As your research has brought you here it’s possible that you’re about to make a move into the great world of IT and you’ve heard good things about MCSE’s, or you’re currently an IT professional and you’ve realised that your career is blocked until your get an MCSE.
As you do your searches, you’ll hit upon training companies that compromise their offerings by not upgrading their courses to the current Microsoft version. Don’t use these companies as you’ll have problems with the present exams. If your knowledge is of the wrong version, it is going to be hugely difficult to get qualified.
Training providers must be devoted to finding the right path for their clients. Directing study is as much about guiding people on establishing which way to go, as much as giving them help to get there.
One crafty way that training providers make more money is via an ‘exam inclusive’ package then giving it ‘Exam Guarantee’ status. It looks impressive, until you think it through:
Clearly it’s not free – you’re still being charged for it – it’s just been included in your package price.
Those who enter their exams one by one, funding them one at a time are in a much stronger position to qualify at the first attempt. They’re thoughtful of their investment and so are more inclined to make sure they’re ready.
Don’t pay up-front, but seek out the best deal for you when you take the exam, and save having to find the money early. You’ll then be able to select where you take your exam – so you can choose somewhere closer to home.
Is there a good reason to pay interest on a bigger loan than is necessary because you’ve paid early for examination fees when you didn’t need to? Big margins are netted by organisations getting paid upfront for exams – and then hoping that you won’t take them all.
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 actually leaves you with no guarantee at all.
The cost of exams was approximately 112 pounds last year when taken at VUE or Pro-metric centres in the UK. So why pay hundreds or thousands of pounds extra to get ‘Exam Guarantees’, when any student knows that the most successful method is a commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools.
Please understand this most important point: You have to get round-the-clock 24×7 instructor support. We can tell you that you’ll strongly regret it if you don’t follow this rule rigidly.
Don’t accept certification programs which can only support trainees with an out-sourced call-centre message system when it’s outside of usual working hours. Colleges will try to talk you round from this line of reasoning. But, no matter how they put it – you need support when you need support – not as-and-when it’s suitable for their staff.
Top training providers offer a web-based 24×7 package involving many support centres from around the world. You will have an interface that accesses the most appropriate office no matter what time of day it is: Support on demand.
Seek out a training company that cares. Only proper live 24×7 round-the-clock support gives you the confidence to make it.
Looking around, we find a myriad of jobs and positions available in the IT industry. Picking the right one for you often proves challenging.
How likely is it for us to understand the day-to-day realities of any IT job when it’s an alien environment to us? Maybe we don’t know someone who works in that sector anyway.
Generally, the way to deal with this predicament properly comes from a thorough chat, covering some important points:
* What nature of individual you are – what kind of jobs you enjoy doing, plus of course – what you definitely don’t enjoy.
* What length of time can you allocate for your training?
* What priority do you place on travelling time and locality vs salary?
* Often, trainees don’t consider the level of commitment required to attain their desired level.
* You need to appreciate the differences between all the training areas.
The bottom line is, the only real way of covering these is by means of a good talk with an experienced advisor who through years of experience will provide solid advice.
So many training providers only look at the plaque to hang on your wall, and forget why you’re doing this – which will always be getting the job or career you want. You should always begin with the final destination in mind – don’t make the vehicle more important than the destination.
It’s a sad fact, but a large percentage of students commence training that sounds wonderful in the prospectus, but which provides the end-result of a job that is of no interest at all. Talk to many university graduates to see what we mean.
You also need to know what your attitude is towards earning potential, career development, and whether you intend to be quite ambitious. It’s vital to know what will be expected of you, which particular qualifications will be required and how you’ll gain real-world experience.
The best advice for students is to speak to a professional advisor before deciding on their study course. This gives some measure of assurance that it has the required elements for the career that is sought.
A knowledgeable and practiced advisor (in contrast with a salesperson) will ask questions and seek to comprehend your current experience level and abilities. This is paramount to establishing the starting point for your education.
With a bit of work-based experience or certification, you may find that your starting point is now at a different level to a new student.
It’s usual to start with some basic PC skills training first. This can help whip your basic knowledge into shape and make the slope up to the higher-levels a much more gentle.
(C) Jason Kendall. Pop to LearningLolly.com for intelligent ideas on MCSE 2003 Training and MCSA Certification.
