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If you’re thinking about a future in supporting networks then the Microsoft MCSA (Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator) course is the ideal one for you. So if you want to get going or have previous knowledge but no certificate, a range of courses exist to help you either way.

To qualify for an MCSA it’s necessary to achieve pass marks in four MCP’s (Microsoft Certified Professional exams). If this is your first entry into computing exams, it’s likely you’ll be required to have some coaching prior to studying for all four MCP’s. Find a company that has industry experts who can guide you towards the right way to tackle your goal and who will get you started in the right place.

Now, why should we consider commercially accredited qualifications rather than the usual academic qualifications gained through tech’ colleges and universities?

With fees and living expenses for university students becoming a tall order for many, along with the industry’s increasing awareness that vendor-based training is closer to the mark commercially, there has been a dramatic increase in Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe certified training programmes that educate students for much less time and money.

They do this through honing in on the actual skills required (along with an appropriate level of related knowledge,) instead of covering masses of the background ‘padding’ that computer Science Degrees often do – to pad out the syllabus.

In simple terms: Accredited IT qualifications provide exactly what an employer needs – the title says it all: as an example – I am a ‘Microsoft Certified Professional’ in ‘Planning and Maintaining a Windows 2003 Infrastructure’. Consequently employers can look at the particular needs they have and which qualifications are required to fulfil that.

A lot of trainers will only offer basic 9am till 6pm support (maybe a little earlier or later on certain days); It’s rare to find someone who offers late evening or full weekend cover.

Be wary of any training providers who use ‘out-of-hours’ messaging systems – with your call-back scheduled for the next ‘working’ day. It’s not a lot of help when you’ve got study issues and need an answer now.

The very best training providers use multiple support centres active in different time-zones. Online access provides the interactive interface to seamlessly link them all together, any time of the day or night, help is just seconds away, with no hassle or contact issues.

Don’t accept second best when it comes to your support. The vast majority of would-be IT professionals who drop-out or fail, are in that situation because they didn’t get the support necessary for them.

How can job security truly exist anymore? In a marketplace like the UK, with businesses changing their mind on a whim, it certainly appears not.

We’re able though to reveal market-level security, by digging for high demand areas, coupled with a shortage of skilled staff.

The IT skills shortfall around the United Kingdom falls in at approx 26 percent, as reported by the 2006 e-Skills investigation. Accordingly, out of each 4 positions in existence across IT, organisations can only locate enough qualified individuals for 3 of the 4.

This disturbing fact reveals the urgent need for more technically certified computing professionals around the country.

Because the IT sector is evolving at such a speed, is there any other area of industry worth taking into account for your new career.

Think about the facts below and pay great regard to them if you think the sales ploy of ‘guaranteeing’ exams sounds like a benefit to the student:

Clearly it’s not free – you are paying for it – it’s just been included in your package price.

Those who go in for their examinations when it’s appropriate, paying as they go are in a much stronger position to qualify at the first attempt. They are mindful of their spending and prepare more appropriately to be ready for the task.

Do your exams somewhere local and look for the very best offer you can at the time.

Why borrow the money or pay in advance (plus interest of course) on exams when you didn’t need to? A great deal of money is made because training colleges are getting paid upfront for exams – and banking on the fact that many won’t be taken.

In addition to this, exam guarantees often have very little value. The majority of companies won’t pay for re-takes until you’ve completely satisfied them that you’re ready this time.

Splashing out often many hundreds of pounds extra on ‘Exam Guarantees’ is short-sighted – when study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will get you through.

(C) Scott Edwards 2009. Hop over to Retraining4Adults.co.uk/vretadu.html or MCTS Course.

The figures explaining how much Plumbers can earn is often talked about in the papers. Within the UK, the figures of 30-70k p.a. are typical of Plumbers, mainly down to their low numbers. So, are we being told a story or is this the genuine picture? For the competent and correctly skilled person, this level of salary is realistic. Those taking the more conventional ways to work will find it hard to reach the incomes of 70-100k p.a. that are sometimes achieved by the self-employed.

