In the fast-paced world we live in, support workers who have the ability to fix computers and networks, along with giving constant assistance to users, are vital in all areas of industry. The desire for such skilled and qualified individuals is growing at an impressive rate, as everything becomes significantly more technologically advanced.
One fatal mistake that potential students often succumb to is to look for the actual course to take, and not focus on the desired end-result. Schools are stacked to the hilt with unaware students who took a course because it seemed fun - instead of the program that would surely get them the career they desired. You could be training for only a year and end up doing a job for a lifetime. Don't make the mistake of taking what may be a program of interest to you and then put 10-20 years into an unrewarding career!
Spend some time thinking about what you want to earn and what level of ambition fits you. Sometimes, this affects which precise accreditations you'll need to attain and what you can expect to give industry in return. Take advice from an industry professional, even if there's a fee involved - it's usually much cheaper and safer to discover early on if your choices are appropriate, instead of discovering after two full years that the job you've chosen is not for you and have wasted years of effort.
At the top of your shopping list for a training program should be full 24x7 support with expert mentors and instructors. Too many companies only provide support to you inside of office hours (typically 9am-6pm) and sometimes a little earlier or later (but not weekends usually). Try and find training with help available at any time of the 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 access to a call-in service which takes messages - so you're constantly waiting for a call-back when it's convenient for them.
Top training companies utilise several support facilities active in different time-zones. By utilising an interactive interface to seamlessly link them all together, no matter what time you login, help is just seconds away, without any problems or delays. Never make the mistake of compromise with the quality of your support. Most trainees who throw in the towel, are in that situation because of a lack of support.
We'd hazard a guess that you've always enjoyed practical work - the 'hands-on' individual. If you're like us, the trial of reading reference books and manuals is something you'll make yourself do if you have to, but it's not ideal. Check out video-based multimedia instruction if you'd really rather not use books. Research has time and time again confirmed that an 'involved' approach to study, where we utilise all our senses, is far more likely to produce long-lasting memories.
Programs are now found in disc format, where your computer becomes the centre of your learning. Using video-streaming, you can watch instructors demonstrating how it's all done, followed by your chance to practice - in a virtual lab environment. All companies must be able to demonstrate samples of their courseware. Expect video tutorials, instructor led classes and a wide selection of interactive elements.
Many companies provide just online versions of their training packages; and although this is okay the majority of the time, consider what happens if internet access is lost or you only get very a very slow connection sometimes. A safer solution is the provision of CD and DVD ROM materials that will not have these problems.
Some certification companies are still using the rather old-fashioned idea of classroom lessons. Quite often pushed as a positive point, following a chat with most students who've had to attend a couple, you'll most likely hear about many or most of these issues:
* Loads of visits to the workshops - often hundreds of miles.
* Workshop access; normally Monday to Friday and usually 2-3 days at a time. It's never convenient to take the required days away from work.
* I think you'd agree that we usually think 20 days holiday per year is barely enough. Take away a big chunk of this for educational classes and watch how much harder things become.
* 'In-Centre' workshop days can fill up very quickly and often end up larger than is ideal.
* The pace of the class - workshops often contain students of mixed talent, consequently tension can run high between those that want to go quickly as opposed to the ones who need a little longer.
* The cost of travel - travelling to and from the training facility plus accommodation can start to get expensive with each visit. Assuming just an average of 5 to 10 workshops costing around 35 pounds for a single over-night room, plus 40 pounds for petrol and 15 pounds for food, that equates to four to nine hundred pounds of extra costs to cover.
* You should never risk the possibility of getting passed-over for a lift up the ladder or wage increases because your employer knows you're retraining.
* Posing questions in a class full of students will sometimes make any one of us feel nervous. Would you admit that you've occasionally avoided posing a question just because you honestly thought you might seem thick?
* Usually, days in-centre frequently become virtually undoable, in cases where you work elsewhere in the country for some of the month.
The perfect situation rests with watching a pre-filmed workshop - enabling you to learn whenever you'd like. If anything comes up, get onto the live 24x7 support (that should've been packaged with any technical type of training.) Don't forget, if your PC is a notebook PC, you can study wherever you want. Forget taking notes - everything is prepared in advance for you. If you need to cover something again, it's right there. While this won't take away all study problems, it certainly removes stress and makes things simpler. And you've reduced costs, hassle and travel.
The world of information technology is amongst the most stimulating and innovative industries you could be involved with. To be dealing with leading-edge technology is to do your bit in the gigantic changes that will affect us all over the next generation. We are really only just beginning to get a handle on how this will truly impact our way of life. How we interrelate with the rest of the world will be inordinately affected by technology and the internet.
And don't forget salaries moreover - the average salary in the UK for an average man or woman in IT is much higher than in other market sectors. Chances are that you'll earn a much greater package than you'd typically expect to bring in elsewhere. The requirement for well trained and qualified IT technicians is assured for many years to come, because of the constant growth in IT dependency in commerce and the massive shortage that remains.
