Training in Computer Support - Update
Well done! Hitting upon this feature suggests you’re thinking about your future, and if it’s re-training you’re considering you’ve already done more than almost everybody else. Did you know that hardly any of us describe ourselves as contented at work - but most will just put up with it. We encourage you to be different and move forward - you have the rest of your life to enjoy it.
When considering retraining, it’s vital to first define your requirements from the position you’d like to train for. You need to know that things would be a lot better before much time and effort is spent re-directing your life. It’s good sense to regard the big picture first, to make an informed decision:
* Is having company at work important to you? Are you better with new people or those you know well? Or you may prefer task-orientated work that you can complete alone?
* What thoughts do you have with regard to the industry you’ll work in?
* Once you’ve trained, how many years work do anticipate working, and will the market sector offer you that opportunity?
* Would you like your study to be in an industry where you believe your chances of gainful employment are high until retirement?
We would advise that you consider Information Technology - it’s well known that it is one of the few growth sectors. It’s not all nerdy people looking at computer screens constantly - naturally some IT jobs demand that, but the majority of roles are carried out by people like you and me who get on very well.
Finding your first job in the industry is often made easier with a Job Placement Assistance program. At the end of the day it isn’t so complicated as you might think to land a job - as long as you’re correctly trained and certified; the shortage of IT personnel in Britain looks after that.
Having said that, it’s important to have help and assistance with preparing a CV and getting interviews though; also we would encourage any student to get their CV updated right at the beginning of their training - don’t put it off till you’ve finished your exams.
Getting your CV considered is more than not being known. A surprising amount of junior positions are bagged by trainees (sometimes when they’ve only just got going.)
The top companies to help get you placed are generally local IT focused employment agencies. Because they get paid commission to place you, they have more incentive to get on with it.
A big frustration for a number of training providers is how much people are focused on studying to get top marks in their exams, but how un-prepared they are to work on getting the role they’ve acquired skills for. Get out there and hustle - you might find it’s fun.
Don’t get hung-up, as many people do, on the certification itself. Training is not an end in itself; you should be geared towards the actual job at the end of it. You need to remain focused on where you want to go.
Students often train for a single year but end up performing the job-role for decades. Don’t make the mistake of choosing what sounds like an ‘interesting’ training program only to spend 20 years doing a job you hate!
Never let your focus stray from what you want to achieve, and build your study action-plan from that - avoid getting them back-to-front. Keep your eyes on your goals and study for something you’ll enjoy for years to come.
It’s good advice for all students to speak with an industry professional before following a particular study program. This gives some measure of assurance that it contains the commercially required skills for the chosen career path.
Starting with the idea that we have to locate the market that sounds most inviting first and foremost, before we’re able to chew over what method of training would meet that requirement, how do we decide on the right path?
Perusing long lists of different and confusing job titles is a complete waste of time. Surely, most of us have no idea what our own family members do for a living - so we have no hope of understanding the ins and outs of any specific IT role.
Getting to the right answer really only appears through a thorough investigation of many unique criteria:
* What hobbies you have and enjoy - these can point towards what areas will give you the most reward.
* Why you’re looking at starting in Information Technology - it could be you’re looking to overcome a particular goal such as working for yourself maybe.
* Does salary have a higher place on your priority-scale than some other areas.
* Considering the huge variation that Information Technology encapsulates, it’s a requirement that you can take in how they differ.
* The time and energy you’ll commit your training.
The best way to avoid the industry jargon, and discover what’ll really work for you, have an informal meeting with an advisor with years of experience; someone who understands the commercial reality whilst covering all the qualifications.
Watch out that all accreditations you’re considering doing will be commercially viable and are up-to-date. The ‘in-house’ certifications provided by many companies are not normally useful in gaining employment.
Unless your qualification is issued by a company like Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco or Adobe, then it’s likely it will be commercially useless - because it won’t give an employer any directly-useable skills.
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