Are you toying with the idea of doing an MCSE? It’s very possible then that it’s likely you’ll come into one of two categories: You’re currently an IT professional and you’d like to gain accreditation with the Microsoft qualification. Alternatively you might be just about to enter the IT environment, and you’ve found that there are many opportunities for certified networking professionals.
When researching MCSE’s, you’ll hit upon training companies that lower their out-goings by failing to provide the latest version from Microsoft. Avoid such training providers as you will face problems at exam time. If you are studying the wrong version, it will make it very difficult to pass.
Don’t get bullied into a course without the right advice. Find a training provider that will make sure that you’re on an appropriate training track for your requirements.
Consider only retraining programs which will lead to industry accepted accreditations. There’s an endless list of small companies pushing their own ‘in-house’ certificates which are worthless when it comes to finding a job.
You’ll find that only recognised certification from companies such as Microsoft, Cisco, Adobe and CompTIA will open the doors to employers.
A service that many training companies provide is job placement assistance. This is to assist your search for your first position. The need for this feature can be bigged up out of proportion though – it’s quite easy for eager sales people to overplay it. The fact of the matter is, the still growing need for IT personnel in the UK is why employers will be interested in you.
You would ideally have advice and support about your CV and interviews though; also we would encourage all students to update their CV the day they start training – don’t delay for when you’re ready to start work.
It can happen that you haven’t even passed your first exam when you will get your initial junior support role; yet this is not possible unless you’ve posted your CV on job sites.
If you’d like to keep travelling time and costs to a minimum, then it’s quite likely that an independent and specialised local employment service may be more appropriate than some national concern, for they’re going to be familiar with the jobs that are going locally.
Please make sure you don’t put hundreds of hours of effort into your studies, just to give up and leave it up to everyone else to secure your first position. Stop procrastinating and start looking for yourself. Invest as much time and energy into finding a good job as it took to get qualified.
Commercial certification is now, without a doubt, taking over from the traditional academic paths into the IT sector – but why should this be?
With the costs of academic degree’s becoming a tall order for many, and the IT sector’s increasing awareness that corporate based study is often far more commercially relevant, there’s been a dramatic increase in Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe accredited training programmes that create knowledgeable employees for considerably less.
Patently, a certain portion of closely linked knowledge must be taught, but essential specifics in the exact job role gives a vendor educated student a huge edge.
It’s a bit like the TV advert: ‘It does what it says on the tin’. All an employer has to do is know what areas need to be serviced, and then match up the appropriate exam numbers as a requirement. That way they can be sure they’re interviewing applicants who can do the job.
We can’t make a big enough deal out of this point: It’s essential to obtain proper 24×7 round-the-clock support from professional instructors. Later, you’ll kick yourself if you don’t heed this.
Be wary of any training providers which use ‘out-of-hours’ call-centres – with the call-back coming in during standard office hours. It’s not a lot of help when you’ve got study issues and could do with an answer during your scheduled study period.
We recommend that you search for training programs that have multiple support offices around the globe in several time-zones. These should be integrated to offer a simple interface as well as 24×7 access, when it’s convenient for you, with no 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 in the middle of the night, but consider weekends, late evenings or early mornings.
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