Nice One! Finding this article suggests you're thinking about your future, and if you're considering retraining you've even now progressed more than most. Can you believe that just one in ten of us are satisfied and happy at work - but most will do absolutely nothing about it. Why don't you break free and do something - think about how you could enjoy Monday mornings.
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. Someone who has the ability to get an understanding of your personality, and find out what types of work suit you:
* Do you want to interact with other people? If the answer's yes, would you enjoy being part of a team or is meeting new people important to you? Or would you rather work alone with a task?
* What elements are you looking for from the market sector you work in? - We all know that things have changed, look at building and banking for instance.
* Is this the final time you imagine you'll re-train, and if it is, will your chosen career path offer that choice?
* Will this new qualification give you the opportunity to discover new employment possibilities, and remain in employment until you choose to stop?
Think about the IT sector, that's our recommendation - unusually, it's one of the market sectors still on the grow in the UK and Europe. In addition, salaries and benefits exceed most other industries.
The perhaps intimidating chore of finding your first job can be made easier because some trainers offer a Job Placement Assistance programme. Ultimately it's not as hard as some people make out to get employment - once you're trained and certified; employers in this country need your skills.
You would ideally have help with your CV and interview techniques though; and we'd encourage all students to bring their CV up to date right at the beginning of their training - don't wait until you've graduated or passed any exams.
You may not have got to the stage where you've qualified when you will be offered your first junior support job; yet this can't and won't happen unless your CV is with employers.
The most efficient companies to help you find a job are generally independent and specialised local recruitment services. As they will get paid by the employer when they've placed you, they have the necessary incentive to try that bit harder.
A regular aggravation of some course providers is how hard people are focused on studying to become certified, but how un-prepared they are to work on getting the job they're qualified for. Don't give up when the best is yet to come.
Ignore a salesperson who pushes one particular program without performing a 'fact-find' to gain understanding of your current abilities and also your experience level. Ensure that they have a wide-enough array of training from which they could solve your training issues.
If you've got a strong background, or perhaps a bit of real-world experience (some industry qualifications maybe?) then it could be that your starting point will be very different from a trainee who has no experience.
If this is your initial attempt at studying to take an IT exam then it may be wise to practice with user-skills and software training first.
Be watchful that any accreditations that you're considering will be commercially viable and are the most recent versions. 'In-house' exams and the certificates they come with are usually worthless.
If your certification doesn't come from a conglomerate such as Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco or CompTIA, then chances are it will have been a waste of time - as no-one will have heard of it.
Think about the points below carefully if you believe that old marketing ploy of examination guarantees seems like a good idea:
Everyone knows they're still paying for it - it's obviously been inserted into the full cost of the package supplied by the training company. Certainly, it's not a freebie - and it's insulting that we're supposed to think it is!
If it's important to you to get a first time pass, then you should pay for each exam as you go, give it the priority it deserves and apply yourself as required.
Find the best exam deal or offer available when you're ready, and save having to find the money early. You also get more choice of where you do the examinations - so you can find somewhere local.
Big margins are secured by many companies that get money upfront for exam fees. For various reasons, many students don't take their exams but the company keeps the money. Amazingly, there are training companies who rely on that fact - as that's how they make a lot of their profit.
Re-takes of any failed exams via companies with an 'Exam Guarantee' inevitably are heavily regulated. They will insist that you take pre-tests first to make sure they think you're going to pass.
Prometric and VUE exams are in the region of 112 pounds in Britain at the time of writing. Why pay exorbitant 'Exam Guarantee' fees (often covertly rolled into the cost of the course) - when good quality study materials, the proper support and commitment, effort and practice with quality exam preparation systems are the factors that really get you through. - 33394
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. Someone who has the ability to get an understanding of your personality, and find out what types of work suit you:
* Do you want to interact with other people? If the answer's yes, would you enjoy being part of a team or is meeting new people important to you? Or would you rather work alone with a task?
* What elements are you looking for from the market sector you work in? - We all know that things have changed, look at building and banking for instance.
* Is this the final time you imagine you'll re-train, and if it is, will your chosen career path offer that choice?
* Will this new qualification give you the opportunity to discover new employment possibilities, and remain in employment until you choose to stop?
Think about the IT sector, that's our recommendation - unusually, it's one of the market sectors still on the grow in the UK and Europe. In addition, salaries and benefits exceed most other industries.
The perhaps intimidating chore of finding your first job can be made easier because some trainers offer a Job Placement Assistance programme. Ultimately it's not as hard as some people make out to get employment - once you're trained and certified; employers in this country need your skills.
You would ideally have help with your CV and interview techniques though; and we'd encourage all students to bring their CV up to date right at the beginning of their training - don't wait until you've graduated or passed any exams.
You may not have got to the stage where you've qualified when you will be offered your first junior support job; yet this can't and won't happen unless your CV is with employers.
The most efficient companies to help you find a job are generally independent and specialised local recruitment services. As they will get paid by the employer when they've placed you, they have the necessary incentive to try that bit harder.
A regular aggravation of some course providers is how hard people are focused on studying to become certified, but how un-prepared they are to work on getting the job they're qualified for. Don't give up when the best is yet to come.
Ignore a salesperson who pushes one particular program without performing a 'fact-find' to gain understanding of your current abilities and also your experience level. Ensure that they have a wide-enough array of training from which they could solve your training issues.
If you've got a strong background, or perhaps a bit of real-world experience (some industry qualifications maybe?) then it could be that your starting point will be very different from a trainee who has no experience.
If this is your initial attempt at studying to take an IT exam then it may be wise to practice with user-skills and software training first.
Be watchful that any accreditations that you're considering will be commercially viable and are the most recent versions. 'In-house' exams and the certificates they come with are usually worthless.
If your certification doesn't come from a conglomerate such as Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco or CompTIA, then chances are it will have been a waste of time - as no-one will have heard of it.
Think about the points below carefully if you believe that old marketing ploy of examination guarantees seems like a good idea:
Everyone knows they're still paying for it - it's obviously been inserted into the full cost of the package supplied by the training company. Certainly, it's not a freebie - and it's insulting that we're supposed to think it is!
If it's important to you to get a first time pass, then you should pay for each exam as you go, give it the priority it deserves and apply yourself as required.
Find the best exam deal or offer available when you're ready, and save having to find the money early. You also get more choice of where you do the examinations - so you can find somewhere local.
Big margins are secured by many companies that get money upfront for exam fees. For various reasons, many students don't take their exams but the company keeps the money. Amazingly, there are training companies who rely on that fact - as that's how they make a lot of their profit.
Re-takes of any failed exams via companies with an 'Exam Guarantee' inevitably are heavily regulated. They will insist that you take pre-tests first to make sure they think you're going to pass.
Prometric and VUE exams are in the region of 112 pounds in Britain at the time of writing. Why pay exorbitant 'Exam Guarantee' fees (often covertly rolled into the cost of the course) - when good quality study materials, the proper support and commitment, effort and practice with quality exam preparation systems are the factors that really get you through. - 33394
About the Author:
(C) 2009 S. Edwards. Browse around CareerChangeOptions.co.uk/ncco.html or HR Career.
