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A fraction of the working population in this country are enjoying job satisfaction. Naturally most will do nothing about it. The fact that you’ve got this far if nothing else suggests that you’ve realised change must come.

On the subject of training, it’s important to initially know your expectations from the position you’re hoping to qualify for. Ensure that things would be a lot better before you spend time and effort re-directing your life. We recommend looking at the whole story first, to steer clear of regrets:

* Would you like to work with others? If so, do you like working with the same people or do you want to meet lots of new people? Or would you rather work alone with a task?

* Are you considering which area you could be employed in? (Post credit crunch, it’s essential to be selective.)

* Is this the last time you imagine you’ll re-train, and if so, will your chosen career path service that need?

* Will the information you learn allow you to find new work easily, and remain in employment until you wish to retire?

We request you to consider the IT sector – there are a larger number of positions than workers to do them, because it’s a rare career choice where the sector is still growing. In contrast to what some people would have you think, it isn’t just geeks lost in their PC’s the whole day (though those jobs exist.) Most positions are done by average folk who want to earn a very good living.

Beware of putting too much emphasis, as can often be the case, on the training process. Training for training’s sake is generally pointless; you’re training to become commercially employable. Stay focused on what it is you want to achieve.

You may train for one year and then end up doing a job for a lifetime. Ensure you avoid the fatal error of choosing what sounds like a program of interest to you and then spend decades in something you don’t even enjoy!

Prioritise understanding what industry will expect from you. Which precise exams they’ll want you to gain and how you’ll go about getting some commercial experience. You should also spend a little time assessing how far you think you’ll want to progress your career as it will often force you to choose a particular set of accreditations.

We recommend that students seek advice from a skilled professional before you begin some particular training path, so you can be sure that the content of a learning package provides the appropriate skill-set.

Your training program should always include the current Microsoft (or relevant organisation’s) authorised simulation materials and exam preparation packages.

Make sure that the simulated exams are not just posing the correct questions from the right areas, but are also posing them in the way that the actual final exam will formulate them. This can really throw some people if they’re faced with unrecognisable phrases and formats.

A way to build self-confidence is if you check how much you know through quizzes and mock ups of exams before you take the proper exam.

Most of us would love to think that our jobs are safe and our work prospects are protected, but the growing likelihood for the majority of jobs around the UK today is that security just isn’t there anymore.

Of course, a sector experiencing fast growth, where there just aren’t enough staff to go round (as there is a massive shortfall of trained staff), creates the conditions for lasting job security.

The most recent British e-Skills survey showed that twenty six percent of all IT positions available are unfilled mainly due to a chronic shortage of appropriately certified professionals. Alternatively, you could say, this highlights that the UK only has 3 trained people for each 4 job positions that exist today.

Accomplishing proper commercial Information Technology qualification is consequently a fast-track to a life-long as well as satisfying career.

Because the IT sector is developing at such a quick pace, there really isn’t any other sector worth considering for a new future.

If an advisor doesn’t ask you a lot of questions – it’s likely they’re actually nothing more than a salesman. If they wade straight in with a specific product before getting to know your background and whether you have any commercial experience, then it’s very likely to be the case.

If you’ve got a strong background, or maybe some live experience (possibly even some previous certification?) then it’s more than likely the level you’ll need to start at will be quite dissimilar from someone with no background whatsoever.

For those students embarking on IT studies anew, it can be helpful to ease in gradually, beginning with some basic PC skills training first. This is often offered with most accreditation programs.

(C) 2009 S. Edwards. Visit www.Change-My-Career.co.uk/PCMC.html or Learn Web Design.

For many people, an interesting and varied choice often means a career within the electrical industry. Often (and more correctly) referred to as ‘Electro-Mechanical Engineering’, we’ll simply refer to it as the Electrical Industry for the sake of simplicity here. In addition, we will stay with the UK market and especially items relating to the domestic and commercial sectors rather than global issues. We will begin by reviewing the main issues first and come back to the ‘add-ons’ later, because of the huge number of options available as a career within this subject.

Basically there are two clear ways to gain admission into the electrical market. Along with apprenticeships for school leavers, students entering the field at a later phase in their life now have an alternative to more traditional amateur routes. Throughout this document we will simply refer to two types of people the ‘Junior’ and the ‘Mature’ entrants.

Principally, Mature Entrants join the electrical workplace later on, and focus on becoming self employed. This means working on their own and not having to pay salaries to anyone else. On the other hand, to gain further credentials and experience ‘Junior Entrants’ tend to work for a recognised electrical firm. Upon leaving school many apprenticeships provide a fast learning curve for young adults looking to boost their auxiliary skills.

The two different ways into the industry have two separate methods of preparation. In essence, the Junior Entrants follow an NVQ syllabus, or SVQ syllabus in Scotland. An NVQ qualification would need to be obtained as part of the training program. Often, this means that students have to gain an apprenticeship in order to be able to realise the course work and testing requirements of the job.

