OUT 2 BUY – SCAM ALERT

Nice One! As you’re reading this article it’s likely you’re thinking about retraining for a new career – so already you’ve made a start. Very few of us are happy and fulfilled in our work, but no action is ever taken. Why not be one of a small number who make a difference in their lives.

We’d strongly advise that in advance of taking a training course, you discuss your plans with a person who knows the industry and can give you advice. Such a person will go through personality profiling with you and help you find your ideal job to train for:

* Do you see yourself dealing with people? Would that be with a small ‘tightly-knit’ team or with a lot of new people? Maybe working on your own in isolation would be more your thing?

* Building and Banking are facing difficulties these days, so think carefully about the sector that would suit you best?

* Is this the final time you envisage re-training, and therefore, do you suppose your new career will service that need?

* Would it be useful for the course you’re re-training in to be in an area where you’re comfortable your chances of gainful employment are high up to the time you want to stop?

When listing your options, it’s relevant that one of your key sectors is Information Technology – everyone knows that it’s developing all the time. IT isn’t all techie geeks looking at computer screens every day – we know those roles do exist, but most jobs are done by ordinary people who do very well out of it.

Students often end up having issues because of one area of their training usually not even thought about: The method used to ‘segment’ the courseware before being physically delivered to you.

Typically, you’ll enrol on a course requiring 1-3 years study and get sent one module each time you pass an exam. It seems to make sense on one level, but consider these issues:

What could you expect if you didn’t actually complete each and every exam at the proposed pace? And maybe you’ll find their order of completion won’t fit you as well as some other order of studying might.

For future safety and flexibility, it’s not unusual for students to request that all their modules (now paid for) are couriered out in one package, all at the beginning. You can then decide in which order and at what speed you’d like to take your exams.

Potential trainees hoping to begin an IT career generally don’t know what direction is best, let alone which market to achieve their certification in.

Because without any commercial skills in computing, how should we possibly know what anyone doing a particular job actually does?

Usually, the way to come at this question properly comes from a full talk over a number of areas:

* Your personality type as well as your interests – the sort of work-related things please or frustrate you.

* What sort of time-frame do you want for the retraining?

* Is the money you make further up on your priority-list than other requirements.

* There are many different sectors to gain certifications for in Information Technology – you’ll need to pick up some background information on what makes them different.

* Taking a proper look at what commitment and time that you can put aside.

The best way to avoid all the jargon and confusion, and uncover the most viable option for your success, have a good talk with an industry expert and advisor; an individual that understands the commercial reality and of course each certification.

Think about the following facts very carefully if you believe that old marketing ploy of a guarantee for your exam looks like a reason to buy:

These days, we’re a little bit more aware of sales ploys – and most of us know that for sure it is something we’re paying for (it’s not a freebie because they like us so much!)

Trainees who enter their exams one by one, paying as they go are much better placed to get through first time. They are conscious of their spending and prepare more appropriately to ensure they are ready.

Go for the best offer you can find at the appropriate time, and hang on to your cash. You also get more choice of where you do the examinations – meaning you can choose a local testing centre.

Big margins are secured by a significant number of organisations that incorporate exam fees into the cost of the course. For quite legitimate reasons, a number of students don’t get to do their exams but no refunds are given. Astoundingly enough, there are companies around who rely on that fact – as that’s very profitable for them.

Most companies will insist that you take mock exams first and hold you back from re-takes until you’ve completely proven that you’re likely to pass – which makes an ‘Exam Guarantee’ frankly useless.

Due to typical VUE and Prometric tests coming in at around 112 pounds in the UK, by far the best option is to pay for them as you take them. Not to fork out thousands extra in up-front costs. Commitment, effort and practice with quality exam preparation systems are the factors that really get you through.

Always expect the most up to date Microsoft (or any other key organisation’s) authorised exam preparation and simulation materials.

Some students can get confused by practising exam questions that are not from official boards. Sometimes, the question formats and phraseology is startlingly different and it’s important to prepare yourself for this.

Always request some practice exams that will allow you to test your understanding along the way. Practice or ‘mock’ exams log the information in your brain – then you won’t be quite so nervous at the actual exam.

Copyright 2010 Scott Edwards. Navigate to SQL Server Training Courses or www.squidoo.com/DatabaseTrainingCourses.

Tags: advice, career, computer, education, hardware, hobbies, home, Home Business, job, Self Improvement, software, technology, training, web, work

This entry was posted on Friday, September 24th, 2010 at 10:42 am and is filed under Home Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.