Well Done! By landing here we guess you must be considering getting re-qualified for a new job – so you’ve already done more than most. Only one in ten of us are satisfied with our careers, but most complain but just stay there. Why not be one of a small number who make a difference in their lives.
We recommend you seek advice first – find an industry expert; an advisor who can discover your ideal job, and offer only the career tracks that will suit you:
* Do you like working on your own or do you find company is an important option?
* What elements are you looking for from the market sector you work in? (Building and banking – not so stable as they once were.)
* Is this the final time you envisage re-training, and if it is, will this new career offer that choice?
* Do you think being qualified will give you the chance to find the work you’re looking for, and remain in employment until your retirement plans kick in?
Think about the IT sector, that will be time well spent – it’s one of the few market sectors still on the grow in this country and overseas. Salaries are also more generous than most.
A major candidate for the top potential problem in IT training is often the ‘in-centre’ workshop requirement. Most training schools extol the virtues of the ‘benefits’ of going in to their classes, however, they quickly become a major problem because of:
* All the travelling required – multiple journeys and usually 100’s of miles each time.
* Weekday accessibility to events can be usual, and with 2-3 days to book off work, this is usually problematic for most working students.
* Most of us find 4 weeks off each year is not really enough. Spend at least half of this for educational classes and you’ll experience even more problems.
* Classes often end up too big.
* Tension can run high in many classes where different students want to work at different paces.
* The growing costs associated with travel – driving or taking public transport to the training facility plus several days bed and breakfast can mount up each time you attend. With only 5-10 centre-days costing 35 pounds for a single over-night room, plus 40 pounds petrol and 15.00 for food, that equates to four to nine hundred pounds of costs that we weren’t expecting.
* Do you really want the chance of letting yourself be side-stepped for a lift up the ladder or income boosts just because you’re retraining.
* Most of us find that, at times, it’s uncomfortable to raise questions in a class full of other trainees – who wants to look like they’re the only one who doesn’t get it?
* It should be remembered that days in-centre become basically unreachable, if you work elsewhere in the country for days at a time.
It really does make more sense to be taught when it’s convenient for you – not the company – and use instructor-led videos with interactive lab’s.
Consider… With a laptop you can work in any location you choose. And live 24 hr-a-day support is an online click away when you get challenged.
Just do the modules at any time you need to revise. And of course, you won’t need to take notes as you have the lesson indefinitely.
Even though this doesn’t suddenly take away all study problems, it surely removes stress and makes things simpler. And you’ve reduced travel, hassle and costs.
Have a conversation with any expert advisor and they can normally tell you many terrible tales of students who’ve been sold completely the wrong course for them. Ensure you only ever work with an industry professional that asks some in-depth questions to find out what’s right for you – not for their paycheque! It’s very important to locate the right starting point of study for you.
If you have a strong background, or sometimes a little work-based experience (some certifications gained previously perhaps?) then it could be that your starting level will be quite dissimilar from someone with no background whatsoever.
Commencing with a user skills course first is often the best way to get into your computer training, but really depends on your level of familiarity with computers.