It is fairly usual to expect working hours of 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday with a reputable employer. Indeed salaries of between 15k and 30k p.a. form part of what is expected from employed status in this area, along with the added reward of holiday pay and sickness allowance. However, if the self employed person is willing to work longer than the normal working hours then more money can be earned. This is clear when self employed plumbers have to work evenings and weekends, where their domestic clients are working during the day.

Also there is the factor of self-employment and whether it goes with some people more than others. By using ‘good business sense’, including getting your own cost per hour correct, items such as advertising and marketing can also be worked out. Similarly, to cover additional elements such as legal and accountancy fees and materials and transport, will require the planning of most self-employed people. Generally the payback outstrip those of the costs, to the extent that these charges should always be a small part of the earnings overall. Plus the profits nearly always beat the odds!

Firstly, it is the ordinary employer who covers most of the needs and teaching prospects that Student Entrants are interested in. Alternatively, the Self Employed Entrant needs to quickly establish those certificates that they will rely on in industry. Having said that, the majority of self-employed workers do not join the business sector but focus on the ‘domestic’ market. (At least most of them do)

The certification units, needed by each part of the industry keeps a similarity in terms of Plumbing education. A key debate however comes into play when considering the issue of NVQ’s (SVQ’s in Scotland.)

To begin with, the Student Entrant appears to rely more heavily on the NVQ structure than the Self Employed Entrant. In trying to meet their client’s needs many Self Employed Entrants will employ a wider range of qualifications. To satisfy their typical household-based client base many self-employed persons will need to quickly focus on the relative domestic skill sets. It is within the workplace – where the NVQ element can be appraised that many Student Entrants carry on with their apprenticeship after having covered the key fundamentals through a college scheme. Considering that it is a cheaper way to study then the Student can make practical savings from the start. It is often by gaining certifications faster, by being motivated by a more commercial standpoint that the Self Employed Entrant will achieve considerable financial benefits before a Student Entrant.

This clearly demonstrates the need for talk about careers, covering the certification and study required along with the expected financial rewards. It would generate serious hardship, for example, for an adult requiring 20k p.a. (to provide for their family,) to go back to college and spend 3 years in low-paid apprenticeship work. Furthermore, many Student Entrants have their studies paid for them whereas the self-employed students fund the variety of course themselves. It is often the course structure and the level of certification that can run into costs of around 3k-10k+.

Whilst the Self Employed Entrant can consider a wider range of education forms including private colleges the Student Entrant is limited to known further-education colleges. It is the lead into familiar skill-sets and qualifications that commercially fixed plumbing course companies offer as part of their training paths. This method offers key advantages to Self Employed Students, allowing them to train evenings, part-time or on self-study classes thereby continuing with their existing jobs and maintaining their financial situation. With the high number of colleges it makes sense to gather as much technical data as you can. We have provided adverts and links from several to allow you to come back and review your options, so why not book mark this page (CTRL-D).

By going on added training programs many plumbing students seek to increase their ‘marketability’. Courses in areas such as Gas, Electrical and Green Energy can provide added certifications. A popular route for Plumbers involves that of the normal domestic and commercial heating system training program of Gas Training.

Gas training in itself is a specific and rigorous training regime, with core subjects followed by an emphasis on NVQ’s. This considers ongoing development, especially for those who trained first as a plumber and are seeking extra skills. In review it is often felt that the mature student responds well to the blend of Gas/Plumbing training. Indeed, for the Mature Student, the path appears to be centred on adopting the core subjects and completely dropping the NVQ elements.

It is from this particular training program that the self-employed professional gains ground. The attraction is certainly the chance to gain a wider range of skill sets and earn money from them. It is by removing the reliability on third party sub-contraction that results in the increase of the industrial package. Sub-contracting can not only reduce the earning potential of a job, but also erode the value in the customer’s eye, as they may have to wait for key stages to be handled by someone else before the final completion of the job. The more skilled a plumber is in their job role – the more that they have to offer their client base.