Mature Entrants, with the possible aim of entering the market from a self-employed perspective, seem to focus on attaining the most commercially viable qualifications (without the need for the NVQ element.) Having said that, the mature student does aim to gain the necessary skills to do the job, whilst at the same time reducing their training costs at all times. This method allows for a quicker route to the market and does meet the necessary trading elements for the areas concerned despite reducing the overall qualification set.

Between self-employment and general employment we have two routes to consider in terms of typical income. For the sake of this document we will assume that everyone involved in electrical employment is working full-time. It is recognised that competence and qualifications add to income levels as well as experience and information gained.

With the right level of experience, ‘Junior Entrants’ salaries can rise considerably from twelve to thirty thousand pounds per annum. ‘Mature Entrants’ salaries though are often more difficult to work out, but can rise to 70.000 and above as reported in UK newspapers. However, it should be borne in mind that a self-employed person must meet their own costs for tools, clothes and vehicles (including insurance and petrol.) Allocations for personal/professional insurance will also have to be catered for. That aside, whilst the work is open to market-forces to some degree, the current skills shortage in the UK means that there’s a high work-load available. Therefore, working seven days a week (if a student wanted) is a possibility for most. Although by working very long hours and having assistants to help, the figures of 70-100 thousand advertised in newspapers might be achieved, it wouldn’t be easy.

It should be noted that the working week for most electricians differs between the Junior and Mature Entrant markets. Most of the work for Junior Entrant electricians will be on a simple 9-5, Monday to Friday basis. But due to the needs of the domestic market the Mature Entrant is often more reliant upon when their client base gets back from work. Although by testing and installing various business systems, many self-employed electricians manage to work during a normal working week.

Once a career in electrical work has been chosen, a Junior Electrician is often at the mercy of their employer when it comes to learning new skills and expertise. Alternatively, the mature entrant can gain other training outside of their chosen field, such as gas and plumbing work. They can take on larger jobs and do all the work themselves then – which is a particularly great benefit to domestic clients.

An up to the minute angle – involving a new level of skills – is that of the so called ‘Green Engineer’. The curiosity of both Junior and Mature Electricians to this new industry is well founded especially when considering the power of the UK and the EEC markets in areas of growth and governmental projects.

(C) 2009 – S. Edwards. Navigate to Click HERE or City and Guilds Electrical Courses.

Both if you’re a beginner, or an experienced technician looking to gain acknowledged certifications, there are interactive MCSA (Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator) courses to cater for both student levels.

Each of these options will need a different type of course, so pay attention to check you’re being offered the best one prior to making a start. Identify a training company that takes the time to understand what you’re trying to achieve, and will work with you to sort out how it will all work, long before they start talking about courses.

OK, why ought we to be looking at qualifications from the commercial sector instead of more traditional academic qualifications gained through schools and Further Education colleges?

With a growing demand for specific technological expertise, the IT sector has moved to specialist courses only available through the vendors themselves – in other words companies like Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA. This frequently provides reductions in both cost and time.

Many degrees, as a example, become confusing because of a great deal of background study – and a syllabus that’s too generalised. This prevents a student from getting enough specific knowledge about the core essentials.

When an employer knows what areas they need covered, then they just need to look for the particular skill-set required. The syllabuses are set to meet an exact requirement and aren’t allowed to deviate (as academic syllabuses often do).

The market provides a myriad of employment in IT. Finding the particular one out of this complexity often proves challenging.

How likely is it for us to understand the day-to-day realities of any IT job when we haven’t done that before? Maybe we don’t know someone who performs the role either.

To come through this, we need to discuss a variety of definitive areas:

* Personality factors and interests – what work-centred jobs you love or hate.

* Are you hoping to get certified for a specific motive – e.g. are you pushing to work based at home (self-employment possibly?)?

* The income needs that are important to you?

* There are many ways to train in Information Technology – you’ll need to get a solid grounding on what separates them.

* You need to appreciate the differences between all the training areas.

When all is said and done, your only chance of covering these is through an in-depth discussion with an advisor who knows the industry well enough to lead you to the correct decision.

Some training providers will only provide office hours or extended office hours support; not many go late into the evening (after 8-9pm) or cover weekends properly.

Look for training where you can receive help at any time of day or night (even 1am on Sunday morning!) You’ll need direct-access to qualified mentors and tutors, and not a message system as this will slow you down – consistently being held in a queue for a call-back at a convenient time for them.

Keep your eyes open for providers that utilise many support facilities around the globe in several time-zones. All of them should be combined to enable simple one-stop access together with round-the-clock access, when it’s convenient for you, with no fuss.

Find a training company that cares. As only true live 24×7 round-the-clock support delivers what is required.

It’s essential to have an accredited exam preparation programme included in your course.

Confirm that the mock exams are not only asking questions from the right areas, but also asking them in the way the real exams will structure them. This throws students if the questions are phrased in unfamiliar formats.

Ensure that you analyse whether you’re learning enough by doing tests and practice exams prior to taking the real thing.

(C) S. Edwards 2009. Hop over to www.NewCareersInformation.co.uk/rnci.html or InDesign Courses.

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