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A Cisco training course is fundamentally for those who wish to work with routers and switches. Routers hook up computer networks over dedicated lines or the internet. It’s most probable that your first course should be your CCNA. Steer clear of going immediately onto the CCNP for it’s full of complexities – and you’ll need the CCNA and experience first before you take this on.

As routers are connected to networks, find a course that includes basic networking skills – perhaps Network+ and A+, prior to starting your CCNA course. You’ll need some knowledge of how networks operate before getting going with Cisco or you may be out of your depth. Once qualified and looking for work, networking skills will be valuable in addition to the CCNA.

Having the skills and correct mind-set before getting going on the Cisco CCNA is very important. So talk to someone who will know what you need.

We can guess that you’re quite practically minded – a ‘hands-on’ personality type. If you’re like us, the trial of reading reference books and manuals is something you’ll force on yourself if you absolutely have to, but you’d hate it. Check out video-based multimedia instruction if you’d really rather not use books. Research into the way we learn shows that we remember much more when we involve as many senses as possible, and we put into practice what we’ve been studying.

You can now study via self-contained CD or DVD materials. Real-world classes from the instructors will mean you’ll take everything in through the expert demonstrations. Then it’s time to test your knowledge by utilising the practice lab’s and modules. Any company that you’re considering must be pushed to demo a few samples of their training materials. You should hope for instructor-led videos and a wide selection of interactive elements.

Avoiding training that is delivered purely online is generally a good idea. Physical CD or DVD ROM materials are preferable where possible, enabling them to be used at your convenience – it’s not wise to be held hostage to your broadband being ‘up’ 100 percent of the time.

Ask any professional consultant and they’ll regale you with many awful tales of salespeople ripping-off unsuspecting students. Ensure you only ever work with an experienced industry advisor who asks lots of questions to find out what’s right for you – not for their wallet! It’s very important to locate a starting-point that will suit you. With some commercial experience or certification, it may be that your starting point of study is not the same as someone new to the industry. It’s wise to consider a user-skills course first. This can often make your learning curve a little less steep.

An effective training program will have accredited exam preparation packages. Often students can find themselves confused by trying to prepare themselves with questions that aren’t from official sources. It’s not uncommon that the terminology in the real exams is unfamiliar and you should be prepared for this. Ensure that you ask for exam preparation tools that will allow you to verify your comprehension along the way. Practice or ‘mock’ exams help to build your confidence – then you’re much more at ease with the real thing.

Commencing with the understanding that it makes sense to home-in on the job we want to do first, before we’re even able to consider which career development program meets that requirement, how do we decide on the right path? Since without any solid background in IT, in what way could we know what a particular job actually consists of? Arriving at a well-informed answer only comes through a thorough study across many different areas:

* What hobbies you’re involved with in your spare-time – as they can highlight what areas will give you the most reward.

* Why it seems right stepping into IT – it could be you’re looking to achieve a life-long goal like being your own boss for example.

* Is the money you make further up on your priority-list than other factors.

* Because there are so many ways to train in computing – there’s a need to get some key facts on what makes them different.

* You will need to understand what differentiates each area of training.

To cut through the barrage of jargon, and discover the best path to success, have a good talk with an industry expert and advisor; a person that can impart the commercial reality whilst covering each qualification.

Most training companies will only offer office hours or extended office hours support; not many go late into the evening (after 8-9pm) or cover weekends properly. Avoid, like the plague, any organisations who use ‘out-of-hours’ call-centres – with the call-back coming in during the next ‘working’ day. This is no use if you’re stuck and could do with an answer during your scheduled study period.

The very best training providers utilise several support facilities across multiple time-zones. By utilising an interactive interface to join them all seamlessly, irrespective of the time you login, there is always help at hand, with no hassle or contact issues. If you accept anything less than support round-the-clock, you’ll quickly find yourself regretting it. It may be that you don’t use it during late nights, but what about weekends, early mornings or late evenings.

All of us are short of time, and most often if we want to improve our career prospects, studying alongside a job is the only option open to us. Training tracks certified by Microsoft could offer a solution. Maybe you’d choose to find a training advisor, who can give you some ideas on which area of the industry would be right for you, and the kind of responsibilities that are a good match for someone with your abilities and personal preferences. When you’ve chosen the career track for you, an appropriate course needs to be selected that’s goes with your needs. This should be personalised for you.

