by Jason Kendall
Congratulations! Reading this subject matter means you’re likely to be contemplating your career, and if you’re considering retraining you’ve even now progressed more than the majority of people will. Are you aware that hardly any of us consider ourselves contented at work - yet the vast majority of us will take no corrective action. We implore you to be different and take action - don’t you think you deserve it.
When looking at training, it’s vital that you have in mind what you want and don’t want from the position you’re looking to get into. It’s important to discover if a new career would suit you better before you put a lot of energy into re-directing your life. It’s good sense to regard the big picture first, to make an informed decision:
* Do you hope for interaction with others? If the answer’s yes, would you enjoy being part of a team or are you hoping to meet new people? Maybe you’d rather be left alone to get on with things?
* Do you have a preference which market sector you could be employed in? (In this economy, it’s vital to choose carefully.)
* Do you want this to be the only time you’ll have to retrain?
* Do you feel uncomfortable about the chance of finding new employment, and being gainfully employed until you plan to retire?
We would advise you to consider the IT industry - there are greater numbers of jobs than staff to fill them, because it’s a rare career choice where the sector is expanding. Contrary to the opinions of certain people, IT isn’t all techie people lost in their PC’s the whole day (though those jobs exist.) The majority of jobs are taken by people like you and me who like receiving larger than average salaries.
Usually, the normal person doesn’t know in what direction to head in IT, or what area they should be considering getting trained in.
Because in the absence of any commercial skills in IT, how could any of us be expected to understand what anyone doing a particular job actually does?
The key to answering this dilemma in the best manner stems from a full conversation around a variety of topics:
* Your personality can play an important part - what gets you ‘up and running’, and what are the activities that really turn you off.
* Is it your desire to reach a key dream - like working from home as quickly as possible?
* The income requirements you may have?
* There are many markets to choose from in the IT industry - there’s a need to get some key facts on what sets them apart.
* How much time you’re prepared to spend on the training program.
For most people, getting to the bottom of so much data needs a long talk with an advisor who can explain things properly. Not only the qualifications - but also the commercial expectations and needs besides.
Kick out the typical salesman that pushes one particular program without a decent chat to gain understanding of your current abilities and also your experience level. Always check they have access to a large array of training so they’re actually equipped to give you an appropriate solution.
Don’t forget, if you’ve got any qualifications that are related, then you will often be able to pick-up at a different starting-point to someone who is new to the field.
For those students embarking on IT studies for the first time, it’s often a good idea to start out slowly, kicking off with some basic Microsoft package and Windows skills first. Usually this is packaged with most training programs.
Students often end up having issues because of a single courseware aspect very rarely considered: The method used to ’segment’ the courseware before being delivered to your home.
Normally, you will join a program that takes between and 1 and 3 years and get posted one section at a time - from one exam to the next. This sounds logical on one level, until you consider this:
Maybe the order of study pushed by the company’s salespeople doesn’t suit all of us. And what if you don’t finish all the elements at the speed required?
For future safety and flexibility, it’s not unusual for students to request that all their modules (now paid for) are couriered out in one package, all at the beginning. That means it’s down to you at what speed and in which order you’d like to work.
Finding your first job in the industry can be a little easier if you’re offered a Job Placement Assistance facility. With the massive demand for appropriately skilled people in the UK right now, it’s not too important to make too much of this option though. It isn’t so complicated as you might think to find the right work once you’re trained and certified.
You would ideally have help with your CV and interview techniques though; additionally, we would recommend any student to update their CV as soon as they start a course - don’t delay until you’ve qualified.
Various junior support jobs have been bagged by students who are in the process of training and haven’t got any qualifications yet. This will at least get you on your way.
Normally you’ll get quicker results from an independent and specialised local recruitment consultancy than you’ll get from a training course provider’s centralised service, as they’ll know the area better.
A regular grievance of many course providers is how hard people are focused on studying to become certified, but how un-prepared they are to work on getting the position they’re acquired skills for. Get out there and hustle - you might find it’s fun.