Well Done! As you’re looking at this we guess you must be considering getting re-qualified for a new job – so you’ve already done more than most. A small minority of us are pleased to go to work each day, but it’s rare anyone does more than moan. You could join a select group who make a difference in their lives.
Before you make decisions on individual training courses, seek out someone who can help you sort out which area will be right for you. Someone who can get a feel for your personality, and find out the best career for you to work towards:
* Would you like to work with others? If so, do you want a team or are you hoping to meet new people? Or are you better working in isolation?
* Have you given much thought to which sector you could be employed in? (Post credit crunch, it’s more important than ever to choose carefully.)
* Is this the final time you plan to retrain, and therefore, do you suppose your new career will offer that choice?
* Are you worried about the chance of new employment opportunities, and being in demand in the employment market all the way until retirement?
Don’t overlook the IT sector, that’s our recommendation – it’s one of the few growth areas throughout Europe. Another benefit is that remuneration packages are much better than most.
An area that’s often missed by new students considering a training program is the issue of ‘training segmentation’. Basically, this means the way the course is divided up to be delivered to you, which completely controls what you end up with.
Delivery by courier of each element stage by stage, as you complete each module is the typical way that your program will arrive. This sounds logical, but you might like to consider this:
How would they react if you didn’t complete everything at the required speed? Often the prescribed exam order doesn’t come as naturally as another different route may.
To be in the best situation you would have all the learning modules sent to you right at the start; every single thing! This way, nothing can happen down the line which could affect your capability of finishing.
Looking at the myriad of choice out there, is it any wonder that the majority of newcomers to the industry have no idea which career they will follow.
Working through a list of odd-sounding and meaningless job titles is no use whatsoever. The vast majority of us don’t even know what the neighbours do for a living – so we have no hope of understanding the intricacies of a particular IT career.
Arriving at an informed answer really only appears through a careful examination covering many changing key points:
* What hobbies you have and enjoy – often these define what areas will satisfy you.
* Are you looking to achieve a key aim – for example, working from home sometime soon?
* What salary and timescale requirements you may have?
* Getting to grips with what the normal job areas and markets are – and what differentiates them.
* How much effort you’ll commit getting qualified.
In actuality, you’ll find the only real way to research these issues will be via a meeting with an advisor that has experience of IT (and chiefly it’s commercial needs.)
Don’t forget: the actual training or the accreditation is not the ultimate goal; a job that you’re getting the training for is. Too many training companies put too much weight in the certificate itself.
It’s possible, in some situations, to obtain tremendous satisfaction from a year of studying and then find yourself trapped for decades in a job you hate, simply because you did it without some decent due-diligence at the beginning.
Make sure you investigate how you feel about career progression and earning potential, plus your level of ambition. It makes sense to understand what (if any) sacrifices you’ll need to make for a particular role, what particular accreditations will be required and how to develop your experience.
All students are advised to talk with an experienced industry professional before they embark on a retraining programme. This is essential to ensure it contains the commercially required skills for the career path that has been chosen.
The somewhat scary thought of getting your first role in IT can be made easier by some companies, via a Job Placement Assistance facility. Because of the great shortage of skills in Britain right now, there’s no need to make too much of this option though. It’s not as difficult as you may be led to believe to find the right work once you’re trained and certified.
Bring your CV up to date as soon as possible however (advice and support for this should come from your course provider). Don’t wait till you’ve finished your exams.
It can happen that you haven’t even qualified when you’ll secure your initial junior support role; however this isn’t going to happen if interviewers don’t get sight of your CV.
Normally you’ll get quicker results from a specialised and independent local recruitment service than you will through a training course provider’s national service, because they will understand the local industry and employment needs.
Various students, so it seems, spend evenings and weekends on their training and studies (sometimes for years), only to do nothing special when finding the right position. Sell yourself… Do your best to let employers know about you. Don’t think a job’s just going to jump out in front of you.
Author: Scott Edwards. Navigate to How To Choose A Career or New Careers Information.
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