by Jason Kendall
Should you be wanting to study for an MCSE, you’re probably in 1 of 2 situations. You might be ready to enter the world of IT, and you’ve found the industry has many opportunities for qualified people. Or you are perhaps an IT professional attempting to gain acknowledgement with the Microsoft qualification.
During your research, you’ll come across colleges that compromise their offerings by failing to use the latest version from Microsoft. Don’t use such training providers as you will face problems at exam time. If you’ve been taught the wrong version, it is going to be hugely difficult to get qualified. Avoid the companies who are just trying to sell you something. You should be given detailed advice to make sure you are taking the right decisions. Don’t allow yourself to be sold some generic product by a second-rate college.
Only consider learning programs that’ll progress to industry recognised exams. There’s an endless list of small companies offering their own ‘in-house’ certificates which are worthless when it comes to finding a job. The main industry leaders such as Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco or CompTIA each have nationally renowned skills programmes. These big-hitters will ensure your employability.
Validated simulation materials and exam preparation packages are vital – and should definitely be obtained from your training supplier. Steer clear of depending on unauthorised exam papers and questions. The terminology of their questions is often somewhat different – and sometimes this can be a real headache in the actual examination. Be sure to have some simulated exam questions so you can check your understanding at all times. Simulations of exams add to your knowledge bank – then you’re much more at ease with the real thing.
Many trainers provide a big box of books. Learning like this is dull and repetitive and not a very good way of taking things in. Years of research and study has repeatedly shown that becoming involved with our studies, to utilise all our senses, will more likely produce memories that are deeper and longer-lasting.
Interactive audio-visual materials featuring instructor demo’s and practice lab’s beat books hands-down. And you’ll find them fun and interesting. You’ll definitely want a demonstration of the study materials from any training college. You should ask for expert-led demonstrations, slideshows and fully interactive skills-lab’s.
You’ll find that many companies will only provide just online versions of their training packages; and although this is okay the majority of the time, consider how you’ll deal with it when you don’t have access to the internet or you get intermittent problems and speed issues. It’s much safer to rely on actual CD or DVD ROMs that will solve that problem.
Getting into your first IT role is often made easier if you’re offered a Job Placement Assistance facility. Because of the great need for more IT skills in the United Kingdom right now, there’s no need to become overly impressed with this service however. It isn’t so complicated as you might think to land a job as long as you’ve got the necessary skills and qualifications.
However, don’t procrastinate and wait until you have finished your training before polishing up your CV. The day you start training, mark down what you’re doing and get it out there! Various junior support jobs have been offered to trainees who are still learning and haven’t got any qualifications yet. At least this will get you on your way. The top companies to help get you placed are most often specialist locally based employment services. As they’re keen to place you to receive their commission, they’ll work that much harder to get a result.
A regular frustration for a number of training course providers is how much students are focused on studying to get qualified, but how un-prepared they are to work on getting the job they have qualified for. Don’t falter at the last fence.
It’s not uncommon for companies to offer inclusive exam guarantees – inevitably that means paying for the exams at the start of your training. But before you get taken in by guaranteed exams, consider this:
Thankfully, today we tend to be a bit more aware of hype – and usually we cotton on to the fact that it is something we’re paying for (it isn’t free or out of the goodness of their hearts!) The honest truth is that if students pay for each examination, one after the other, they’ll be in a better position to pass first time – as they’ll think of their investment in themselves and so will prepare more thoroughly.
Do your exams at a local pro-metric testing centre and go for the best offer you can find when you’re ready. Big margins are made by a significant number of organisations who take the exam money up-front. For quite legitimate reasons, a number of students don’t get to do their exams and so the company is quids-in. Amazingly, there are providers that actually bank on it – as that’s where a lot of their profit comes from. Re-takes of previously unsuccessful exams with training course providers with an ‘Exam Guarantee’ are always heavily controlled. You will be required to do mock exams till you’ve proven conclusively that you can pass.
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.
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