In retrospect, the Self Employed Entrant has the potential to achieve a much higher and more readily available income stream than Student Entrant, but to do so they need to develop both their business skills and achieve a broader range of certifications. Note: The above information is solely relative to the UK market, industry requirements and policies.

(C) 2009 S. Edwards. Look at Plumber Training or Plumber Courses.

Lots of people choose a career within the electrical industry because it both appeals and motivates them. Within this document we will not use the full term of Electro-Mechanical Engineering but use the term Electrical Industry instead. Equally we’ll focus on those credentials that fit the UK domestic and commercial sector rather than those from around the world. As this is such a wide ranging subject matter we’ll begin by sticking to the main area first and come back to the ‘add-ons’ later.

We consider that there are two ways to enter the electrical market. Along with apprenticeships for school leavers, students entering the field at a later phase in their life now have an alternative to more traditional amateur routes. To begin with we have the ‘Junior Entrants’ and then we have the ‘Mature Entrants’.

Principally, Mature Entrants join the electrical workplace later on, and focus on becoming self employed. This means working on their own and not having to pay salaries to anyone else. By contrast, Junior entrants would seek to work with an established electrical firm and build their skill-sets as they train. After they leave school a young apprentice will have many skills to learn during their first few years of working life.

The two different ways into the industry have two separate methods of preparation. In essence, the Junior Entrants follow an NVQ syllabus, or SVQ syllabus in Scotland. The core syllabus is similar to non NVQ commercial training, but the certification is compulsory. New employees gain the necessary course work and testing elements through an apprenticeship or some form of suitable work program.

By opting to work on a freelance basis, many Mature Entrants appear to focus on those areas that provide profitable and practical solutions other than NVQ’s. Such as obtaining documentation that gives them the best chance to gain from their training endeavours and thereby the best financial rewards. Whilst this may seem to reduce the overall qualification set, this meets the trade requirements for the areas involved, and thus provides a quicker and more direct commercial route to the market.

We should differentiate the prospective earnings into the two categories of employed and self-employed. Obviously, with self-employment, there is the added issue of whether the Entrant is part-time (working around another job) or full-time; we will concentrate on full-time. Skill and knowledge levels can often determine salary levels, although this is equally via a proven ability or certification scheme.

The basic salary for Junior Entrants tends to start around the 12-15k mark, but rises regularly to around 30k with the right level of experience. On the other hand experienced self-employed electricians have been known to earn around 70 thousand or more within the UK. Regardless of all that is the need to cover off additional costs such as tools, clothes and even a vehicle and all that goes along with that. In addition to this they will also have to allow for items such as accountancy and personal/professional insurance. With the current skills shortage in the UK, there is a high work load demand available. Working 7 days a week is totally achievable for most people if they want it. To be fair, high salaries bounded about by the press do require long working hours or help to achieve them.

Firstly, it is worth pointing out that the working week between the Junior and Mature electricians can vary enormously. For a ‘Junior Entrant’, most work is on a simple working week basis. The Mature market is however often reliant as to when their client base is available, especially in the domestic sector. And yet, a huge number of self-employed electricians operate during the main part of the working week by focusing on office and small business systems.

If a Junior Electrician chooses an electrical career, then the main business actions of their company often dictate the type of expertise that they gain. Alternatively, the mature entrant can gain other training outside of their chosen field, such as gas and plumbing work. They can take on larger jobs and do all the work themselves then – which is a particularly great benefit to domestic clients.

‘Green Engineering’ is another area to consider. This requires new skills and working knowledge and is one of the fastest growing areas today. The opportunity to provide both employment and potential service contracts, especially in the UK and the EEC sectors, mean that this area is of interest to both Junior and Mature electricians.

Copyright Scott Edwards 2009. Go to Electrical Careers or www.AdultCareersAdvice.co.uk/ACAP.html.

