Congratulations! As you're looking at this we guess you must be considering retraining for a new career - so already you've made a start. Only one in ...
Congratulations! As you're looking at this we guess you must be considering retraining for a new career - so already you've made a start. Only one in ten of us are satisfied with our careers,
but most just moan and do nothing about it. You could be a member of the few who decide to make the change.
We'd recommend that prior to beginning a training course, you chat with an expert who knows the industry and can give you advice. The right person will be able to assess your personal likes and dislikes and help you sort out a role to fit you:
* Is it your preference to work in isolation or perhaps being around others is more important to you?
* What elements are you looking for from the area of industry you choose? (Building and banking - not so stable as they once were.)
* And how many years do you want to get out of your retraining, and will the market sector give you the confidence that will happen?
* Do you feel uncomfortable with regard to your chances of new employment opportunities, and being gainfully employed right up to retirement?
Pay attention to the IT sector, that's our best advice - unusually, it's one of the sectors of industry still growing in the UK and Europe. Salaries are also more generous than most.
A major candidate for the biggest issue to be got round in IT training is often the 'in-centre' workshop requirement. Many trainers harp on about the plus points of attending, but most students end up finding them a major problem because of:
* Masses of travelling to and from the workshop centre - often quite a distance away.
* For those of us that work, then Monday to Friday events are hard to attend. You're usually contending with 2-3 days at a time as well.
* Holiday days lost - the majority of IT hopefuls only get 4 weeks annual leave. If you use up half of that with study events, that isn't going to leave much vacation time for students and their families.
* Training classes usually become overly large as well.
* Some trainees lean towards a pace that is different to the other class members. This can create classic classroom tension.
* A lot of attendees talk of the high costs involved with getting transport to and from the centre whilst paying for accommodation and food gets very expensive.
* Keeping your training private from your employer can be high on the list of priorities to many trainees. Why would you want to throw away any job advancement, income boosts or accomplishment in your job while you're training. When your boss discovers that you're undertaking accreditation in a different industry, what will they think?
* Surely, all of us at some time have avoided putting our hand's up, because we wanted to fit in?
* Where students have to on occasion live or work away from home, consider the added problems of travelling to the required events, as time becomes even more scarce.
The perfect situation is to watch a pre-made workshop - providing direct instruction any time of the day that suits. If anything comes up, get onto the live 24x7 support (that we hope you'll insist on with any technical courses.) Don't forget, if you've got a laptop, study isn't restricted to the home or office. You have the ability to come back to any of the study units as many times as you need to. And of course, you don't have to scribble any notes because the class is available whenever you want it. Could it be simpler: A lot of money is saved and you avoid all the travelling; plus you have a far more peaceful learning atmosphere.
We can guess that you're quite practically minded - a 'hands-on' individual. Usually, the world of book-reading and classrooms would be considered as a last resort, but it doesn't suit your way of doing things. You should use video and multimedia based materials if book-based learning really isn't your style. Many years of research has consistently shown that becoming involved with our studies, to utilise all our senses, is much more conducive to long-term memory.
Programs are now found in the form of CD and DVD ROM's, where your computer becomes the centre of your learning. Using video-streaming, you will be able to see the instructor presenting exactly how it's all done, and then have a go at it yourself - in an interactive lab. Don't take any chances and look at some of the typical study materials provided before you make your decision. You should expect video tutorials, instructor demo's and interactive modules with audio-visual elements.
Often, companies will only use purely on-line training; and although this is okay the majority of the time, consider how you'll deal with it if your access to the internet is broken or you only get very a very slow connection sometimes. It's preferable to have physical CD or DVD discs that removes the issue entirely.
