by Jason Kendall
Network and PC support technicians are more and more in demand in the UK, as organisations rely heavily upon their knowledge and fixing and repairing abilities. The world's desire for such qualified and commercially astute people is ever increasing, as commercial enterprise becomes vastly more technologically advanced.
We'd all like to believe that our jobs will always be secure and our work prospects are protected, but the likely scenario for most sectors around England right now is that there is no security anymore. We're able though to locate security at the market sector level, by probing for areas in high demand, together with shortages of trained staff.
The computer industry skills-gap around the United Kingdom clocks in at over 26 percent, according to the most recent e-Skills study. That means for every 4 jobs that exist around IT, there are barely three qualified workers to fill that need. Accomplishing the appropriate commercial computing qualification is correspondingly a fast-track to achieve a life-long and enjoyable career. Quite simply, retraining in Information Technology during the next year or two is almost definitely the safest career choice you could ever make.
If the IT market presents so many unparalleled career possibilities for us all - then which questions should we pose and what factors should we be considering?
The market provides an excess of employment in the IT industry. Finding the particular one for you is generally problematic. As with no commercial skills in IT, in what way could we be expected to understand what someone in a particular job does? Achieving an informed answer really only appears via a thorough study of several shifting factors:
* The kind of person you reckon you are - what tasks do you get enjoyment from, and don't forget - what you hate to do.
* Is your focus to get qualified because of a specific reason - for example, do you aim to work from home (self-employment?)?
* How highly do you rate salary - is an increase your main motivator, or does job satisfaction rate a lot higher on the scale of your priorities?
* Often, trainees don't consider the amount of work required to gain all the necessary accreditation.
* Taking a cold, hard look at the level of commitment, time and effort you'll make available.
The bottom line is, your only chance of covering these is from an in-depth discussion with an advisor or professional who understands the market well enough to lead you to the correct decision.
Many training companies only give basic 9am till 6pm support (maybe a little earlier or later on certain days); It's rare to find someone who offers late evening or full weekend cover. Look for training where you can access help at any time of day or night (irrespective of whether it's the wee hours on Sunday morning!) You'll need 24x7 direct access to mentors and instructors, and not a message system as this will slow you down - waiting for tutors to call you back - probably during office hours.
Keep your eyes open for study programmes that use several support centres around the globe in several time-zones. All of them should be combined to give a single entry point as well as 24x7 access, when you want it, without any problems. Seek out an educator that offers this level of study support. As only true live 24x7 round-the-clock support provides the necessary backup.
It's likely that you've always enjoyed practical work - 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 it's not really your thing. You should use video and multimedia based materials if you'd really rather not use books. Years of research and study has time and time again confirmed that an 'involved' approach to study, where we utilise all our senses, will more likely produce memories that are deeper and longer-lasting.
Search for a course where you're provided with an array of CD or DVD ROM's - you'll be learning from instructor videos and demo's, and be able to hone your abilities through virtual lab's. Any company that you're considering must be pushed to demo some simple examples of their courseware. Expect video tutorials, instructor led classes and interactive areas to practice in.
Many companies 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 if internet access is lost or you get slow speeds and down-time etc. It's preferable to have physical CD or DVD discs which don't suffer from these broadband issues.
We're regularly asked to explain why traditional academic studies are now falling behind more qualifications from the commercial sector? With fees and living expenses for university students climbing ever higher, and the IT sector's recognition that vendor-based training most often has much more commercial relevance, we have seen a large rise in Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA based training routes that supply key solutions to a student for considerably less. Higher education courses, for example, clog up the training with a great deal of loosely associated study - with a syllabus that's far too wide. This holds a student back from getting enough specific knowledge about the core essentials.
Imagine if you were an employer - and you wanted someone who could provide a specific set of skills. What should you do: Wade your way through a mass of different academic qualifications from hopeful applicants, having to ask what each has covered and what workplace skills they've mastered, or pick out specific commercial accreditations that perfectly fit your needs, and then select who you want to interview from that. The interview is then more about the person and how they'll fit in - rather than establishing whether they can do a specific task.
It's not uncommon for companies to offer inclusive exam guarantees - inevitably that means paying for the exams before you've even made a start on the course. Before you get carried away with the chance of a guarantee, consider this:
These days, we're a bit more aware of hype - and usually we know that for sure we're actually paying for it - it's not because they're so generous they want to give something away! Passing first time is everyone's goal. Entering examinations one by one and funding them one at a time sees you much better placed to get through first time - you take it seriously and are conscious of what you've spent.
Hold on to your money and pay for the exam when you take the exam, and hang on to your cash. You'll then be able to select where you do the examinations - so you can find somewhere local. Big margins are netted by many training colleges that get money for exam fees in advance. For various reasons, many students don't take their exams but the company keeps the money. Amazingly, there are companies around who actually bank on it - as that's very profitable for them. Re-takes of previously unsuccessful exams through organisations who offer an 'Exam Guarantee' are tightly controlled. They will insist that you take pre-tests first until you've proven that you're likely to pass.
Prometric and VUE exams are in the region of 112 pounds in the United Kingdom today. Students should be very wary of forking out hundreds of pounds extra in charges for 'Exam Guarantees' (often covertly rolled into the cost of the course) - when the best course materials, the right level of support and study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will really guarantee success.
Consider only retraining paths which lead to commercially recognised certifications. There are far too many trainers proposing minor 'in-house' certificates that are essentially useless when you start your job-search. Unless your qualification is issued by a major player like Microsoft, CompTIA, Adobe or Cisco, then you'll probably find it won't be commercially viable - because it won't give an employer any directly-useable skills.
About the Author:
After 2 Decades in IT, Jason Kendall has turned his attention to IT education consultancy in the UK. If you're interested in
Cisco Certification, visit LearningLolly
CCNA Courses.