A expert and specialised advisor (vs a salesperson) will ask questions and seek to comprehend your current experience level and abilities. This is vital for understanding your starting level of study. If you’ve got any work-based experience or certification, you may find that your starting point is not the same as someone new to the industry. For students commencing IT study for the first time, it can be helpful to start out slowly, kicking off with some basic Microsoft package and Windows skills first. Usually this is packaged with any study program.

The old fashioned style of teaching, with books and manuals, can be pretty hard going sometimes. If all this is ringing some familiar bells, look for learning programmes that are multimedia based. Our ability to remember is increased when all our senses are brought into the mix – this has been an accepted fact in expert circles for years now.

Courses are now available via DVD-ROM discs, where everything is taught on your PC. Video streaming means you are able to see your instructors showing you how to do something, with some practice time to follow – via the interactive virtual lab’s. Any company that you’re considering should be able to show you some samples of their training materials. You’re looking for evidence of tutorial videos and demonstrations and many interactive sections.

Select actual CD or DVD ROM’s whenever you can. Thus avoiding all the issues associated with internet connection failure and issues with signal quality.

Commencing with the idea that we have to locate the employment that excites us first and foremost, before we can consider which training course fulfils our needs, how do we decide on the way that suits us? Because with no commercial background in IT, how could any of us know what a particular job actually consists of? To attack this, we need to discuss a variety of unique issues:

* Personality plays an important part – what kind of areas spark your interest, and what are the things that you really dislike.

* What is the time-frame for retraining?

* Have you thought about salary vs job satisfaction?

* Getting to grips with what the normal career types and markets are – and what differentiates them.

* Taking a proper look into the effort, commitment and time you’ll make available.

The best way to avoid the barrage of jargon, and uncover the best path to success, have an informal meeting with an experienced professional; a person that understands the commercial reality and of course each qualification.

Locating job security nowadays is problematic. Businesses frequently remove us from the workplace at the drop of a hat – as and when it suits them. In actuality, security now only emerges in a fast growing market, driven forward by a shortfall of trained staff. It’s this shortage that creates just the right conditions for a higher level of market-security – a far better situation.

With the Information Technology (IT) industry for example, a recent e-Skills analysis highlighted major skills shortages throughout the country of around 26 percent. This shows that for every 4 jobs existing across the computer industry, we’ve only got three properly trained pro’s to fill that need. Highly qualified and commercially accredited new workers are correspondingly at a total premium, and in all likelihood it will stay that way for many years to come. In reality, retraining in Information Technology during the years to come is probably the greatest career move you’ll ever make.

Only consider learning programmes that move onto industry approved certifications. There are loads of small colleges proposing minor ‘in-house’ certificates which will prove unusable when you start your job-search. Unless your qualification is issued by a major player like Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA or Cisco, then chances are it will have been a waste of time – because no-one will recognise it.

In the modern world, support workers who can fix networks and PC’s, along with giving regular solutions to users, are indispensable in every part of the economy. Our requirement for more commercially qualified individuals is enhanced, as society becomes significantly more beholden to computers in today’s environment.

Please understand this most important point: You have to get round-the-clock 24×7 instructor and mentor support. You will have so many problems later if you don’t heed this. Locate training schools where you can access help at any time of day or night (no matter if it’s in the middle of the night on a weekend!) Ensure you get 24×7 direct access to mentors and instructors, and not simply some messaging service that means you’re consistently being held in a queue for a call-back at a convenient time for them.

World-class organisations provide an online access round-the-clock service combining multiple support operations throughout multiple time-zones. You get a simple environment which seamlessly accesses whichever office is appropriate irrespective of the time of day: Support on demand. Never compromise with the quality of your support. Most students who give up, are in that situation because of support (or the lack of).

With all the options available, it’s not really surprising that a large majority of newcomers to the industry get stuck choosing the job they could be successful with. Consequently, if you have no know-how of IT in the workplace, what chance is there for you to know what a particular IT employee fills their day with? And of course decide on which accreditation path provides the best chances for success. Deliberation over these points is imperative when you need to get to the right answer for you:

* The type of personality you have as well as your interests – what kind of work-oriented areas you enjoy or dislike.

* Is your focus to obtain training because of a specific raison d’etre – i.e. do you aim to work from home (maybe self-employment?)?

* What salary and timescale needs that guide you?

* Often, trainees don’t consider the time involved to get fully certified.

