Does an MCSE appeal to you? If so, it’s probable that it’s likely you’ll come into one of two categories: You’re someone with a certain amount of knowledge and you’d like to consolidate your skill-set with the Microsoft qualification. Alternatively you might be just about to enter the computer workplace, and research demonstrates there’s lots of demand for men and women who are commercially qualified.
As you find out about training providers, ensure that you steer clear of those that short-change you by failing to provide the latest version from Microsoft. This is a false economy for the trainee as they will have been learning from outdated MCSE course material which doesn’t correspond to the current exam syllabus, so it could be impossible for them to pass. A computer training organisation’s attention must be centred on the best thing for their clients, and they should be passionate about students needs. Working towards an MCSE isn’t just about the certification – the process should be all about helping you to decide on the most suitable route for you.
Commencing with the understanding that it makes sense to choose the area of most interest first, before we’re even able to weigh up what career training meets that requirement, how do we decide on the correct route? Perusing lists of IT career possibilities is a complete waste of time. The vast majority of us have no concept what our next-door neighbours do at work each day – so we’re in the dark as to the complexities of a specific IT job. Generally, the way to deal with this dilemma properly stems from an in-depth discussion of a variety of topics:
* Your hobbies and interests – as they can point towards what things will provide a happy working life.
* What time-frame are you looking at for retraining?
* Where do you stand on salary vs job satisfaction?
* Often, trainees don’t consider the amount of work demanded to get fully certified.
* How much time you will commit getting qualified.
To completely side-step all the jargon and confusion, and find what’ll really work for you, have an informal chat with an industry-experienced advisor; someone that will cover the commercial realities and truth and of course the accreditations.
Typically, a new trainee will not know to ask about something of absolutely vital importance – the way their training provider divides up the physical training materials, and into how many separate packages. Many companies enrol you into some sort of program spread over 1-3 years, and send out each piece as you get to the end of each exam. On the surface this seems reasonable – until you consider the following: With thought, many trainees understand that their providers usual training route isn’t as suitable as another. They might find varying the order of study will be far more suitable. And what happens if they don’t finish within their exact timetable?
Ideally, you want everything at the start – meaning you’ll have all of them for the future to come back to – as and when you want. You can also vary the order in which you move through the program where a more intuitive path can be found.
Of course: a actual training or the accreditation isn’t the end-goal; the job or career that you’re getting the training for is. A lot of colleges seem to completely prioritise the certificate itself. You could be training for only a year and end up doing the actual job for 10-20 years. Avoid the mistake of choosing what sounds like an ‘interesting’ training program only to spend 20 years doing a job you don’t like!
Make sure you investigate your leanings around career progression and earning potential, plus your level of ambition. You need to know what will be expected of you, which particular qualifications are needed and in what way you can develop commercial experience. Seek help from an industry professional that ‘gets’ the commercial realities of the area you’re interested in, and who can offer ‘A typical day in the life of’ synopsis of of what you’ll be doing on a day-to-day basis. It’s good sense to know if this change is right for you before the training program is started. What’s the point in kicking off your training and then find you’ve gone the wrong way entirely.
A question; why might we choose commercial certification instead of the usual academic qualifications obtained from the state educational establishments? Accreditation-based training (in industry terminology) is far more specialised and product-specific. Industry has realised that a specialist skill-set is what’s needed to cope with a technically advancing commercial environment. Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA are the big boys in this field. Academic courses, as a example, become confusing because of a lot of loosely associated study – and much too wide a syllabus. Students are then held back from understanding the specific essentials in enough depth.
As long as an employer knows what they’re looking for, then all they have to do is advertise for the exact skill-set required to meet that need. The syllabuses are set to exacting standards and do not vary between trainers (in the way that degree courses can).
Review the following points very carefully if you’re inclined to think that old marketing ploy of ‘guaranteeing’ exams sounds like a benefit to the student:
Everyone knows they’re still footing the bill for it – obviously it has been added into the overall price charged by the training provider. It’s certainly not free – and it’s insulting that we’re supposed to think it is! For those who want to qualify first ‘go’, then the most successful route is to pay for each exam as you go, give it the priority it deserves and apply yourself as required.
Don’t you think it’s more sensible to find the best exam deal or offer when you take the exam, instead of paying a premium to the training course provider, and to take it closer to home – instead of miles away at the college’s beck and call? A surprising number of current training providers net big margins by getting in the money for examinations upfront then hoping you won’t see them all through. You should fully understand that re-takes via organisations who offer an ‘Exam Guarantee’ are always heavily controlled. You’ll be required to sit pre-tests till you’ve proven conclusively that you can pass.
Prometric and VUE exams are currently clocking in at an average of 112 pounds in the UK. Why spend so much more on fees for ‘exam guarantees’ (often covertly rolled into the cost of the course) – when good quality study materials, the proper support and consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software is what will really see you through.
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