My Prosperous World

Everybody is busy these days, and generally should we decide to advance our future prospects, getting educated alongside a job is our best way forward. Training tracks certified by Microsoft can be the way to do it.

It’s a good idea to look for a person who’s got industry experience, who might give you help to sort out which area of the industry would suit you, and the kind of responsibilities that are appropriate for a person with a personality like yours.

When you’ve chosen the career path you want, an appropriate course must be selected that’s reflects your skills and abilities. This can be personally tailored for you.

One crafty way that training providers make extra profits is via an ‘exam inclusive’ package and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams. It looks like a good deal, until you think it through:

It’s very clear we’re still footing the bill for it – it’s obviously already been included in the overall price charged by the training provider. Certainly, it’s not a freebie (it’s just marketing companies think we’ll fall for anything they say!)

The honest truth is that if students pay for each examination, at the time of taking them, the chances are they’re going to qualify each time – since they’ll think of their payment and their application will be greater.

Go for the best offer you can find when you’re ready, and keep hold of your own money. In addition, it’s then your choice where to sit the exam – so you can find somewhere local.

A great deal of money is made by a number of companies that get money upfront for exam fees. Many students don’t take them for one reason or another but the company keeps the money. Believe it or not, there are training companies who rely on that fact – as that’s how they make a lot of their profit.

Remember, with the majority of Exam Guarantees – the company decides when you are allowed to do a re-take. You will have to demonstrate an excellent pass-rate before they’ll approve a re-take.

Average exam fees were about 112 pounds last year when taken at Prometric or VUE centres around the United Kingdom. So don’t be talked into shelling out hundreds or thousands of pounds more for ‘Exam Guarantees’, when any student knows that the responsible approach is study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams.

Considering how a program is ‘delivered’ to you is usually ignored by most students. How many stages do they break the program into? What is the order and do you have a say in when you’ll get each part?

Training companies will normally offer some sort of program spread over 1-3 years, and send out each piece as you complete each section or exam. On the surface this seems reasonable – until you consider the following:

What would happen if you didn’t finish each and every module within the time limits imposed? Sometimes their preference of study order won’t be as easy as another different route may.

Truth be told, the best option is to get an idea of what they recommend as an ideal study order, but get all the study materials at the start. Meaning you’ve got it all should you not complete it within their ideal time-table.

Of all the important things to consider, one of the most essential is always comprehensive 24×7 direct-access support through expert mentors and instructors. Far too often we see trainers who will only offer a basic 9am till 6pm support period (maybe later on certain days) with very little availability over the weekend.

You’ll be waiting ages for an answer with email based support, and telephone support is usually to a call-centre which will make some notes and then email an advisor – who will then call back sometime over the next 24hrs, at a suitable time to them. This is all next to useless if you’re stuck with a particular problem and can only study at specific times.

It’s possible to find professional training packages which give students online support at all times – even in the middle of the night.

Never settle for a lower level of service. Direct-access 24×7 support is the only way to go when it comes to computer-based study. Perhaps you don’t intend to study during the evenings; usually though, we’re out at work at the time when most support is available.

A competent and professional advisor (in direct contrast to a salesman) will want to thoroughly discuss your current experience level and abilities. This is paramount to understanding your starting point for training.

With a strong background, or even a touch of real-world experience (some industry qualifications maybe?) then obviously the level you’ll need to start at will be very different from someone who is just starting out.

If you’re a new trainee embarking on IT studies for the first time, it’s often a good idea to ease in gradually, kicking off with a user-skills course first. This can easily be incorporated into most training packages.

(C) Jason Kendall. Look at LearningLolly.com for the best career tips. Database Courses or MCITP Training.