Online Microsoft Study
What can a student looking for certified training from Microsoft expect to come across? Clearly, training organisations should be offering a selection of different options that cover the range of training tracks certified by Microsoft. Maybe you’d choose to talk to industry experts, who can give you some ideas on which area of the industry would be best, and what sort of tasks are suitable for someone with a personality like yours. Once you’ve decided on the career path you want, your next search is for a suitable training program tailored to be right for your current level of knowledge and ability. Your study program should leave no room for complaints.
Seeing as the IT market presents such an array of unique job prospects for us - then which questions should we pose and which aspects should we be considering?
Ignore any salesman that pushes one particular program without a thorough investigation so as to understand your abilities as well as level of experience. They should be able to select from a large product range so they can solve your training issues. Sometimes, the training inception point for a person with a little experience can be vastly dissimilar to the student with none. Opening with a basic PC skills course first may be the ideal way to commence your IT training, depending on your current skill level.
Many training providers will only offer basic 9am till 6pm support (maybe a little earlier or later on certain days); most won’t answer after 8-9pm at the latest and frequently never at the weekends. Avoid, like the plague, any organisations which use ‘out-of-hours’ call-centres - where you’ll get called back during the next ‘working’ day. It’s no use when you’re stuck on a problem and need help now.
As long as you look hard, you will find professional companies that offer online direct access support at all times - at any time of day or night. If you fail to get yourself direct-access 24×7 support, you’ll very quickly realise that you’ve made a mistake. It may be that you don’t use it late in the night, but consider weekends, early mornings or late evenings
Often, trainers provide a big box of books. It’s not a very interesting way to learn and not a very good way of achieving retention. We see a huge improvement in memory retention when multiple senses are involved - learning experts have been saying this for years now.
Locate a program where you’ll receive a selection of DVD-ROM’s - you’ll be learning from instructor videos and demo’s, with the facility to hone your abilities through virtual lab’s. It’s very important to see examples of the study materials provided by each company you’re contemplating. It’s essential they incorporate video demo’s and interactive elements such as practice lab’s.
Avoiding training that is delivered purely online is generally a good idea. You want physical CD/DVD ROM course materials where available, enabling them to be used at your convenience - you don’t want to be reliant on your internet connection always being ‘up’ and available.
A lot of training schools are still using a now out-dated method of training - classroom lessons. Usually touted as a major benefit, after discussion with someone who has first-hand experience, don’t be surprised to be lectured on several if not all of the following problems:
* Many centre visits - often 100’s of miles or more.
* For those of us that work, then Mon-Fri events represent a difficulty in getting time off. You could be contending with at least 2, if not 3 days in a row.
* If we get twenty days annual leave, spending half on training events often means losing out on family and vacation time.
* Training classes fill up fast and can be very crammed in.
* Class pace - workshops typically consist of trainees of varied skill, therefore tension can run high between those that want to go quickly as opposed to those who want to go a little slower.
* Add up the cost of all the travel, fares, parking, accommodation and food and you’ll be in for a big surprise. Attendees have reported extra costs ranging from hundreds to over a thousand pounds. Work it out - and understand where they’re coming from.
* Quite a lot of students want their studies to remain private so as to avoid any come-back at work.
* It’s very common for students to keep a question to themselves - purely down to the fact that they’re amongst other classmates.
* If your work takes you away from home, you have the added problem that workshops now become impossible to get to - unfortunately however, the fees were paid along with everything else at the start.
A more flexible training route is to employ videoed classes in the comfort of your own chosen environment - taking them when it’s convenient to you - not anybody else. You could study at home on your desktop PC or if you have laptop, why not get outside if the weather’s nice. If you have any questions, then logon to the 24×7 support facility (that should come with any technical program.) You don’t have to worry about any note-taking - all the lessons are prepared and laid out for you - ready to go. Anything you want to do over, it’s immediately available. Whilst it’s impossible to avoid all study problems, it definitely makes things easier, simpler and less stressful. You also have reduced hassle, travel and costs.
Massive developments are washing over technology in the near future - and this means greater innovations all the time. We’re only just starting to get to grips with how all this will mould and change our lives. How we communicate and interact with everyone around us will be significantly affected by computers and the internet.
A average IT employee in Great Britain can demonstrate that they receive a lot more money than fellow workers in another industry. Average salaries are around the top of national league tables. The search for certified IT specialists is certain for the significant future, because of the continuous development in IT dependency in commerce and the vast skills gap that we still have.
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