by Jason Kendall
Should you be wanting to study a course to qualify for an MCSE, it’s likely you’ll come into one of two categories. You may want to enter the world of IT, and you’ve found this commercial sector has many opportunities for those with appropriate certifications. Instead you may be already a professional ready to formalise your skills with the MCSE qualification.
When looking into training companies, don’t use any that cut costs by failing to up-grade to the current Microsoft version. Over time, this will end up costing the student much more because they’ve been learning from an old version of MCSE which will require an up-date very quickly. Be aware of training colleges who’re just trying to sell you something. Realise that buying an MCSE course is similar to buying a car. They vary hugely; some are reliable and will get you there in comfort, whilst others will constantly let you down. A valid provider will offer you plenty of help to make sure a course is right for you. If they’re confident of their product, they’ll show you examples of it before buying anything.
When did you last consider how safe your job is? For most people, this issue only becomes a talking point when something goes wrong. But in today’s marketplace, the painful truth is that job security doesn’t really exist anymore, for all but the most lucky of us. Of course, a fast growing sector, with a constant demand for staff (due to a big shortfall of fully trained staff), opens the possibility of lasting job security.
The computer industry skills shortfall around the country is standing at just over 26 percent, as shown by the 2006 e-Skills analysis. Alternatively, you could say, this means that the country is only able to source 3 certified professionals for each 4 positions that exist currently. This fundamental certainty highlights the urgent need for more properly qualified IT professionals in the country. Actually, gaining new qualifications in IT throughout the years to come is most likely the safest career choice you could ever make.
Picking up on all this talk on the area of computing technology at present, how is it possible to know what precisely to look for?
A fatal Faux-Pas that students everywhere can make is to choose a career based on a course, instead of focusing on the end result they want to achieve. Training academies are full of direction-less students that chose a program because it looked interesting – rather than what would get them their end-goal of a job they enjoyed. You could be training for only a year and end up doing a job for a lifetime. Don’t make the mistake of finding what seems like a very ‘interesting’ program only to spend 20 years doing an unrewarding career!
You also need to know your feelings on earning potential and career progression, and whether you intend to be quite ambitious. It makes sense to understand what will be expected of you, what particular accreditations are required and where you’ll pick-up experience from. We recommend that students seek guidance and advice from a skilled advisor before embarking on a study programme, so you’re sure from the outset that the chosen route will give you the skill-set required for your career choice.
The classroom style of learning we remember from school, utilising reference manuals and books, is an up-hill struggle for the majority of us. If this describes you, find training programs which have a majority of interactive, multimedia parts. Research has consistently verified that connecting physically with our study, will more likely produce memories that are deeper and longer-lasting.
The latest audio-visual interactive programs with demonstrations and practice sessions will forever turn you away from traditional book study. And you’ll actually enjoy doing them. Always insist on a training material demonstration from the training company. You should ask for expert-led demonstrations, slideshows and interactive labs where you get to practice.
It’s unwise to opt for on-line only training. Because of the variable quality and reliability of most broadband providers, make sure you get actual CD or DVD ROM’s.
Many students come unstuck over a single courseware aspect which is often not even considered: How the training is broken down and sent out to you. Trainees may consider it sensible (with most training taking 1-3 years for a full commercial certification,) for a training company to release the training stage by stage, as you achieve each exam pass. However: What happens when you don’t complete every section? What if you don’t find their order of learning is ideal for you? Due to no fault of yours, you may not meet the required timescales and consequently not get all your materials.
The ideal circumstances are to get all the learning modules packed off to you right at the start; the entire package! Then, nothing can hinder your progress.
Most training companies will only provide support available from 9-6 (office hours) and sometimes later on specific days; It’s rare to find someone who offers late evening or full weekend cover. some companies only provide email support (slow), and so-called telephone support is normally just routed to a call-centre who will chat nicely with you for 5 minutes to ask what the issue is and then simply send an email to an instructor – who will attempt to call you within 24-48 hrs, when it suits them. This is all next to useless if you’re lost and confused and have a one hour time-slot in which to study.
It’s possible to find professional training packages who recommend and use direct-access online support around the clock – at any time of day or night. Never ever take second best with the quality of your support. Most students who can’t get going properly, are in that situation because of support (or the lack of).
Always expect an authorised exam preparation system as part of your course package. Due to the fact that many IT examining boards are American, you need to become familiar with their phraseology. It’s no use simply going through the right questions – it’s essential that you can cope with them in the proper exam format. For many reasons, it is really important to make sure you are completely prepared for your commercial exam prior to doing it. Rehearsing mock-up tests adds to your knowledge bank and helps to avoid unsuccessful attempts at exams.
One useful service provided by many trainers is job placement assistance. This is to assist your search for your first position. With the growing demand for appropriately skilled people in this country right now, it’s not too important to get too caught up in this feature though. It isn’t so complicated as you might think to get a job once you’re trained and certified.
However, what is relevant is to have CV and Interview advice and support though; and we’d recommend everyone to bring their CV up to date right at the beginning of their training – don’t procrastinate and leave it until you’ve qualified. It’s possible that you won’t have even taken your exams when you will be offered your first junior support job; although this can’t and won’t happen if your CV isn’t in front of employers. Most often, a local IT focused employment service – who make their money when they’ve found you a job – is going to give you a better service than a centralised training company’s service. Also of course they should know the local area and commercial needs.
Not inconsiderable numbers of people, it seems, conscientiously work through their course materials (sometimes for years), and then just stop instead of finding a job. Promote yourself… Do everything you can to let employers know about you. Don’t think a job’s just going to jump out in front of you.
About the Author:
Jason Kendall has been in the IT industry for 20 yrs. He thinks he knows what he’s talking about by now. If you’re interested in
MCSE Certification, visit LearningLolly
MCSE Courses.