Good for you! As you’re looking at this you’ve doubtless been pondering on retraining for a new career - that means you’ve already taken one more step than the majority. A small minority of us are content with our jobs, but most just moan and do nothing about it. So, why not be one of the few who take responsibility for their future.

Before embarking on a course, look for some advice - talk to someone who’s familiar with your chosen field; an advisor who can get to the bottom of what you’ll like in a job, and analyse the training programs you may be suited to:

* Do you want to interact with other people? If so, do you like working with the same people or are you hoping to meet new people? Alternatively, do you like to deal with your responsibilities alone?

* What do you require from the market sector you work in? - We all know that things have changed, look at building and banking for instance.

* And how many years do you want to get out of your retraining, and can your chosen industry give you the confidence that will happen?

* Do you want your training course to be in a market sector where you know you’ll have a job until your pension kicks in?

Don’t overlook the IT industry, it will be well worth your time - unusually, it’s one of the growing market sectors in this country and overseas. And the salaries are much higher than most.

Looking at the myriad of choice out there, there’s no surprise that nearly all trainees get stuck choosing the job they will enjoy.

As without any commercial background in IT, how should we possibly be expected to understand what someone in a particular job does?

To get through to the essence of this, we need to discuss many unique issues:

* Our personalities play a starring role - what kind of areas spark your interest, and what are the areas that put a frown on your face.

* Are you driven to obtain training due to a particular raison d’etre - e.g. is it your goal to work based from home (maybe self-employment?)?

* What are your thoughts on job satisfaction vs salary?

* Always think in-depth about the energy required to achieve their goals.

* You need to understand what differentiates all the training areas.

For the majority of us, sifting through so much data requires a good chat with an experienced pro that can investigate each area with you. And we’re not only talking about the accreditations - you also need to understand the commercial requirements and expectations of the market as well.

Review the facts below and pay great regard to them if you’re inclined to think the sales ploy of an ‘Exam Guarantee’ sounds great value:

Certainly it’s not free - you’re still footing the bill for it - the price has simply been included in the whole thing.

People who enter their exams one by one, funding them as they go are much better placed to get through first time. They’re aware of their investment and prepare more appropriately to make sure they’re ready.

Shouldn’t you be looking to find the best exam deal or offer when you take the exam, not to pay the fees marked up by a training college, and to do it locally - instead of the remote centre that’s convenient only to the trainer?

A great deal of money is netted by a number of companies that take the exam money up-front. For quite legitimate reasons, a number of students don’t get to do their exams and so they pocket the rest. Believe it or not, there are companies around who depend on students not taking their exams - as that’s how they make a lot of their profit.

It’s also worth noting that you should consider what an ‘exam guarantee’ really means. The majority of organisations will not pay for you to re-take until you’ve completely satisfied them that you’re ready this time.

On average, exams cost approximately 112 pounds in the last 12 months when taken at VUE or Pro-metric centres in the UK. Therefore, why splash out often many hundreds of pounds extra to have ‘Exam Guarantees’, when common sense dictates that the responsible approach is consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software.

Full support is of the utmost importance - locate a good company that includes 24×7 access, as anything less will frustrate you and could impede your ability to learn.

Avoid, like the plague, any organisations who use ‘out-of-hours’ call-centres - where you’ll get called back during typical office hours. It’s no use when you’re stuck on a problem and need an answer now.

If you look properly, you’ll find professional training packages which give students direct-access online support around the clock - including evenings, nights and weekends.

Never ever take second best when it comes to your support. Many would-be IT professionals who give up, are in that situation because of a lack of support.

The somewhat scary thought of finding your first job is often made easier by some training providers because they offer a Job Placement Assistance facility. At the end of the day it isn’t so complicated as you might think to secure your first job - once you’re trained and certified; the growing UK skills shortage sees to that.

Help and assistance with preparing a CV and getting interviews might be provided (alternatively, check out one of our sites for help). It’s essential that you update that dusty old CV right away - don’t leave it till you pass the exams!

It’s possible that you won’t have even got to the exam time when you will be offered your first junior support position; but this can’t and won’t happen unless your CV is with employers.

Actually, a specialist independent regional recruitment consultant or service (who will get paid commission to place you) is going to give you a better service than a division of a training company. Also of course they should be familiar with the area and local employers better.

Do be sure that you don’t invest a great deal of time on your training course, and then do nothing more and leave it up to everyone else to find you a job. Stop procrastinating and make your own enquiries. Invest as much focus into landing a good job as you did to get trained.

Tags: Online Colleges

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