Just ten percent of adults in Great Britain are happy with what they do for a living. Of course, most will take no action. The fact that you’re reading this surely suggests that you’ve realised change must come.

We suggest that you discuss your ideas first – talk to someone who’s familiar with your chosen field; an advisor who can get to the bottom of what you’ll like in a job, and offer only the learning programs which will get you there:

* Do you hope for interaction with others? If so, do you like working with the same people or are you more comfortable dealing with strangers? Alternatively, do you like to deal with your responsibilities alone?

* What’s important that you get from the industry your job is in? (Building and banking – not so stable as they once were.)

* Is this the last time you imagine you’ll re-train, and if it is, will this new career give you scope to do that?

* Would you like your training course to be in an area where you believe you’ll remain employable until your pension kicks in?

It’s important that one of your key sectors is Information Technology – it’s common knowledge that it’s developing all the time. It’s not all nerdy people looking at computer screens constantly – it’s true some IT jobs demand that, but the majority of roles are filled with Joe averages who do very well out of it.

Many certification companies are still maintaining the slightly musty old method of in-centre classes. Usually touted as a major benefit, after discussion with someone who has first-hand experience, you’ll find them listing some or all of the following problems:

* Loads of driving back and forth from the training centre – normally 100’s of miles.

* For those of us that work, then Mon-Fri events represent a difficulty in getting time off. You’re usually having to deal with 2-3 days at a time as well.

* Lost annual leave – most IT hopefuls are given only twenty days of leave annually. If over half of it is swallowed up by study workshops, vacation time is going to be quite short for students and their families.

* Training events fill up fast and can be very crammed in.

* Workshop pace – workshops usually consist of students of varied skill, consequently tension can run high between students with more background knowledge and the ones who need a little longer.

* Most attendees talk of the high costs involved with all the travelling back and forth to the training school whilst paying for accommodation and food gets very high.

* You should never risk the chance of letting yourself be overlooked for a lift up the ladder or pay-rises because you’re getting trained in a different area.

* We all find that, at times, it’s uncomfortable to raise questions when surrounded by other students – who wants to look like they’re the only one who doesn’t get it?

* Living away for part of your working week – a lot of students have to work or live away for part of the program. Events are very difficult then, unfortunately the monies have already been handed over as part of your fees.

It would be better to simply watch and study with industry specialists one-to-one through pre-made modules, studying them when it suits you – not somebody else.

Training can take place wherever it suits you. If your PC is a laptop, take in some sun outside while you learn. If you have any problems then make use of the 24×7 support.

You’ll never have to write notes again – you have the lessons and accompanying information ready-made for you. If you need to cover something again, you’ve got it all.

Could it get any simpler: No wasted time or money, travelling is avoided; and you end up with a more comfortable study setting.

Commencing from the viewpoint that we need to locate the area of most interest first, before we can even consider which training program would meet that requirement, how can we choose the correct route?

How can we possibly grasp the tasks faced daily in an IT career when we’ve never done it? Maybe we don’t know someone who works in that sector anyway.

Arriving at the right conclusion will only come from a meticulous analysis of several varying key points:

* Which type of person you consider yourself to be – what kind of jobs you really enjoy, plus of course – what you definitely don’t enjoy.

* Do you want to obtain training for a specific reason – e.g. do you aim to work based at home (working for yourself?)?

* Your earning needs you may have?

* Considering the huge variation that computing covers, it’s a requirement that you can understand how they differ.

* Having a serious look at the level of commitment, time and effort that you’re going to put into it.

For the average person, getting to the bottom of each of these concepts tends to require the help of a professional who can explain things properly. And we don’t just mean the qualifications – but also the commercial requirements and expectations also.

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When you decide upon a training program it’s crucial that the qualification it leads to falls in line with the needs of industry. As well as this, be sure that the program is a match for you, and is pitched at the right level.

Whether it’s office skills you’re looking to polish up on, or dream of getting professional IT certifications, there are technically advanced courses and assistance to turn your goals into reality.

Today, there are many user-friendly and accessibly priced options available that will give you everything you need.

Have you recently questioned how safe your job is? For most of us, this isn’t an issue until something dramatic happens to shake us. But in today’s marketplace, the painful truth is that job security doesn’t really exist anymore, for the vast majority of people.

Of course, a marketplace with high growth, where staff are in constant demand (because of a growing shortfall of trained people), provides a market for proper job security.

Looking at the Information Technology (IT) industry, a recent e-Skills study brought to light an over 26 percent shortfall of skilled workers. This shows that for every 4 jobs existing across computing, there are only 3 trained people to perform that task.

Gaining full commercial IT certification is therefore a quick route to succeed in a long-term as well as pleasing livelihood.