* Having a proper look at what commitment and time you can give.

To bypass the industry jargon, and uncover the best route for you, have an informal meeting with an industry-experienced advisor; a person who will cover the commercial realities and truth whilst covering each qualification.

Get rid of a salesperson that just tells you what course you should do without an in-depth conversation to gain understanding of your current abilities plus your experience level. Always check they have access to a wide-enough product range from which they could solve your training issues. Of course, if you’ve had any relevant previous certification, then it’s not unreasonable to expect to pick-up at a different starting-point to a trainee with no history to speak of. Where this will be your initial stab at IT study then it may be wise to start with user-skills and software training first.

The way a programme is physically sent to you is often missed by many students. How is the courseware broken down? What is the order and how fast does each element come? Often, you will join a program requiring 1-3 years study and get sent one module each time you pass an exam. While this may sound logical on one level, consider this: It’s not unusual for trainees to realise that the trainer’s usual training route isn’t as suitable as another. They might find it’s more expedient to use an alternative order of study. And what if you don’t get to the end within their exact timetable?

Ideally, you want ALL the study materials up-front – enabling you to have them all to return to any point – irrespective of any schedule. Variations can then be made to the order that you complete each objective if another more intuitive route presents itself.

A key training package will undoubtedly have Microsoft (or key company) exam preparation systems. Don’t go for training programs relying on unofficial exam papers and questions. The type of questions asked can be quite different – and this leads to huge confusion in the actual examination. Be sure to request some practice exams so you can verify your understanding at all times. Practice exams prepare you properly – then you won’t be quite so nervous at the actual exam.

Because you’re looking at information about courses for MCSE, the chances are you’re in one of the following categories: You could be considering completely changing your working life to the world of IT, and all evidence points to a growing demand for properly qualified people. On the other hand you’re someone with a certain amount of IT knowledge – and you want to enhance your CV with a qualification such as MCSE.

When researching training companies, don’t use any that cut costs by failing to up-grade to the latest Microsoft level. Overall, this will end up costing the student a great deal more because they’ve been studying an outdated MCSE course which inevitably will have to be up-dated to suit the working environment. Avoid businesses who are just trying to sell you something. Advisors should be helping to be sure you’re on the best program for your needs. Don’t be shoe-horned into their standard course by an inadequate outfit.

Full support is of the utmost importance – find a program that provides 24×7 direct access, as not obtaining this level of support will severely impede your ability to learn. Email support is too slow, and phone support is often to a call-centre which will chat nicely with you for 5 minutes to ask what the issue is and then simply send an email to an instructor – who will then call back sometime over the next 24hrs, when it suits them. This is not a lot of use if you’re lost and confused and only have a specific time you can study.

The best trainers use multiple support centres around the globe in several time-zones. They use an online interactive interface to seamlessly link them all, any time of the day or night, there is always help at hand, with no hassle or contact issues. You can’t afford to accept less than you need and deserve. Online 24×7 support is the only kind to make the grade when it comes to computer-based learning. Maybe burning the midnight-oil is not your thing; but for the majority of us however, we’re at work at the time when most support is available.

Students often end up having issues because of a single training area which doesn’t even occur to them: The method used to ’segment’ the courseware before being sent out to you. Individual deliveries for each training module piece by piece, taking into account your exam passes is the usual method of releasing your program. This sounds sensible, but you must understand the following: It’s not unusual for trainees to realise that their providers typical path to completion isn’t the easiest way for them. You may find that a slightly different order suits them better. And what if you don’t get to the end in the allotted time?

In all honesty, the very best answer is to have a copy of their prescribed order of study, but get everything up-front. Everything is then in your possession if you don’t manage to finish quite as quick as they’d want.

‘In-Centre workshop days’ can be offered as a big positive benefit by a lot of training academies. After chatting with most IT students who have partaken in a couple, you’ll begin to see a common thread – they are viewed as a major problem because of many things:

* Constant driving back and forth from the workshops – often quite a distance away.

* Weekday only access for workshops is typically the case, and with 2-3 days to book off work, this is usually problematic for many working people.

* Holiday days lost – many employed people only get 4 weeks annual leave. If you give up at least half to your educational events, that doesn’t leave much holiday time left for the family as a whole.

* Because of the cost involved, a lot of schools fill the classes up to the brim – which isn’t ideal (and much less personal).

* Tension is often caused inside the classroom because most students want to move at a pace comfortable for them.

