Does an MCSE appeal to you? If the answer’s ‘yes’, there’s a good chance that you’ll fall into one of the following categories: You are a knowledgeable person and you’d like to gain accreditation with an MCSE. In contrast this might be your initial foray into the computer workplace, and your research tells you that there are many opportunities for people with the right qualifications.

As you try to find out more, you’ll come across training companies that short-change you by not upgrading their courses to the current Microsoft version. Avoid these companies as you’ll have problems with the present exams. If you are studying the wrong version, it is going to be hugely difficult to get qualified.

Training companies must be dedicated to discovering the ultimate program for their students. Educational direction is equally concerned with guiding people on establishing where to go, as it is giving them help to reach their destination.

Most trainers only provide support to you inside of office hours (typically 9am-6pm) and sometimes a little earlier or later; It’s rare to find someone who offers late evening or full weekend cover.

Find a good quality service where you can access help at any time you choose (even 1am on Sunday morning!) Make sure it’s always 24×7 direct access to mentors and instructors, and not a message system as this will slow you down – parked in a queue of others waiting to be called back at a convenient time for them.

We recommend that you search for training schools that use several support centres around the globe in several time-zones. These should be integrated to provide a single interface and round-the-clock access, when it’s convenient for you, with no hassle.

If you fail to get yourself online 24×7 support, you’ll very quickly realise that you’ve made a mistake. It may be that you don’t use it late in the night, but what about weekends, late evenings or early mornings.

We can guess that you’ve always enjoyed practical work – the ‘hands-on’ person. If you’re anything like us, the world of book-reading and classrooms is something you’ll force on yourself if you absolutely have to, but it doesn’t suit your way of doing things. Consider interactive, multimedia study if books just don’t do it for you.

Learning psychology studies show that memory is aided when all our senses are involved, and we take action to use what we’ve learned.

The latest home-based training features easy-to-use DVD or CD ROM’s. By watching and listening to instructors on video tutorials you’ll absorb the modules, one by one, via the demonstrations and explanations. Then it’s time to test your knowledge by interacting with the software and practicing yourself.

Any company that you’re considering should willingly take you through some simple examples of their courseware. You’re looking for evidence of tutorial videos and demonstrations and interactive areas to practice in.

Some companies only have access to purely on-line training; while you can get away with this much of the time, consider what happens if you lose your internet access or you get slow speeds and down-time etc. It’s preferable to have actual CD or DVD ROMs that will solve that problem.

A proficient and specialised advisor (as opposed to a salesman) will cover in some detail your current level of ability and experience. This is useful for working out your starting point for training.

With some work-based experience or qualifications, it may be that your starting point of study is not the same as someone new to the industry.

If you’re a new trainee starting IT studies and exams from scratch, it can be useful to ease in gradually, beginning with some basic PC skills training first. This can be built into most accreditation programs.

Of course: a training course or an accreditation is not the ultimate goal; a job you’re training for is. A lot of colleges seem to over-emphasise the qualification itself.

It’s a sad fact, but a great many students commence training that sounds spectacular from the sales literature, but which provides the end-result of a job that is of no interest. Talk to many college leavers to see what we mean.

You’ll want to understand the expectations of your industry. What particular exams they’ll want you to gain and how to gain experience. It’s definitely worth spending time assessing how far you’d like to progress your career as it will present a very specific set of accreditations.

Talk to an experienced industry professional who has a background in the industry you’re considering, and who’ll explain to you a detailed run-down of what to expect in that role. Getting to the bottom of all this before commencement of any training path will prevent a lot of wasted time and effort.

(C) 2009 – S. Edwards. Browse around www.HowToChooseACareer.co.uk/vhtcac.html or MCDST Courses.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Filed under: Computers and Technology

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!