<br />
By maximising state-of-the-art training techniques and keeping costs to a minimum, there's a new style of training company offering a better quality of training and support for a fraction of the prices currently charged.<br />
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Does job security honestly exist anymore? Here in the UK, where industry can change its mind on a whim, there doesn't seem much chance. Wherever we find increasing skills shortfalls mixed with areas of high demand of course, we always discover a newly emerging type of security in the marketplace; where, fuelled by the conditions of constant growth, employers find it hard to locate the influx of staff needed.<br />
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Taking the computing market for example, a key e-Skills study showed a skills shortage in the United Kingdom of over 26 percent. This shows that for each 4 job positions that are available in Information Technology (IT), there are only 3 trained people to fulfil that role. Acquiring in-depth commercial computing qualification is correspondingly a fast-track to realise a continuing and rewarding living. Unquestionably, now really is a fabulous time to consider retraining into IT.<br />
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How do we go about making a good decision then? With so much reward available, we'll need to know where to search - and what we should be searching for.<br />
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Students looking to begin an IT career usually haven't a clue what path to follow, or which sector to get qualified in. Working through a list of odd-sounding and meaningless job titles is no use whatsoever. The majority of us have no concept what our good friends do at work - so we're in the dark as to the complexities of a specific IT job. Arriving at the right resolution only comes via a meticulous examination of many unique factors:<br />
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* Your personality type and interests - what kind of working tasks you love or hate.<br />
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* For what reasons you're getting involved with the IT industry - it could be you're looking to conquer a life-long goal like working from home for instance.<br />
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* The income requirements you have?<br />
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* With everything that Information Technology encapsulates, you'll need to be able to understand how they differ.<br />
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* You should also think long and hard about what kind of effort and commitment you'll put into gaining your certifications.<br />
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To cut through the industry jargon, and find the best path to success, have an informal meeting with an industry expert and advisor; an individual who will cover the commercial realities and truth whilst covering each accreditation.<br />
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Those that are drawn to this type of work are often very practical, and don't always take well to classrooms, and poring through books and manuals. If you're thinking this sounds like you, use multimedia, interactive learning, where you can learn everything on-screen. Where possible, if we can utilise all of our senses into our learning, then the results are usually dramatically better.<br />
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Fully interactive motion videos involving demonstration and virtual lab's will turn you off book-based study for ever more. And they're a lot more fun to do. It's very important to see some example materials from each company you're contemplating. Be sure that they contain video, demonstrations and various interactive elements.<br />
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Many companies provide online training only; and while this is acceptable much of the time, imagine the problems if your access to the internet is broken or you get intermittent problems and speed issues. A safer solution is the provision of actual CD or DVD ROMs which removes the issue entirely.<br />
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Considering how a program is 'delivered' to you is usually ignored by most students. How is the courseware broken down? What is the order and at what speed is it delivered? A release of your materials stage by stage, taking into account your exam passes is the typical way that your program will arrive. While seeming sensible, you might like to consider this: What if there are reasons why you can't finish all the sections or exams? What if you don't find their order of learning is ideal for you? Due to no fault of yours, you may not meet the required timescales and therefore not end up with all the modules.<br />
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For maximum flexibility and safety, it's normal for most trainees to have all their training materials (which they've now paid for) delivered immediately, and not in stages. It's then your own choice how fast or slow and in what order you want to go.<br />
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Training support for students is an absolute must - look for a package providing 24x7 full access, as anything less will frustrate you and could put a damper on the speed you move through things. Be wary of any training providers who use 'out-of-hours' messaging systems - where you'll get called back during typical office hours. It's no use when you're stuck on a problem and want support there and then.<br />
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The best trainers utilise several support facilities across multiple time-zones. By utilising an interactive interface to seamlessly link them all together, at any time you choose, there is always help at hand, without any contact issues or hassle. Don't ever make the mistake of taking second best when you're looking for the right support service. Many would-be IT professionals who can't get going properly, are in that situation because they didn't get the support necessary for them.<br />
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One interesting way that course providers make more money is by charging for exams up-front and offering an exam guarantee. This looks like a great idea for the student, till you look at the facts:<br />
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Clearly it isn't free - you're still being charged for it - it's just been included in your package price. If it's important to you to pass in one, then you should pay for each exam as you go, give it the necessary attention and be ready for the task.<br />
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Look for the very best offer you can at the appropriate time, and avoid college mark-up fees. You'll also be able to choose where to sit the exam - so you can choose somewhere closer to home. Paying upfront for examinations (plus interest - if you're financing your study) is insane. Resist being talked into filling the training company's account with additional funds simply to help their cash-flow! A lot bank on the fact that you will never make it to exams - then they'll keep the extra money. Don't forget, with 'Exam Guarantees' from most places - they control when and how often you are allowed to do a re-take. You will have to demonstrate an excellent pass-rate before they'll approve a re-take.<br />
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With average prices for VUE and Pro-metric tests coming in at approximately 112 pounds in Great Britain, by far the best option is to pay for them as you take them. There's no sense in throwing away maybe a thousand pounds extra at the start of your studies. Consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software is what will really see you through.<br />
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Watch out that all qualifications you're working towards are commercially relevant and are up-to-date. The 'in-house' certifications provided by many companies are not normally useful in gaining employment. From the viewpoint of an employer, only the major heavyweights such as Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA or Adobe (for example) will get you short-listed. Anything less won't make the grade.</div><div class='uawresource'><div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br />
About the Author:<br />
</div><div class='uawlinks'>Jason Kendall has worked in the IT industry for 20 yrs. He thinks he knows what he's doing by now. To find out more on <a href= "http://www.learninglolly.com">Computer Courses</a>, visit LearningLolly <a href= "http://www.learninglolly.com">Computer Training Courses</a>. </div><br />
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