* The growing costs associated with travel – driving to the training centre and of course over-night bed and breakfast can really add up over several visits. With only 5-10 classes at about thirty-five pounds for one night’s accommodation, plus a petrol cost of 40 pounds and food at 15.00, that equates to 450-900 pounds of add-on cost.

* Most students want their training to remain private so as to avoid any management questions at work.

* Asking questions in the presence of other class-mates often makes any one of us a little awkward. Would you admit that you’ve occasionally avoided posing a question just because you were worried it might make you look silly?

* Working and living away – a minority of students need to live or work away for sections of their training. Events become problematic to attend, but the money has already changed hands as part of your fees.

It has to make so much more sense to take classes when it suits you — not the training company – and employ videos of instructors with interactive virtual-lab’s. Any time you get a problem, utilise the 24×7 Support (that you should have insisted on for any technical study.) You should remember, if your PC is a laptop, you could study in breaks at work. Note-taking is a thing of the past – all the lessons and background info are laid out on a plate. Anything you want to do over, it’s all right there. The final outcome: Reduced hassle and stress, saved money, and no travelling or long journeys.

If you’re thinking of being a web designer, you will need to study Adobe Dreamweaver. For applications done commercially it’s important to have an in-depth understanding of the complete Adobe Web Creative Suite. This includes (though it’s not limited to) Action Script and Flash. Should you desire to become an Adobe Certified Professional (ACP) or an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) these skills will be absolutely essential.

To become a web designer of professional repute however, there is much more to consider. You will need to learn certain programming skills like PHP, HTML, and MySQL. An excellent grasp of E-Commerce and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) will help when talking to employers.

Can job security honestly exist anymore? Here in the UK, with businesses changing their mind at alarming speeds, it seems increasingly unlikely. In times of increasing skills shortfalls mixed with high demand areas however, we always find a new kind of security in the marketplace; driven by the constant growth conditions, organisations are struggling to hire the influx of staff needed.

Investigating the Information Technology (IT) sector, the most recent e-Skills investigation highlighted a twenty six percent deficit in trained staff. Alternatively, you could say, this highlights that the UK only has 3 trained people for every four jobs that are available now. Appropriately trained and commercially certified new workers are consequently at a complete premium, and in all likelihood it will stay that way for much longer. Undoubtedly, now really is a fabulous time to join the IT industry.

Always expect authorised exam simulation and preparation programs included in the package you choose. Sometimes people can find themselves confused by practicing questions for their exams that are not from official sources. Quite often, the way questions are phrased can be quite different and it’s important to prepare yourself for this. ‘Mock’ or practice exams are invaluable as a resource to you – so that when you come to take the proper exam, you don’t get uptight.

Traditional teaching in classrooms, with books and manuals, is an up-hill struggle for the majority of us. If all this is ringing some familiar bells, check out study materials which feature interactive and multimedia modules. Long-term memory is enhanced when all our senses are brought into the mix – this has been an accepted fact in expert circles for decades now.

Courses are now available on CD and DVD discs, so everything is learned directly from your own PC. Using video-streaming, you can watch instructors demonstrating how it’s all done, and then practice yourself – with interactive lab sessions. Always insist on a study material demo’ from any training college. The package should contain demo’s from instructors, slideshows and fully interactive skills-lab’s.

Many companies provide training that is purely available online; while you can get away with this much of the time, think what will happen when you don’t have access to the internet or you get intermittent problems and speed issues. A safer solution is the provision of actual CD or DVD ROMs which will not have these problems.

Many training companies have a handy Job Placement Assistance program, to help you get your first job. Having said that, occasionally this feature is bigged up too much, for it is actually not that hard for any motivated and trained individual to land a job in this industry – because companies everywhere are seeking qualified personnel.

Advice and support about getting interviews and your CV is sometimes offered (if it isn’t, consult one of our sites). It’s essential that you bring your CV right up to date today – not when you’re ready to start work! It’s not uncommon to find that junior support jobs are offered to trainees who are still learning and haven’t even passed a single exam yet. At the very least this will get your CV into the ‘possible’ pile and not the ‘no’ pile. Most often, a specialist independent regional recruitment consultancy – who make their money when they’ve found you a job – will be more pro-active than a centralised training company’s service. It also stands to reason that they’ll know the local industry and employment needs.

