provide a single interface together with 24×7 access, when it suits you, without any problems. Never ever take second best when you’re looking for the right support service. Many would-be IT professionals that drop-out or fail, are in that situation because they didn’t get the support necessary for them.
Qualifications from the commercial sector are now, undoubtedly, beginning to replace the traditional academic paths into the IT industry – so why is this the case? Corporate based study (in industry terminology) is more effective in the commercial field. The IT sector has become aware that such specialised knowledge is necessary to handle a technically advancing world. Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA dominate in this arena. Many degrees, for instance, often get bogged down in a lot of loosely associated study – with much too broad a syllabus. This prevents a student from understanding the specific essentials in enough depth.
Just as the old advertisement said: ‘It does what it says on the label’. The company just needs to know what areas need to be serviced, and then match up the appropriate exam numbers as a requirement. They’ll know then that all applicants can do what they need.
Commencing with the understanding that it makes sense to home-in on the employment that excites us first, before we’re able to contemplate which educational program meets that requirement, how can we choose the right direction? Because in the absence of any commercial skills in computing, how can most of us be expected to know what any job actually involves? Reflection on several points is required if you need to get to the right answers:
* The kind of person you think yourself to be – the tasks that you really enjoy, and conversely – what don’t you like doing.
* What length of time can you allocate for your training?
* Is the money you make further up on your wish list than other requirements.
* Always think in-depth about the level of commitment needed to get fully certified.
* You have to appreciate the differences between the myriad of training options.
For most people, sifting through all these ideas needs a long talk with an advisor that can explain things properly. And we don’t just mean the accreditations – but also the commercial expectations and needs also.
Ensure all your certifications are what employers want – don’t even consider studies which provide certificates that are worthless because they’re ‘in-house’. The main industry leaders like Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco or CompTIA each have globally acknowledged proficiency programmes. These heavyweights will make your CV stand-out.
Tags: Games by Jason Kendall
No Comments »
