We all have busy lives, and inevitably should we have cause to advance our future prospects, training outside of working hours is the only option open to us. Training tracks certified by Microsoft can be the way to do it.
It’s a good idea to look for a person who’s got industry experience, who can offer guidance on which area of the industry would be best, and what sort of tasks are appropriate for an individual with your abilities and personal preferences.
Insist that your course is personalised to your current level of knowledge and ability. Select a company that will ensure that your training program is purpose built for the career you want to get into.
Adding in the cost of examination fees up-front and offering an ‘Exam Guarantee’ is a common method with many training course providers. However, let’s consider what’s really going on:
It’s very clear we’re still being charged for it – it’s quite obvious to see that it’s been added into the overall price charged by the course provider. Certainly, it’s not a freebie (it’s just marketing companies think we’ll fall for anything they say!)
Should you seriously need to pass first time, then the most successful route is to pay for one exam at a time, focus on it intently and give the task sufficient application.
Why should you pay a training college at the start of the course for examinations? Hold on to your money and pay for the exam at the appropriate time, rather than pay marked up fees – and do it locally – instead of miles away at the college’s beck and call.
Huge profits are secured by a number of companies who get money upfront for exam fees. For various reasons, many students don’t take their exams and so they pocket the rest. Believe it or not, there are training companies who actually bank on it – and that’s how they increase their profits.
Also, many exam guarantees are worthless. The majority of companies won’t be prepared to pay for you to re-take until you can prove to them you’re ready to pass.
Exam fees averaged about 112 pounds in the last 12 months via UK VUE or Prometric centres. So don’t be talked into shelling out hundreds or thousands of pounds more for ‘an Exam Guarantee’, when any student knows that the best guarantee is a commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools.
Don’t accept anything less than the current Microsoft (or any other key organisation’s) authorised exam preparation packages.
Don’t go for training programs depending on unofficial exam preparation questions. The way they’re phrased is often somewhat different – and this could lead to potential problems in the actual examination.
Practice exams will prove invaluable for confidence building – so that when you come to take the real deal, you will be much more relaxed.
Have a conversation with any capable consultant and you’ll be surprised by their many horror stories of students who’ve been sold completely the wrong course for them. Only deal with an experienced advisor that asks some in-depth questions to discover the most appropriate thing for you – not for their bank-account! You need to find a starting-point that will suit you.
An important point to note is that, if you have some relevant accreditation or direct-experience, then you can sometimes expect to start at a different point than someone who is new to the field.
Starting with a user skills program first will sometimes be the most effective way to commence your IT training, depending on your current skill level.
Remember: a training itself or an accreditation isn’t the end-goal; a job that you’re getting the training for is. A lot of colleges seem to put too much weight in the actual accreditation.
Imagine training for just one year and then end up doing the actual job for 10-20 years. Don’t make the mistake of taking what may be a very ‘interesting’ program and then put 10-20 years into an unrewarding career!
Be honest with yourself about the income level you aspire to and what level of ambition fits you. Often, this changes which precise exams will be required and what’ll be expected of you in your new role.
The best advice for students is to talk with experienced industry personnel before following a particular learning program. This helps to ensure it contains the commercially required skills for the chosen career path.
(C) 2009. Navigate to LearningLolly.com for intelligent advice on Database Training and SQL Server Training.
Tags: advice, career, computer, education, games, hobbies, home, money, self improvement, shop, software, technology, Uncategorized, web, work