Certainly be sure that you don’t put hundreds of hours of effort into your studies, then call a halt and expect somebody else to land you a job. Get off your backside and get on with the job. Put as much focus into finding a good job as you did to gain the skills.

An all too common mistake that potential students often succumb to is to look for the actual course to take, instead of focusing on where they want to get to. Training academies are brimming over with direction-less students who took a course because it seemed fun – instead of what would yield their end-goal of a job they enjoyed. Avoid becoming one of the unfortunate masses who select a program which looks like it could be fun – and get to the final hurdle of an accreditation for an unrewarding career path.

It’s essential to keep your focus on what you want to achieve, and build your study action-plan from that – don’t do it back-to-front. Keep on track and begin studying for a career that’ll reward you for many long and fruitful years. Seek out help from a professional advisor who understands the sector you wish to join, and who can give you ‘A day in the life of’ understanding of of what you’ll be doing day-to-day. It just makes sense to ensure you’re on the right track well before you embark on your training program. There’s really no reason in kicking off your training only to discover you’re on the wrong course.

A+ consists of four exams and study sections, but your only requirement is to pass two of them to be considered A+ competent. For this reason, a great number of colleges simply offer two. Yet learning about all 4 will give you a far deeper level of understanding of it all, something you’ll appreciate as a Godsend in professional employment.

As well as being taught about building and fixing computers, students on an A+ training course will learn how to operate in antistatic conditions, how to fault find, to diagnose and to remotely access problems. Should you want to work towards looking after computer networks, you should add Network+ to your training package. This qualification will enable you to apply for more interesting jobs. Also look at the networking qualifications from Microsoft, i.e. MCP, MCSA MCSE.

The way a programme is physically sent to you can often be overlooked. How is the courseware broken down? And in what sequence and how fast does each element come? Most companies will sell you some sort of program spread over 1-3 years, and courier the materials in pieces as you complete each section or exam. On the surface this seems reasonable – until you consider the following: It’s not unusual for trainees to realise that the trainer’s usual training route doesn’t suit. You may find that it’s more expedient to use an alternative order of study. Could it cause problems if you don’t get everything done inside of the expected timescales?

For the perfect solution, you’d ask for every single material to be delivered immediately – so you’ll have them all to come back to at any time in the future – whenever it suits you. You can also vary the order in which you complete each objective if you find another route more intuitive.

Of course: a actual training or a certification isn’t what this is about; the particular job that you want to end up in is. A lot of colleges seem to over-emphasise just the training course. You may train for one year and then end up doing a job for a lifetime. Ensure you avoid the fatal error of choosing what sounds like a program of interest to you only to spend 20 years doing an unrewarding career!

It’s a good idea to understand what expectations industry may have of you. Which particular certifications they’ll want you to gain and how you’ll go about getting some commercial experience. It’s definitely worth spending time setting guidelines as to how far you wish to build your skill-set as it may present a very specific set of qualifications. Prior to embarking on a particular training program, it makes sense to talk through individual career requirements with an experienced industry advisor, in order to be sure the training path covers all that is required.

A major candidate for the biggest issue to be got round in IT training is a requirement to attend multiple workshop days. Most training schools harp on about the plus points of attending, it’s almost certain though that you’ll find them a major problem because of:

* A lot of driving back and forth from the workshops – sometimes hundreds of miles.

* Requesting constant holidays or time off – many trainers can only give Mon-Fri workshop availability and group several days in a chunk. This isn’t ideal for most people who work, and this is made worse if travelling time is added into the mix.

* With just 20 days holiday per year, spending half on training days often means losing out on family and vacation time.

* Workshop days normally get too big.

* Tension can run high in mixed classes because the right pace for one student is not the same as another.

* Most trainees tell us of the considerable cost of travelling back and forth to the training facility whilst paying for accommodation and food gets very high.

* It’s important to maintain privacy. We don’t want to risk losing any potential advancement due to us because our employer knows we’re retraining.

* Posing questions in the presence of other class-mates will often make us feel self-conscious. Surely, at some point, you’ve avoided asking a question as you didn’t want to look foolish?

* Typically, events frequently become pretty much undoable, if you live away for part of your week or month.

