A very small number of men and women in this country are pleased and contented with their working life. Inevitably, huge numbers will do nothing about it. You’ve reached this paragraph, which at least suggests that change is beckoning.
We’d politely request that in advance of taking a course of training, you discuss your plans with a person who has knowledge of the industry and can give you advice. The right person will be able to assess your personal likes and dislikes and help you sort out a role to fit you:
* Is collaborating with others important to you? Would that be with the same people or with many new people? Maybe working on your own on specific tasks could suit you better?
* Which criteria’s are fundamentally important when considering the market sector you’ll work in?
* After re-training, how long a career do you hope for, and can the industry you choose give you the confidence that will happen?
* Do you have niggles about the chance of getting new work, and being in demand in the employment market to the end of your working life?
When listing your options, it’s relevant that one of your key sectors is the IT sector – it’s common knowledge that it is one of the few growth sectors. It’s not full of geeky individuals staring at computers all day – it’s true some IT jobs demand that, but most jobs are filled with people like you and me who get on very well.
Student support is absolutely essential – look for a package that includes 24×7 access, as anything less will frustrate you and could put a damper on the speed you move through things.
Avoid those companies who use ‘out-of-hours’ call-centres – with the call-back coming in during standard office hours. It’s no use when you’re stuck on a problem and need an answer now.
Be on the lookout for training programs that incorporate three or four individual support centres from around the world. Every one of them needs to be seamlessly combined to offer a simple interface together with 24 hours-a-day access, when it suits you, with the minimum of hassle.
If you accept anything less than direct-access 24×7 support, you’ll regret it. It may be that you don’t use it during the night, but you may need weekends, evenings and early mornings at some point.
Considering the amount of options that are available, there’s no surprise that a large percentage of students balk at what job they will follow.
How can we possibly grasp what is involved in a particular job when we’ve never done it? Often we have never met anyone who performs the role either.
To come through this, we need to discuss a variety of definitive areas:
* The kind of person you think yourself to be – what kind of jobs you really enjoy, and conversely – what makes you unhappy.
* Are you looking to reach an important objective – like working for yourself sometime soon?
* The income needs that guide you?
* There are many ways to train in the IT industry – there’s a need to achieve some key facts on what makes them different.
* You will need to understand what differentiates each area of training.
To bypass the barrage of jargon, and reveal what’ll really work for you, have an informal chat with an industry-experienced advisor; an individual who appreciates and can explain the commercial realities as well as each qualification.
Validated exam preparation packages are vital – and absolutely ought to be sought from your training company.
Don’t fall foul of relying on unauthorised exam papers and questions. The terminology of their questions is often somewhat different – and this could lead to potential problems when the proper exam time arrives.
Practice exams can be very useful as a resource to you – so that when you come to take your actual exams, you don’t get uptight.
A subtle way that colleges make a lot more is by adding exam fees upfront to the cost of a course then giving it ‘Exam Guarantee’ status. This sounds impressive, but let’s just examine it more closely:
These days, we tend to be a tad more knowledgeable about sales gimmicks – and most of us know that for sure it is something we’re paying for – it’s not because they’re so generous they want to give something away!
The fact is that if a student pays for each progressive exam, one at a time, they’ll be in a better position to get through on the first attempt – because they’ll think of what they’ve paid and will therefore apply themselves appropriately.
Take your exams somewhere local and go for the best offer you can find when you’re ready.
Is there a good reason to pay interest on a bigger loan than is necessary because you’ve paid early for examination fees when there was no need to? Big margins are netted by organisations charging all their exam fees up-front – and hoping either that you won’t take them, or it will be a long time before you do.
You should fully understand that re-takes through companies who offer an ‘Exam Guarantee’ are monitored with tight restrictions. They will insist that you take pre-tests first until you’ve demonstrated an excellent ability to pass.
With average Prometric and VUE examinations costing in the region of 112 pounds in this country, it makes sense to pay as you go. It’s not in the student’s interests to fork out hundreds or thousands of pounds for exams when enrolling on a course. Study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will really guarantee success.
Author: Scott Edwards. Pop over to CCNA Training or Click HERE.