The Article Board

Congratulations! Finding this article proves you must be wondering about where you’re going, and if training for a new career’s in your mind then you’ve already got further than most others. Are you aware that hardly any of us would say we are satisfied and happy at work – but most won’t do a thing about it. Why don’t you be different and take action – think about how you could enjoy Monday mornings.

For those thinking of re-training, it’s vital to first define what you DO want and DON’T want from the position you’re looking to get into. Be sure that the grass actually is greener before you put a lot of energy into re-directing your life. We recommend looking at the whole story first, to avoid disappointment:

* Do you like working on your own or do you find company is an important option?

* Banking and building are none too stable today, so which industry would suit you best?

* Is this the final time you plan to retrain, and based on that, will your chosen career path offer that choice?

* Do you think being qualified will give you the opportunity to discover new employment possibilities, and remain in employment until you wish to retire?

Pay attention to the IT industry, it will be well worth your time – it’s one of the only growing market sectors throughout Europe. Salaries are also more generous than most.

How can job security truly exist anymore? In the UK for instance, with industry changing its mind at alarming speeds, we’d question whether it does.

Of course, a marketplace with high growth, where there just aren’t enough staff to go round (because of a big shortage of properly qualified workers), enables the possibility of proper job security.

With the Information Technology (IT) market for example, a key e-Skills investigation highlighted major skills shortages throughout the country in excess of 26 percent. Meaning that for each 4 job positions that are available across IT, we’ve only got three properly trained pro’s to perform that task.

Gaining in-depth commercial Information Technology accreditation is therefore a ‘Fast Track’ to a long-term as well as gratifying line of work.

As the Information Technology market is growing at the speed it is, there really isn’t any other area of industry worth considering for retraining.

A lot of people assume that the tech college or university system is the right way even now. Why then is commercial certification slowly and steadily replacing it?

With the costs of academic degree’s increasing year on year, alongside the industry’s growing opinion that key company training is often far more commercially relevant, we’ve seen a great increase in Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA authorised training paths that educate students at a fraction of the cost and time involved.

Many degrees, for instance, clog up the training with too much loosely associated study – with a syllabus that’s far too wide. This holds a student back from learning the core essentials in sufficient depth.

The crux of the matter is this: Commercial IT certifications give employers exactly what they’re looking for – the title is a complete giveaway: as an example – I am a ‘Microsoft Certified Professional’ in ‘Managing and Maintaining Windows Server 2003′. Consequently companies can identify exactly what they need and which qualifications are required to fulfil that.

In most cases, a typical student doesn’t know in what direction to head in a computing career, or even what market they should be considering getting trained in.

Consequently, if you don’t have any background in the IT market, how can you expect to know what a particular IT employee does each day? Let alone arrive at which training route will be most suitable for a successful result.

Reflection on these factors is imperative if you want to reveal a solution that suits you:

* Your personality can play a major role – what kind of areas spark your interest, and what are the things that put a frown on your face.

* Is your focus to re-train because of a precise reason – e.g. are you looking at working based at home (maybe self-employment?)?

* Where do you stand on salary vs job satisfaction?

* With so many different sectors to gain certifications for in the IT industry – you will have to get a basic understanding of what differentiates them.

* You will need to understand the differences across each area of training.

To be honest, the only way to research these matters is through a chat with a professional that understands computing (as well as the commercial needs.)

The area most overlooked by those mulling over a new direction is the issue of ‘training segmentation’. Basically, this means the way the course is divided up for timed release to you, which can make a dramatic difference to where you end up.

Often, you’ll join a programme staged over 2 or 3 years and receive a module at a time. While this may sound logical on one level, consider this:

Often, the staged breakdown offered by the provider doesn’t suit. You may find it a stretch to finalise all the elements inside of their particular timetable?

Put simply, the best option is to obtain their recommendation on the best possible order of study, but to receive all the materials up-front. You then have everything in the event you don’t complete everything as fast as they’d like.

(C) 2010 Scott Edwards. Hop over to PHP Certification or www.CareerRetrainingCourses.co.uk/vcareco.html.