Why don’t you simply watch and be trained by teachers one-to-one via filmed classes, working on them at your convenience – not somebody else’s. Study from home on your PC or if you’ve got a laptop, you can go anywhere. If you’ve got questions, then make use of the 24×7 support (that we hope you’ll insist on with any technical courses.) Irrespective of how frequently you want to re-do a section, on-screen instructors can never get frustrated with you! Also, as an added bonus, there’s no need to take notes. It’s already there for you. The upshot: Reduced hassle, money saved, and you’ve got no travelling to do.

The Microsoft MCSA course (Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator) is a perfect match for anyone hoping to work as a network supporter. Whether you’re already knowledgeable but want to improve your CV with an acknowledged certification, or you are a beginner in the computer world, you should soon be able to find a course to fulfil your needs. If you want to get into the IT workplace and this is your first experience, it’s likely you’ll have to improve your skill-set before studying for the Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) exams needed to achieve MCSA certification. Search for a training organisation that’s willing to design a course to fit your requirements – you should be able to chat with an industry expert to determine your best course of action.

Often, individuals don’t really get what IT is about. It is thrilling, changing, and means you’re a part of the huge progress of technology that will change our world over the next few decades. We’re only just starting to see just how technology will define our world. The internet will profoundly alter the way we view and interrelate with the entire world over the coming decades.

Let’s not ignore salaries moreover – the typical remuneration in Great Britain for the usual man or woman in IT is much higher than the national average. It’s a good bet that you’ll earn quite a bit more than you’d typically expect to bring in elsewhere. With the IT marketplace increasing at an unprecedented rate, the chances are that the need for certified IT specialists will flourish for decades to come.

Watch out that all exams you’re working towards will be recognised by employers and are current. ‘In-house’ certificates are not normally useful in gaining employment. From the viewpoint of an employer, only the top companies like Microsoft, CompTIA, Adobe or Cisco (as an example) will open the right doors. Anything less won’t make the grade.

Getting your first commercial position is often made easier if you’re supported with a Job Placement Assistance program. In reality it isn’t so complicated as you might think to secure a job – assuming you’re well trained and qualified; employers in this country need your skills.

Ideally you should have advice and support about your CV and interviews though; and we’d recommend any student to work on polishing up their CV as soon as training commences – don’t delay until you’ve graduated or passed any exams. It’s not uncommon to find that junior support roles are offered to students who are in the process of training and haven’t got any qualifications yet. At least this will get your CV into the ‘possible’ pile and not the ‘no’ pile. You can usually expect better performance from an independent and specialised local recruitment consultancy than you’ll experience from any course provider’s employment division, because they’ll know local industry and the area better.

Please be sure that you don’t conscientiously work through your course materials, and then just stop and imagine someone else is miraculously going to land you a job. Stand up for yourself and get on with the job. Channel as much energy and enthusiasm into finding your new role as you did to gain the skills.

Considering how a program is ‘delivered’ to you is usually ignored by most students. How many parts is the training broken down into? What is the specific order and what control do you have at what pace it arrives? Training companies will normally offer some sort of program spread over 1-3 years, and drop-ship the materials to you piecemeal as you pass each exam. Sounds reasonable? Well consider these facts: With thought, many trainees understand that their training company’s standard order of study is not what they would prefer. They might find a slightly different order suits them better. And what happens if they don’t finish in the allotted time?

In all honesty, the very best answer is to obtain their recommendation on the best possible order of study, but make sure you have all of your learning modules right from the beginning. You’re then in possession of everything should you not complete it at their required pace.

One interesting way that training providers make a big mark-up is by adding exam fees upfront to the cost of a course and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams. This sounds impressive, but let’s just examine it more closely:

Thankfully, today we are a little bit more aware of sales ploys – and usually we cotton on to the fact that we’re actually paying for it – it’s not because they’re so generous they want to give something away! It’s well known in the industry that when trainees fund each examination, when they’re ready to take them and not before, they will be much more likely to pass first time – since they’re aware of the cost and so will prepare more thoroughly.

Go for the best offer you can find at the time, and save having to find the money early. You also get more choice of where you sit the exam – which means you can stay local. Why borrow the money or pay in advance (plus interest of course) on exams when you don’t need to? A lot of profit is made because training colleges are charging upfront for all their exams – and banking on the fact that many won’t be taken. Pay heed to the fact that, with ‘Exam Guarantees’ from most places – they control when and how often you are allowed to have another go. They’ll only allow a re-take once completely satisfied.

VUE and Prometric examinations are in the region of 112 pounds in the United Kingdom today. What’s the point of paying huge ‘Exam Guarantee’ fees (often hidden in the cost) – when the best course materials, the right level of support and commitment, effort and practice with quality exam preparation systems are the factors that really get you through.

