A fraction of the working population in the UK today are pleased and contented with their working life. Naturally most won’t do a thing. The fact that you’re reading this if nothing else suggests that change is beckoning.
We suggest that you discuss your ideas first – find someone who knows the industry; someone who’ll give you career advice based on what works best for you, and analyse the training programs you may be suited to:
* Do you like to be around others at work? Are you better with new people or those you know well? Or you may prefer task-orientated work that you deal with by yourself?
* Have you given much thought to which sector you could be employed in? (Post credit crunch, it’s more important than ever to choose carefully.)
* Is this the final time you plan to retrain, and therefore, do you suppose your new career will offer that choice?
* Do you think being qualified will give you the opportunity to discover new employment possibilities, and remain in employment until you choose to stop?
Don’t overlook the IT sector, that’s our recommendation – it’s one of the few growth areas throughout Europe. Another benefit is that remuneration packages are much better than most.
Often, students don’t think to check on something of absolutely vital importance – how their company divides up the physical training materials, and into how many bits.
Many companies enrol you into some sort of program spread over 1-3 years, and drop-ship the materials to you piecemeal as you complete each section or exam. If you think this sound logical, then consider this:
Many students find that the company’s usual training route isn’t ideal for them. They might find a different order of study is more expedient. And what if you don’t get to the end inside of the expected timescales?
To be straight, the very best answer is to obtain their recommendation on the best possible order of study, but make sure you have all of your learning modules right from the beginning. Everything is then in your possession in the event you don’t complete everything at their required pace.
Looking at the myriad of choice out there, is it any wonder that the majority of newcomers to the industry have no idea which career they will follow.
Working through a list of odd-sounding and meaningless job titles is no use whatsoever. The vast majority of us don’t even know what the neighbours do for a living – so we have no hope of understanding the intricacies of a particular IT career.
To attack this, there should be a discussion of a number of unique issues:
* What hobbies you have and enjoy – often these define what areas will satisfy you.
* Are you hoping to re-train due to a precise reason – i.e. do you aim to work at home (being your own boss?)?
* How highly do you rate salary – is it the most important thing, or is day-to-day enjoyment a lot higher on the scale of your priorities?
* Considering all that computing covers, it’s a requirement that you can absorb what is different.
* How much effort you’ll commit getting qualified.
The bottom line is, the best way of investigating all this is by means of a good talk with an experienced advisor that has enough background to provide solid advice.
Don’t forget: the actual training or the accreditation is not the ultimate goal; a job that you’re getting the training for is. Too many training companies put too much weight in the certificate itself.
It’s an awful thing, but thousands of new students start out on programs that sound fabulous in the sales literature, but which delivers a career that is of no interest at all. Just ask several university graduates and you’ll see where we’re coming from.
Set targets for what you want to earn and how ambitious you are. This can often control what particular certifications will be required and what you can expect to give industry in return.
Seek guidance and advice from an experienced industry professional, even if you have to pay a small fee – it’s usually much cheaper and safer to discover early on whether your choices are appropriate, instead of finding out after two full years that the job you’ve chosen is not for you and now need to go back to square one.
The somewhat scary thought of getting your first role in IT can be made easier by some companies, via a Job Placement Assistance facility. Because of the great shortage of skills in Britain right now, there’s no need to make too much of this option though. It’s not as difficult as you may be led to believe to find the right work once you’re trained and certified.
Bring your CV up to date as soon as possible however (advice and support for this should come from your course provider). Don’t wait till you’ve finished your exams.
It can happen that you haven’t even qualified when you’ll secure your initial junior support role; however this isn’t going to happen if interviewers don’t get sight of your CV.
The top companies to get you a new position are most often independent and specialised local recruitment services. Because they get paid commission to place you, they’ll work that much harder to get a result.
Various students, so it seems, spend evenings and weekends on their training and studies (sometimes for years), only to do nothing special when finding the right position. Sell yourself… Do your best to let employers know about you. Don’t think a job’s just going to jump out in front of you.
Copyright Scott Edwards 2009. Browse around How To Choose A Career or www.NewCareersInformation.co.uk.