One fatal mistake that potential students often succumb to is to look for the actual course to take, and not focus on the desired end-result. Schools are stacked to the hilt with unaware students who took a course because it seemed fun - instead of the program that would surely get them the career they desired. You could be training for only a year and end up doing a job for a lifetime. Don't make the mistake of taking what may be a program of interest to you and then put 10-20 years into an unrewarding career!
Spend some time thinking about what you want to earn and what level of ambition fits you. Sometimes, this affects which precise accreditations you'll need to attain and what you can expect to give industry in return. Take advice from an industry professional, even if there's a fee involved - it's usually much cheaper and safer to discover early on if your choices are appropriate, instead of discovering after two full years that the job you've chosen is not for you and have wasted years of effort.
At the top of your shopping list for a training program should be full 24x7 support with expert mentors and instructors. Too many companies only provide support to you inside of office hours (typically 9am-6pm) and sometimes a little earlier or later (but not weekends usually). Try and find training with help available at any time of the 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 access to a call-in service which takes messages - so you're constantly waiting for a call-back when it's convenient for them.
Top training companies utilise several support facilities active in different time-zones. By utilising an interactive interface to seamlessly link them all together, no matter what time you login, help is just seconds away, without any problems or delays. Never make the mistake of compromise with the quality of your support. Most trainees who throw in the towel, are in that situation because of a lack of support.
We'd hazard a guess that you've always enjoyed practical work - the 'hands-on' individual. If you're like us, the trial of reading reference books and manuals is something you'll make yourself do if you have to, but it's not ideal. Check out video-based multimedia instruction if you'd really rather not use books. Research has time and time again confirmed that an 'involved' approach to study, where we utilise all our senses, is far more likely to produce long-lasting memories.
Programs are now found in disc format, where your computer becomes the centre of your learning. Using video-streaming, you can watch instructors demonstrating how it's all done, followed by your chance to practice - in a virtual lab environment. All companies must be able to demonstrate samples of their courseware. Expect video tutorials, instructor led classes and a wide selection of interactive elements.
Many companies provide just online versions of their training packages; and although this is okay the majority of the time, consider what happens if internet access is lost or you only get very a very slow connection sometimes. A safer solution is the provision of CD and DVD ROM materials that will not have these problems.
Some certification companies are still using the rather old-fashioned idea of classroom lessons. Quite often pushed as a positive point, following a chat with most students who've had to attend a couple, you'll most likely hear about many or most of these issues:
* Loads of visits to the workshops - often hundreds of miles.
* Workshop access; normally Monday to Friday and usually 2-3 days at a time. It's never convenient to take the required days away from work.
* I think you'd agree that we usually think 20 days holiday per year is barely enough. Take away a big chunk of this for educational classes and watch how much harder things become.
* 'In-Centre' workshop days can fill up very quickly and often end up larger than is ideal.
* The pace of the class - workshops often contain students of mixed talent, consequently tension can run high between those that want to go quickly as opposed to the ones who need a little longer.
* The cost of travel - travelling to and from the training facility plus accommodation can start to get expensive with each visit. Assuming just an average of 5 to 10 workshops costing around 35 pounds for a single over-night room, plus 40 pounds for petrol and 15 pounds for food, that equates to four to nine hundred pounds of extra costs to cover.
* You should never risk the possibility of getting passed-over for a lift up the ladder or wage increases because your employer knows you're retraining.
* Posing questions in a class full of students will sometimes make any one of us feel nervous. Would you admit that you've occasionally avoided posing a question just because you honestly thought you might seem thick?
* Usually, days in-centre frequently become virtually undoable, in cases where you work elsewhere in the country for some of the month.
The perfect situation rests with watching a pre-filmed workshop - enabling you to learn whenever you'd like. If anything comes up, get onto the live 24x7 support (that should've been packaged with any technical type of training.) Don't forget, if your PC is a notebook PC, you can study wherever you want. Forget taking notes - everything is prepared in advance for you. If you need to cover something again, it's right there. While this won't take away all study problems, it certainly removes stress and makes things simpler. And you've reduced costs, hassle and travel.
The world of information technology is amongst the most stimulating and innovative industries you could be involved with. To be dealing with leading-edge technology is to do your bit in the gigantic changes that will affect us all over the next generation. We are really only just beginning to get a handle on how this will truly impact our way of life. How we interrelate with the rest of the world will be inordinately affected by technology and the internet.
And don't forget salaries moreover - the average salary in the UK for an average man or woman in IT is much higher than in other market sectors. Chances are that you'll earn a much greater package than you'd typically expect to bring in elsewhere. The requirement for well trained and qualified IT technicians is assured for many years to come, because of the constant growth in IT dependency in commerce and the massive shortage that remains.
About the Author:
Author Jason Kendall divides his time between advising and consulting on quality training and support in the UK. For advice on Computer Training, visit LearningLolly IT Courses.
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