Congratulations! By landing here it’s likely you’re thinking about learning new skills to change career – that puts you way ahead of the crowd. Only one in ten of us are content with our jobs, but no action is ever taken. So, why not be one of the few who make a difference in their lives.

Before embarking on a course, look for some advice – find an industry expert; someone who’ll give you career advice based on what works best for you, and offer only the courses which will get you there:

* Do you enjoy a busy working environment? Perhaps you like being a team player? Or you may prefer task-orientated work that only you know how to deal with?

* Building and Banking are not coping well at the moment, so which sector would give you the most options?

* After re-training, how long a career do you hope for, and will the market sector provide you with that possibility?

* Do you think being qualified will give you the opportunity to discover new employment possibilities, and stay employable until you wish to retire?

Prioritise the IT sector, that will be time well spent – it’s one of the few growing market sectors in the UK and Europe. Salaries are also more generous than most.

Some trainers will only provide basic 9am till 6pm support (maybe a little earlier or later on certain days); not many go late into the evening (after 8-9pm) or cover weekends properly. Always avoid training that only supports you with a call-centre messaging service outside of normal office hours. Companies will give you every excuse in the book why you don’t need this. The bottom line is – you need support when you need support – not when it suits them.

Keep your eyes open for providers that have multiple support offices around the globe in several time-zones. Each one should be integrated to offer a simple interface as well as round-the-clock access, when you need it, with no hassle. Don’t under any circumstances take anything less. Online 24×7 support is really your only option when it comes to computer-based courses. Maybe burning the midnight-oil is not your thing; often though, we’re out at work while the support is live.

Lately, do you find yourself questioning how safe your job is? For most people, this only rears its head when we get some bad news. But really, the lesson often learned too late is that true job security doesn’t really exist anymore, for nearly everyone now. Now, we only experience security through a swiftly rising marketplace, driven forward by a shortfall of trained staff. It’s this alone that creates the correct setting for a secure market – a much more desirable situation.

Recently, a UK e-Skills investigation demonstrated that twenty six percent of IT jobs are unfilled due to an appallingly low number of trained staff. Therefore, for each 4 job positions that exist around Information Technology (IT), employers can only source certified professionals for 3 of the 4. Acquiring proper commercial computing certification is therefore a ‘Fast Track’ to succeed in a long-term as well as satisfying occupation. As the Information Technology market is developing at such a quick pace, there really isn’t any other area of industry worth considering as a retraining vehicle.

Your training program should always include the latest Microsoft (or any other key organisation’s) authorised exam preparation packages. Don’t fall foul of depending on unofficial exam preparation questions. Their phraseology is sometimes startlingly different – and sometimes this can be a real headache once in the actual exam. Ensure that you have some simulated exam questions in order to check your knowledge at all times. Practice or ‘mock’ exams will help to boost your attitude – so you’re much more at ease with the real thing.

If you’re like many of the students we talk to then you probably enjoy fairly practical work – the ‘hands-on’ type. Usually, the painful task of reading endless manuals can be just about bared when essential, but you’d hate it. So look for on-screen interactive learning packages if learning from books is not your thing. Our ability to remember is increased when all our senses are brought into the mix – experts have been clear on this for many years.

Courses are now available via DVD-ROM discs, where everything is taught on your PC. Through video streaming, you will be able to see the instructor presenting exactly how to perform the required skill, with some practice time to follow – via the interactive virtual lab’s. It would be silly not to view some of the typical study materials provided before you make your decision. You should expect videoed instructor demonstrations and interactive modules with audio-visual elements.

Opt for physical media such as CD or DVD ROM’s whenever you can. You’re then protected from broadband outages, failure and signal quality issues etc.

Students will sometimes miss checking on something of absolutely vital importance – how their company breaks up the courseware, and into what particular chunks. The majority of training companies will set up a program typically taking 1-3 years, and send out each piece as you complete each section or exam. Sounds reasonable? Well consider these facts: Often, the staged breakdown prescribed by the provider doesn’t suit you. You may find it a stretch to finalise all the elements inside their defined time-scales?

To provide the maximum security and flexibility, most students now choose to request that all their modules (now paid for) are sent immediately, and not in a piecemeal fashion. You can then decide at what speed and in which order you’d like to work.