Careers Training for Microsoft MCSE in 2009
February 28, 2009 by Jason Kendall
Filed under Online Colleges
As you’re looking to study for the MCSE certificate, it’s likely you’ll come into one of two categories. You might be ready to enter the computer sector, and you’ve discovered that this commercial sector has lots of demand for men and women who are commercially qualified. Alternatively you could be someone with a certain amount of knowledge attempting to consolidate your skill-set with the MCSE qualification.
As you try to find out more, you will discover companies that short-change you by not providing the latest version from Microsoft. Don’t use these companies as you’ll have problems when it comes to exams. If you’re learning from an old version, it could be impossible to pass. Computer training companies ought to be completely focused on establishing the best direction for prospective students. Directing study is as much concerned with helping people to work out which way to go, as it is giving them help to reach their destination.
How do we go about making an informed decision then? With such prospects, it’s important to know where to investigate – and what we should be digging for.
Starting from the viewpoint that we have to home-in on the employment that excites us first and foremost, before we’re able to contemplate what career training fulfils our needs, how do we decide on the right direction? Since with no previous experience in computing, in what way could we be expected to know what someone in a particular job does? Consideration of several points is vital if you want to reveal a solution that suits you:
* Your hobbies and interests – as they can point towards what possibilities will satisfy you.
* For what reasons you’re starting in the IT industry – maybe you want to achieve a long-held goal like working for yourself for example.
* Is salary further up on your wish list than other requirements.
* Looking at the many markets that Information Technology covers, it’s important to be able to understand what is different.
* It’s wise to spend some time thinking about the level of commitment you’re going to give to the accreditation program.
To be honest, it’s obvious that the only real way to investigate these matters is through a chat with an advisor or professional who has a background in computing (and more importantly it’s commercial needs and requirements.)
A lot of commercial training providers only provide basic 9am till 6pm support (maybe a little earlier or later on certain days); It’s rare to find someone who offers late evening or full weekend cover. Try and find training with help available at all hours of the day and night (no matter if it’s in the middle of the night on a weekend!) Make sure it’s always direct-access to qualified mentors and tutors, and not access to a call-in service which takes messages – so you’re constantly waiting for a call-back – probably during office hours.
The most successful trainers utilise several support facilities around the globe in several time-zones. By utilising an interactive interface to seamlessly link them all, at any time you choose, help is just seconds away, with no hassle or contact issues. Unless you insist on 24×7 support, you’ll regret it very quickly. You may avoid using the support late in the night, but you’re bound to use weekends, early mornings or even late evenings at some point.
Those that are drawn to this type of work often have a very practical outlook on work, and won’t enjoy sitting at a desk in class, and endless reading of dry academic textbooks. If this could be you, try the newer style of interactive study, where everything is presented via full motion video. Research over recent years has consistently demonstrated that an ‘involved’ approach to study, where we utilise all our senses, is proven to produce longer-lasting and deeper memory retention.
Locate a program where you’ll receive a library of CD and DVD ROM’s – you’ll learn by watching video tutorials and demonstrations, with the facility to use virtual lab’s to practice your new skills. It would be silly not to view some examples of the kind of training materials you’ll be using before you make your decision. You should expect videoed instructor demonstrations and audio-visual elements backed up by interactive lab’s.
Many companies provide training that is purely available online; and although this is okay the majority of the time, imagine the problems if internet access is lost or you get slow speeds and down-time etc. It’s much safer to rely on DVD or CD discs which don’t suffer from these broadband issues.
The way a programme is physically sent to you is usually ignored by most students. In what way are your training elements sectioned? What is the order and how fast does each element come? Individual deliveries for each training module one piece at a time, as you complete each module is how things will normally arrive. This sounds sensible, but you should consider these factors: What if for some reason you don’t get to the end of every single section? What if you don’t find their order of learning is ideal for you? Because of nothing that’s your fault, you might take a little longer and therefore not end up with all the modules.
For the perfect solution, you want ALL the study materials up-front – giving you them all for the future to come back to – irrespective of any schedule. You can also vary the order in which you complete each objective if another more intuitive route presents itself.
Consider the following facts very carefully if you think the sales ploy of examination guarantees seems like a good idea:
Everybody’s aware that they’re still being charged for it – it’s quite obvious to see that it’s already in the overall figure from the course provider. It’s absolutely not free (it’s just marketing companies think we’ll fall for anything they say!) If you want to pass first time, then the most successful route is to pay for each exam as you go, prioritise it appropriately and apply yourself as required.
Why should you pay the training company early for examinations? Go for the best offer when you’re ready, instead of paying any mark-up – and do it locally – not at somewhere of their bidding. Huge profits are secured by some training companies who incorporate exam fees into the cost of the course. Many students don’t take them for one reason or another but the company keeps the money. Astoundingly enough, there are companies around that rely on that fact – as that’s how they make a lot of their profit. Re-takes of any failed exams with training companies who offer an ‘Exam Guarantee’ are monitored with tight restrictions. They will insist that you take pre-tests first until you’ve demonstrated an excellent ability to pass.
The cost of exams was about 112 pounds twelve months or so ago through Prometric or VUE centres around the United Kingdom. So don’t be talked into shelling out hundreds or thousands of pounds more to get ‘an Exam Guarantee’, when it’s no secret that the best guarantee is study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams.
Many training companies will provide a useful Job Placement Assistance service, to help you into your first commercial role. Ultimately it isn’t a complex operation to land the right work – as long as you’re correctly trained and certified; the growing UK skills shortage sees to that.
Having said that, it’s important to have CV and Interview advice and support though; also we would encourage any student to get their CV updated as soon as training commences – don’t procrastinate and leave it until you’ve qualified. You may not have got to the stage where you’ve qualified when you land your first junior support position; but this can’t and won’t happen if your CV isn’t in front of employers. Most often, a specialist independent regional recruitment consultancy – who make their money when they’ve found you a job – will be more pro-active than a recruitment division from a training organisation. They should, of course, also be familiar with the local area and commercial needs.
Do ensure you don’t invest a great deal of time on your training course, only to stop and imagine someone else is miraculously going to secure your first position. Take responsibility for yourself and get out there. Channel the same time and energy into securing the right position as you did to get trained.
Being at the forefront of revolutionary new technology is as thrilling as it comes. Your actions are instrumental in shaping the next few decades. We’re at the dawn of starting to understand how this will truly impact our way of life. The way we interact with the world will be inordinately affected by technology and the web.
A typical IT employee over this country as a whole is likely to get significantly more than employees on a par in another industry. Mean average salaries are around the top of national league tables. Excitingly, there is not a hint of a downturn for IT industry growth throughout this country. The sector continues to grow hugely, and as we have a skills gap that means we only typically have three IT workers for every four jobs it’s not showing any signs that it will even slow down for quite some time to come.