We often read in the press of the salaries that the Plumbing trade is achieving. 30-70k p.a. is often talked about because of the lack of Plumbers. So, is this the truth of the matter, or are we being lied to? To be fair, this wage level is reasonable for the correctly qualified and experienced Plumber. So whilst those working in the self-employed role can get incomes of 70-100k p.a., those working in more conventional employment routes often find it hard to achieve this salary.

If you enter the traditional work environment, primarily working for an established employer, then working hours of Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm are standard. Approximately wages of 15k and 30k p.a. are reasonable within the UK, along with standard benefits such as holiday pay and sickness allowance. By working ‘out of hours’ – typically longer than 9am to 6pm Mon- Fri the self employed person can often achieve a higher wage. For example in the domestic sector where clients are often at work during the working day, self employed plumbers are regularly required to work during evening and weekend visits.

There is also the issue of self-employment itself – which definitely suits some people more than it suits others. Finally there is good ‘business sense’, such as getting the hourly rate correct, advertising and marketing budgets spot on which are all important. To be fair most self-employed people will have to prepare for additional costs including those relating to legal and accountancy fees as well as those of transport and material usage. Although it is expected that these can be relatively small in relation to the earnings overall they can mount up, but then so can the benefits. Added to that, the positives virtually always outstrip the negatives!

Without a doubt Student Entrants are looking for companies who can offer them regular employment and thereby teach them from experience. As quickly as possible the Self Employed Entrant needs to increase their list of accreditations that they will rely upon. Having said that, we should bear in mind that the majority of self-employed workers tend to migrate towards the narrower ‘domestic’ market, rather than the commercial sector. (Whilst not everyone does the majority do!)

Furthermore, each route into Plumbing has a necessity on the certification process overall. Without a doubt the issue of NVQ’s (SVQ’s in Scotland) raises a constant concern as to the way forward.

To begin with the NVQ structure appears to be much more important to the Student Entrant than to the Self Employed Entrant. By calling upon a wider range of qualifications Self Employed Entrants will be able to meet their clients’ needs from the start. The self employed person needs to consider the wishes of their household clients and use the relative domestic-centred qualifications to satisfy them. The Student Entrant, once they have covered the key fundamentals, will carry on their study in a way similar to an apprenticeship (within the workplace – where the NVQ element can be assessed.) Considerable savings potential exists to the Student Entrant by taking on this cheaper form of study. That said it is the ability to gain real financial rewards long before the Student Entrant that encourages many Self-Employed Entrants to gain certifications faster and be motivated by a stronger commercial attitude.

To be sure the financial returns required is the result of clear careers discussions covering certification and the overall study requirements. For adults with demands of say a 20kp.a and a family to look after, the prospect of going back to college and spending a further 3 years in low-paid apprenticeship work can be very daunting. It should also be remembered that many younger Student Entrants are entering an apprenticeship and thereby have their courses paid for them whereas the mature self-employed students do not. Depending on the level of certification sought and the course itself the costs for people can run into 3k to 10k+.

Self Employed Entrants can consider a wide range of private technical colleges as opposed to the reliance on further-education colleges and that differentiates them from Student Entrants. Commercially oriented plumbing course companies will provide an established path of training which ultimately leads into recognised skill-sets and qualifications. In the current climate the ability of Self Employed Entrants to maintain their current financial situation and job, whilst at the same time as training in the evening, part-time or on self study classes remains one of the advantages of this system. With so many training colleges available, it makes sense to gather information from as many sources as possible. Why not book mark this page (CTRL-D) and then you can come back and review your options from the links and adverts we have provided for you.

Many plumbing students will go on to consider additional courses to increase their ‘marketability’. Areas such as Gas, Green Energy and Electrical training can offer additional qualifications to Plumbers. As part of the commercial and domestic heating procedures, Gas training continues to be popular with Plumbers.

