Are you toying with the idea of doing an MCSE? It's very possible then that it's likely you'll come into one of two categories: You're currently an IT professional and you'd like to gain accreditation with the Microsoft qualification. Alternatively you might be just about to enter the IT environment, and you've found that there are many opportunities for certified networking professionals.
When researching MCSE's, you'll hit upon training companies that lower their out-goings by failing to provide the latest version from Microsoft. Avoid such training providers as you will face problems at exam time. If you are studying the wrong version, it will make it very difficult to pass.
Avoid businesses who're just out to sell you anything. You should be given detailed advice to ensure you are on the right course for you. Don't allow yourself to be sold some generic product by some pushy sales person.
Consider only retraining programs which will lead to industry accepted accreditations. There's an endless list of small companies pushing their own 'in-house' certificates which are worthless when it comes to finding a job.
You'll find that only recognised certification from companies such as Microsoft, Cisco, Adobe and CompTIA will open the doors to employers.
Many trainers will provide a useful Job Placement Assistance facility, to assist your search for your first position. However sometimes people are too impressed with this facility, for it is genuinely quite straightforward for any focused and well taught person to get a job in IT - as there is such a shortage of qualified personnel.
You would ideally have advice and support about your CV and interviews though; also we would encourage all students to update their CV the day they start training - don't delay for when you're ready to start work.
It can happen that you haven't even passed your first exam when you will get your initial junior support role; yet this is not possible unless you've posted your CV on job sites.
Normally you'll get better performance from a specialist independent regional employment service than you'll get from a training company's centralised service, because they'll know local industry and the area better.
To bottom line it, if you put the same amount of effort into securing your first job as into training, you won't find it too challenging. Some people bizarrely spend hundreds of hours on their training and studies and do nothing more once they've passed their exams and seem to expect employers to find them.
We're often asked why traditional degrees are less in demand than the more commercial qualifications?
Accreditation-based training (to use industry-speak) is most often much more specialised. The IT sector is aware that specialisation is essential to meet the requirements of a technologically complex workplace. CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA dominate in this arena.
University courses, for instance, can often get caught up in a lot of loosely associated study - and much too wide a syllabus. Students are then prevented from learning the core essentials in sufficient depth.
Imagine if you were an employer - and you required somebody who had very specific skills. Which is the most straightforward: Wade your way through reams of different degrees and college qualifications from several applicants, asking for course details and what commercial skills they've mastered, or choose a specific set of accreditations that exactly fulfil your criteria, and then choose your interviewees based around that. You'll then be able to concentrate on getting a feel for the person at interview - rather than establishing whether they can do a specific task.
Some training providers will only offer support available from 9-6 (office hours) and sometimes later on specific days; not many go late into the evening (after 8-9pm) or cover weekends properly.
Find a good quality service with help available at any time of the day or night (no matter if it's in the middle of the night on a weekend!) Make sure it's always 24x7 direct access to mentors and instructors, and not access to a call-in service which takes messages - so you're parked in a queue of others waiting to be called back during office hours.
As long as you look hard, you will find professional training packages that provide their students online support around the clock - no matter what time of day it is.
Don't accept second best when you're looking for the right support service. Most IT hopefuls who throw in the towel, are in that situation because of support (or the lack of).
(C) 2009 S. Edwards. Pop to Learning HTML or www.MidLifeCareerChange.co.uk/LMLCC.html.
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