You should feel pleased that you're on the right track! A fraction of the population enjoy their work and find it stimulating, but vast numbers simply moan about it and that's it. The fact that you're here means it's probable that you've a personal interest in re-training, so well done to you. Now you just need to get busy to find your direction.
We'd politely request that before you start any study program, you run through some things with a mentor who can see the bigger picture and can make recommendations. They can assess your personality and help you sort out a role to fit you:
* Are you happier left to your own devices at work or is being part of a team more important to you?
* What's important that you get from the area of industry you choose? (If it's stability you're after, you might think twice about banks or the building industry right now.)
* Having completed your retraining, would you like your new abilities to take you through to retirement?
* Are you worried with regard to the possibility of getting new work, and being gainfully employed right up to retirement?
We request you to consider the IT sector - there are more jobs than staff to fill them, plus it's a rare career choice where the industry is still growing. Contrary to the beliefs of some, it isn't a bunch of techie geeks staring at their computers every day (though naturally some jobs are like that.) Most positions are occupied by ordinary people who want to earn a very good living.
If you're like many of the students we talk to then you probably enjoy fairly practical work - a 'hands-on' type. If you're anything like us, the painful task of reading endless manuals would be considered as a last resort, but you'd hate it. Consider interactive, multimedia study if book-based learning really isn't your style. Studies in learning psychology have shown that much more of what we learn in remembered when we involve as many senses as possible, and we take action to use what we've learned.
Start a study-program in which you'll receive a selection of CD or DVD ROM's - you'll be learning from instructor videos and demo's, with the facility to use virtual lab's to practice your new skills. It's wise to view some of the typical study materials provided before you sign on the dotted line. What you want are videoed instructor demonstrations and a variety of audio-visual and interactive sections.
Opt for CD and DVD ROM based physical training media where possible. You're then protected from internet connection failure and issues with signal quality.
The area most overlooked by trainees considering a training program is that of 'training segmentation'. Essentially, this is the method used to break up the program for delivery to you, which makes a huge difference to how you end up. The majority of training companies will set up a program typically taking 1-3 years, and drop-ship the materials to you piecemeal as you finish each section. If you think this sound logical, then consider this: Many students find that the company's 'standard' path of training isn't ideal for them. They might find varying the order of study will be far more suitable. And what if you don't get to the end at the pace they expect?
In all honesty, the best solution is to get an idea of what they recommend as an ideal study order, but get all the study materials at the start. Everything is then in your possession should you not complete it as fast as they'd like.
One fatal mistake that students everywhere can make is to choose a career based on a course, rather than starting with the desired end-result. Colleges have thousands of unaware students who chose a course based on what sounded good - in place of something that could gain them the career they desired. It's quite usual, in many cases, to obtain tremendous satisfaction from a year of studying but end up spending 10 or 20 years in a career that does nothing for you, as a consequence of not performing some quality research at the beginning.
Make sure you investigate how you feel about career development, earning potential, and whether you intend to be quite ambitious. You need to know what (if any) sacrifices you'll need to make for a particular role, what qualifications are needed and in what way you can develop commercial experience. You'd also need help from an advisor that can explain the market you're considering, and who can give you 'A typical day in the life of' outline of the job being considered. These things are absolutely essential as you'll need to know if you're barking up the wrong tree.
Huge changes are coming via technology over the next generation - and it only gets more exciting every day. Computing technology and interaction through the internet is going to dramatically affect the direction of our lives over future years; to a vast degree.
Let's not forget that the average salary in the IT sector in Great Britain is noticeably more than average salaries nationally, therefore you will most likely receive significantly more once qualified in IT, than you'd get in most other industries. Because the IT market sector is still emerging at an unprecedented rate, the chances are that the requirement for professionally qualified and skilled IT workers will continue actively for quite some time to come.
Several companies will provide a useful Job Placement Assistance facility, designed to steer you into your first job. It can happen though that people are too impressed with this facility, for it's really not that difficult for any focused and well taught person to secure work in the IT environment - because there's a great need for trained staff.
Help with your CV and interview techniques may be available (if not, see one of our sites for help). Make sure you polish up your CV immediately - not after you've qualified! Getting your CV considered is far better than not even being known about. A decent number of junior positions are offered to people (who've only just left first base.) If you don't want to travel too far to work, then you may well find that a specialist locally based employment agency can generally be more appropriate than some national concern, for they're far more likely to be familiar with what's available near you.
Not inconsiderable numbers of trainees, it seems, invest a great deal of time on their training course (sometimes for years), and just give up when it comes to looking for a job. Introduce yourself... Do everything you can to put yourself out there. A job isn't just going to bump into you.