Gas Training is considered a dedicated training program with key subjects followed by important NVQ’s. It is the ability to add extra skills to the fore, along with the features that on-going training offers that continue to be attractive to those who trained as a plumber. From this stance, the mature student is often more suited to a cross of Plumbing/Gas training. It is by centring on these core elements and dropping the NVQ elements that the Mature Student appears to settle.

It is this distinct training hybrid that appears to suit the self-employed professional. Without a doubt the appeal is to learn a greater range of skill-sets and at the same time earn money from them. The removal of any reliance of sub-contracting key skills of third parties definitely enhances the commercial package. Having to wait for critical phases to be completed by sub-contractors can not only reduce the earning potential of each job but can also negatively affect a customer’s perception of a job value overall. The more professional a Plumber is within their field the more that they have to offer their relative client base.

It is by working at their broader range of certifications alongside business skills that Self Employed Entrants can achieve much higher income streams that their Student Entrant counterparts. Note: This information relates to the UK market, policies and industry requirements alone.

(C) S. Edwards 2009. Visit Plumbing Courses UK or Alternative-Careers.co.uk/AltCarF.html.

If you’d like to become a web designer qualified appropriately for the job market today, you should find training in Adobe Dreamweaver.

We also advise that you become fully conversant with the full Adobe Web Creative Suite, including Flash and Action Script, in order to take advantage of Dreamweaver commercially as a web-designer. This knowledge can take you on to becoming an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) or Adobe Certified Professional (ACP).

Understanding how to design a website is just the start. Driving traffic, maintaining content and various programming skills should come next. Look for training programmes that also teach these subjects for example HTML, PHP and database engines like MySQL, in addition to search engine optimisation (SEO) and E-Commerce skills.

Looking at the myriad of choice out there, does it really shock us that a large majority of career changers balk at what job they will follow.

Reading lists of IT career possibilities is next to useless. Surely, most of us have no concept what our own family members do for a living – let alone understand the subtleties of any specific IT role.

To get through to the essence of this, there should be a discussion of a variety of different aspects:

* The sort of individual you consider yourself to be – what tasks do you enjoy, and conversely – what don’t you like doing.

* What sort of time-frame do you want for retraining?

* Is your income higher on your list of priorities than other factors.

* Always think in-depth about the work needed to achieve their goals.

* You’ll also need to think hard about any sacrifices you’ll need to make, as well as what commitment and time you’re going to give to the accreditation program.

To completely side-step the industry jargon, and find what’ll really work for you, have an in-depth discussion with an experienced professional; an individual that understands the commercial reality as well as each qualification.

Many people question why traditional academic studies are now falling behind more commercial certifications?

Corporate based study (to use industry-speak) is more effective in the commercial field. The IT sector is aware that this level of specialised understanding is what’s needed to service the demands of an acceleratingly technical workplace. CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA are the dominant players.

This is done by honing in on the particular skills that are needed (together with a relevant amount of associated knowledge,) as opposed to covering masses of the background ‘padding’ that academic courses often do – to fill a three or four year course.

When an employer understands what areas need to be serviced, then they just need to look for the exact skill-set required to meet that need. Syllabuses all have to conform to the same requirements and aren’t allowed to deviate (like academia frequently can and does).

When did you last consider how safe your job is? Typically, this isn’t an issue until something dramatic happens to shake us. But in today’s marketplace, The cold truth is that true job security doesn’t really exist anymore, for all but the most lucky of us.

Where there are growing skills deficits together with rising demand of course, we always hit upon a newer brand of security in the marketplace; where, fuelled by a continual growth, employers are struggling to hire the influx of staff needed.

Reviewing the computer market, the 2006 e-Skills investigation highlighted a twenty six percent shortfall of skilled workers. To explain it in a different way, this reveals that the country can only find three qualified staff for each 4 positions that exist now.

Attaining in-depth commercial Information Technology accreditation is accordingly a fast-track to achieve a long-lasting as well as gratifying livelihood.

While the market is growing at such a speed, there really isn’t any other market worth considering for a new career.

