Selecting An IT Training Course
There are lots of study choices on the market for people who’d like to get into the IT industry. To help you decide on the right one for you, search for companies that will help you find an ideal career for your personality, or at least explain the job responsibilities, so you can be sure you’ve found the right one. Why not try user skills courses, or become a specialist IT professional. Technologically advanced courses will help you to realise your dreams.
With such a range of competitively priced, easily understood training programs and help, you’re sure to find a course that will get you into industry.
Consider only training paths that’ll move onto industry approved exams. There are loads of trainers promoting their own ‘in-house’ certificates which will prove unusable in the real world. All the major IT organisations such as Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA or Adobe have widely approved skills programmes. These heavyweights can make sure you stand out at interview.
Many companies are all about the certification, and avoid focusing on why you’re doing this - which will always be getting the job or career you want. Always start with where you want to get to - don’t get hung-up on the training vehicle. Students often train for a single year but end up doing a job for a lifetime. Don’t make the mistake of choosing what sounds like an ‘interesting’ course only to waste your life away with something you don’t even enjoy!
Set targets for how much you want to earn and the level of your ambition. This will influence what precise accreditations will be expected and what’ll be expected of you in your new role. Our recommendation would be to take guidance from an industry professional before making your final decision on a training program, so there’s little doubt that the chosen route will give you the skills for the job being sought.
It’s essential to have the current Microsoft (or Cisco, CompTIA etc.) authorised exam preparation packages. Ensure that the exams you practice haven’t just got questions in the right areas, but are also posing them in the way that the actual final exam will structure them. This throws people if the questions are phrased in unfamiliar formats. A way to build self-confidence is if you test how much you know by doing tests and practice exams before you take the real thing.
Most commercial training providers will only offer support available from 9-6 (office hours) and sometimes later on specific days; very few go late in the evening or at weekends. Never buy training that only supports you through a message system when it’s outside of usual working hours. Companies will always try to hide the importance of this issue. But, no matter how they put it - you want to be supported when you need the help - not when it’s convenient for them.
Keep looking and you’ll come across professional training packages which recommend and use direct-access support at all times - at any time of day or night. Never make do with a lower level of service. Support round-the-clock is the only kind that ever makes the grade for computer-based courses. Maybe late-evening study is not your thing; usually though, we’re out at work at the time when most support is available.
Usually, trainers will provide a big box of books. Learning like this is dull and repetitive and not really conducive to studying effectively. Research into the way we learn shows that memory is aided when we receive multi-sensorial input, and we get physically involved with the study process.
Interactive full motion video utilising video demo’s and practice lab’s beat books hands-down. And they’re a lot more fun to do. Be sure to get a demonstration of the study materials from the school that you’re considering. The materials should incorporate expert-led demonstrations, slideshows and lab’s for you to practice your skills in.
You should avoid purely online training. Always choose CD or DVD based study materials where offered, enabling them to be used at your convenience - and not be totally reliant on your broadband being ‘up’ 100 percent of the time.
