It’s really great that you’ve already got this far! A fraction of the population enjoy their work and find it stimulating, but vast numbers just go off on one from time to time and do nothing. Because you’ve done research it’s likely that you’ve a personal interest in re-training, so even now you’re ahead of the game. Take your time now to find out more and then take action.
Prior to considering individual training courses, find an expert who can talk you through the right type of training for you. A person who will get to know your personality, and discover what job role you’ll be most comfortable with:
* Do you want to interact with other people? If so, do you want a team or is meeting new people important to you? Maybe you’d rather be left alone to get on with things?
* Have you given much thought to which sector you choose to work in? (With the economic downturn, it’s even more crucial to be selective.)
* Having completed your retraining, would you like your skills to take you through to retirement?
* Do you expect your new knowledge base to give you the chance to find the work you’re looking for, and stay employable until your retirement plans kick in?
We would strongly recommend that your number one choice is the IT sector – everyone knows that it’s on the grow. It’s not all nerdy people looking at computer screens constantly – of course some IT jobs demand that, but the majority of roles are done by ordinary people who get on very well.
Often, trainers provide mainly work-books and reference manuals. It’s not a very interesting way to learn and not really conducive to achieving retention.
Years of research and study has always demonstrated that an ‘involved’ approach to study, where we utilise all our senses, will more likely produce memories that are deeper and longer-lasting.
Courses are now available in disc format, where your computer becomes the centre of your learning. Utilising the latest video technology, you are able to see your instructors showing you how something is done, and then practice yourself – via the interactive virtual lab’s.
Always insist on a look at some courseware examples from any training college. You should ask for slide-shows, instructor-led videos and virtual practice lab’s for your new skills.
It’s folly to opt for on-line only training. Connection quality and reliability varies hugely across your average broadband company, ensure that you have access to disc based courseware (On CD or DVD).
The way a programme is physically sent to you isn’t always given the appropriate level of importance. How many parts is the training broken down into? And in what order and what control do you have at what pace it arrives?
The majority of training companies will set up a program spread over 1-3 years, and send out each piece as you complete each section or exam. This sounds reasonable until you consider the following:
What if you find the order pushed by the company’s salespeople doesn’t suit all of us. What if you find it hard to complete all the sections within the time limits imposed?
Put simply, the very best answer is to have a copy of their prescribed order of study, but make sure you have all of your learning modules right from the beginning. You then have everything if you don’t manage to finish inside of their required time-scales.
Trainees eager to start an Information Technology career often have no idea of which route to consider, or which area to get qualified in.
Flicking through a list of IT job-titles is a complete waste of time. The majority of us don’t really appreciate what the neighbours do for a living – so we’re in the dark as to the intricacies of a particular IT career.
The key to answering this dilemma correctly stems from an in-depth conversation around several areas:
* The sort of individual you reckon you are – the tasks that you enjoy doing, and on the other side of the coin – what you definitely don’t enjoy.
* Why it seems right getting involved with computing – is it to achieve a life-long goal like working from home maybe.
* How important is salary to you – is it the most important thing, or is job satisfaction a little higher on your list of priorities?
* Understanding what typical career areas and markets are – plus how they’re different to each other.
* You have to appreciate the differences between each area of training.
To completely side-step the confusing industry jargon, and discover the most viable option for your success, have an in-depth discussion with an advisor with years of experience; someone that can impart the commercial reality whilst covering all the qualifications.
Far too many companies only concern themselves with gaining a certificate, and completely miss what you actually need – getting yourself a new job or career. Always begin with where you want to get to – don’t make the vehicle more important than the destination.
It’s quite usual, in many cases, to find immense satisfaction in a year of study only to end up putting 20 long years into something completely unrewarding, as a consequence of not performing the correct level of soul-searching at the beginning.
Stay focused on what it is you’re trying to achieve, and build your study action-plan from that – don’t do it back-to-front. Keep on track and begin studying for a job you’ll still be enjoying many years from now.
It’s worth seeking help from a professional that can best explain the industry you think may suit you, and is able to give you ‘A day in the life of’ type of explanation for that career-path. These things are incredibly important because you need to know whether or not you’ve chosen correctly.
(C) 2009 Scott Edwards. Browse around Click HERE or Graphic Design Courses.