A so-called advisor who doesn’t dig around with lots of question – it’s likely they’re just trying to sell you something. If they wade straight in with a specific product before learning about your history and whether you have any commercial experience, then you know you’re being sold to.

If you’ve got a strong background, or maybe some work-based experience (possibly even some previous certification?) then it’s more than likely your starting level will be quite dissimilar from someone who is just starting out.

It’s usual to start with a user-skills course first. This can set the scene for your on-going studies and make the learning curve a a little easier.

(C) 2009 – S. Edwards. Pop to SQL Administration or CLICK HERE.

Should you be aspiring to become Cisco accredited, and you haven’t worked with routers or switches, the chances are your first course should be the Cisco CCNA qualification. This will provide you with knowledge and skills to work with routers. Vast numbers of routers make up the internet, and national or international corporations with several locations also rely on them to allow their networks to talk to each other.

Jobs that need this knowledge mean the chances are you’ll work for national or international corporations that have several locations but need their computer networks to talk to each other. On the other hand, you might end up working for an internet service provider. Jobs requiring these skills are plentiful and well remunerated.

The CCNA qualification is more than adequate; don’t be pushed into attempting your CCNP. After gaining experience in the working environment, you can decide whether you need to train up to this level. If you decide to become more qualified, you’ll have the experience you need to tackle the CCNP – because it’s far from a walk in the park – and ought not to be underestimated.

Authorised simulation materials and exam preparation packages are crucial – and should definitely be supplied by your course provider.

Sometimes people can find themselves confused by practicing questions for their exams that aren’t recognised by official boards. Sometimes, the question formats and phraseology can be quite different and it’s vital that you know this.

Obviously, it’s essential to know that you’ve thoroughly prepared for the real exam prior to doing it. Revising mock-up tests logs the information in your brain and saves you time and money on failed exams.

Coming across job security in this economic down-turn is problematic. Businesses frequently remove us from the workplace with very little notice – whenever it suits.

When we come across escalating skills shortages coupled with increasing demand though, we can discover a fresh type of market-security; as fuelled by a continual growth, employers are struggling to hire the number of people required.

With the computing industry for instance, a recent e-Skills analysis showed a skills shortage throughout Great Britain around the 26 percent mark. That means for each 4 job positions available around the computer industry, there are barely three qualified workers to fill that need.

This one concept on its own shows why the United Kingdom needs a lot more people to enter the IT sector.

It’s unlikely if a better time or market conditions could exist for getting certified in this quickly expanding and developing business.

It’s so important to understand this key point: You have to get round-the-clock 24×7 instructor and mentor support. You will have so many problems later if you don’t heed this.

You’ll be waiting ages for an answer with email based support, and phone support is often to a call-centre who will just take down the issue and email it over to their technical team – who will call back over the next day or so (assuming you’re there), at a suitable time to them. This is no good if you’re sitting there confused over an issue and have a one hour time-slot in which to study.

We recommend looking for training programs that use several support centres from around the world. All of them should be combined to enable simple one-stop access together with 24 hours-a-day access, when it’s convenient for you, with the minimum of hassle.

If you accept anything less than 24×7 support, you’ll regret it. You may avoid using the support throughout the night, but you’re bound to use weekends, early mornings or late evenings.

It’s usual for students to get confused with one area of their training usually not even thought about: How the training is broken down and packaged off through the post.

Often, you’ll enrol on a course taking 1-3 years and receive a module at a time. It seems to make sense on one level, but consider these issues:

With thought, many trainees understand that the company’s ’standard’ path of training doesn’t suit. It’s often the case that it’s more expedient to use an alternative order of study. Perhaps you don’t make it at the pace they expect?

To be straight, the very best answer is to have a copy of their prescribed order of study, but make sure you have all of your learning modules right from the beginning. You then have everything should you not complete it as fast as they’d like.

Copyright 2009 S. Edwards. Look at MCDBA Course or FindingANewCareer.co.uk/pfaneca.html.

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