We'd politely request that before you start any study program, you run through some things with a mentor who can see the bigger picture and can make recommendations. They can assess your personality and help you sort out a role to fit you:
* Are you happier left to your own devices at work or is being part of a team more important to you?
* What's important that you get from the area of industry you choose? (If it's stability you're after, you might think twice about banks or the building industry right now.)
* Having completed your retraining, would you like your new abilities to take you through to retirement?
* Are you worried with regard to the possibility of getting new work, and being gainfully employed right up to retirement?
We request you to consider the IT sector - there are more jobs than staff to fill them, plus it's a rare career choice where the industry is still growing. Contrary to the beliefs of some, it isn't a bunch of techie geeks staring at their computers every day (though naturally some jobs are like that.) Most positions are occupied by ordinary people who want to earn a very good living.
If you're like many of the students we talk to then you probably enjoy fairly practical work - a 'hands-on' type. If you're anything like us, the painful task of reading endless manuals would be considered as a last resort, but you'd hate it. Consider interactive, multimedia study if book-based learning really isn't your style. Studies in learning psychology have shown that much more of what we learn in remembered when we involve as many senses as possible, and we take action to use what we've learned.
Start a study-program in which you'll receive a selection of CD or DVD ROM's - you'll be learning from instructor videos and demo's, with the facility to use virtual lab's to practice your new skills. It's wise to view some of the typical study materials provided before you sign on the dotted line. What you want are videoed instructor demonstrations and a variety of audio-visual and interactive sections.
Opt for CD and DVD ROM based physical training media where possible. You're then protected from internet connection failure and issues with signal quality.
The area most overlooked by trainees considering a training program is that of 'training segmentation'. Essentially, this is the method used to break up the program for delivery to you, which makes a huge difference to how you end up. The majority of training companies will set up a program typically taking 1-3 years, and drop-ship the materials to you piecemeal as you finish each section. If you think this sound logical, then consider this: Many students find that the company's 'standard' path of training isn't ideal for them. They might find varying the order of study will be far more suitable. And what if you don't get to the end at the pace they expect?
In all honesty, the best solution is to get an idea of what they recommend as an ideal study order, but get all the study materials at the start. Everything is then in your possession should you not complete it as fast as they'd like.
One fatal mistake that students everywhere can make is to choose a career based on a course, rather than starting with the desired end-result. Colleges have thousands of unaware students who chose a course based on what sounded good - in place of something that could gain them the career they desired. It's quite usual, in many cases, to obtain tremendous satisfaction from a year of studying but end up spending 10 or 20 years in a career that does nothing for you, as a consequence of not performing some quality research at the beginning.
Make sure you investigate how you feel about career development, earning potential, and whether you intend to be quite ambitious. You need to know what (if any) sacrifices you'll need to make for a particular role, what qualifications are needed and in what way you can develop commercial experience. You'd also need help from an advisor that can explain the market you're considering, and who can give you 'A typical day in the life of' outline of the job being considered. These things are absolutely essential as you'll need to know if you're barking up the wrong tree.
Huge changes are coming via technology over the next generation - and it only gets more exciting every day. Computing technology and interaction through the internet is going to dramatically affect the direction of our lives over future years; to a vast degree.
Let's not forget that the average salary in the IT sector in Great Britain is noticeably more than average salaries nationally, therefore you will most likely receive significantly more once qualified in IT, than you'd get in most other industries. Because the IT market sector is still emerging at an unprecedented rate, the chances are that the requirement for professionally qualified and skilled IT workers will continue actively for quite some time to come.
Several companies will provide a useful Job Placement Assistance facility, designed to steer you into your first job. It can happen though that people are too impressed with this facility, for it's really not that difficult for any focused and well taught person to secure work in the IT environment - because there's a great need for trained staff.
Help with your CV and interview techniques may be available (if not, see one of our sites for help). Make sure you polish up your CV immediately - not after you've qualified! Getting your CV considered is far better than not even being known about. A decent number of junior positions are offered to people (who've only just left first base.) If you don't want to travel too far to work, then you may well find that a specialist locally based employment agency can generally be more appropriate than some national concern, for they're far more likely to be familiar with what's available near you.
Not inconsiderable numbers of trainees, it seems, invest a great deal of time on their training course (sometimes for years), and just give up when it comes to looking for a job. Introduce yourself... Do everything you can to put yourself out there. A job isn't just going to bump into you.
About the Author:
(C) Jason Kendall. Pop to LearningLolly.com for logical advice on Cisco CCNA Course and SQL Course.