With the market evolving at such a quick pace, it’s unlikely there’s any better area of industry worth looking at for retraining.

Review the points below in detail if you’ve been persuaded that that over-used sales technique about examination guarantees seems like a good idea:

Obviously it’s not free – you are paying for it – it’s just been wrapped up in the price of the package.

Should you seriously need to qualify first ‘go’, then the most successful route is to pay for each exam as you go, give it the priority it deserves and give the task sufficient application.

Does it really add up to pay your training college in advance for exam fees? Hold on to your money and pay for the exam when you take the exam, rather than coughing up months or even a year or two in advance – and sit exams more locally – not at somewhere of their bidding.

Buying a course that includes payments for examinations (and if you’re financing your study there’ll be interest on that) is madness. Resist being talked into filling the training company’s account with your money just to give them more interest! Some will be pinning their hopes on the fact that you won’t get to do them all – but they won’t refund the cash.

It’s worth noting that exam re-takes with training companies who offer an ‘Exam Guarantee’ are tightly controlled. You will be required to do mock exams so you can prove to them you have a good chance of passing.

Spending hundreds or even thousands extra on ‘Exam Guarantees’ is remiss – when consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software is actually the key to your success.

Authorised exam preparation and simulation materials are a must – and really must be offered by your training supplier.

Due to the fact that many examining boards for IT are American, it’s essential to understand how exam questions will be phrased and formatted. It isn’t good enough merely going through the right questions – they have to be in the same format as the actual exams.

Be sure to have some simulated exam questions that will allow you to check your comprehension at all times. Simulations of exams add to your knowledge bank – then you won’t be quite so nervous at the actual exam.

Qualifications from the commercial sector are now, undoubtedly, beginning to replace the more academic tracks into the IT industry – so why should this be?

With 3 and 4 year academic degree costs spiralling out of control, alongside the industry’s growing opinion that corporate based study often has more relevance in the commercial field, there’s been a dramatic increase in Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA authorised training routes that create knowledgeable employees for considerably less.

Vendor training works through concentrating on the particular skills that are needed (together with an appropriate level of related knowledge,) rather than spending months and years on the background detail and ‘fluff’ that academic courses can get bogged down in – to pad out the syllabus.

Imagine if you were an employer – and you needed to take on someone with a very particular skill-set. Which is the most straightforward: Go through loads of academic qualifications from several applicants, trying to establish what they know and what vocational skills have been attained, or choose particular accreditations that perfectly fit your needs, and draw up from that who you want to speak to. The interview is then more about the person and how they’ll fit in – instead of long discussions on technical suitability.

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There are some people who seem to breeze through life, rejoicing from one triumph to the next. By contrast, there are others who never quite make it, and always have a reason why life has dealt them a hard blow. Society is made up of victors and victims, and the difference can very often be boiled down to one key factor – attitude.

It’s essential when moving into a new career direction to adopt the habits of the victor to achieve the right outcome. Victims attempt actions over-cautiously, hoping for good things, but never really feeling they’re worthy of great things. The victors mentally commit to a successful outcome, and support their actions with emotion.

Take a couple of tennis players about to play a championship game. One says “It’s my last chance – I’ll give it my best efforts,” but the other one says “Winning is my destiny – it’s everything to me.” No prizes for guessing who’ll win the championship. They might both put in the same amount of time, but the victor spends more of it on his mental training to win.

The victim is defined by the word BED – one who stays in bed and gives up. The victor is defined by the word OAR – a figure paddling towards success. BED = Blame, Excuses and Denial. OAR = Ownership, Accountability and Responsibility.

The victor takes responsibility for his or her tasks, and doesn’t hope for someone else to lead the way. He’s accountable for his actions, so takes them seriously, and sees things through by tackling problems not creating them. He doesn’t take excuses from himself and is responsible for the outcome of his actions.

The victim can always come up with a reason for not achieving, and it’s rarely to do with himself. Everything is always somebody else’s fault – he doesn’t feel in control so puts the blame at someone else’s door. He gives excuses for his lack of performance, and doesn’t realise the only person he’s convincing is himself. After repeating this pattern of blame and excuses for a while, the victim is in denial, absolutely convinced that there’s nothing he can do about this situation.

Students about to embark on a life-changing training course should give themselves a mental work-out, to prepare for success. Anybody who relates to the victim mentality will have to look at these issues before they start, to take full advantage of the potential in front of them.

Both sets of attitudes are just habits, and with constant repetition, habits can be changed. Listen to the voice inside your head – if it sounds like a victim, then stop it and verbalise why you can achieve. No one is any better than you – some have just fought their demons and emerged victorious.

To quote Winston Churchill, “There is no such thing as a hero, only those who rise to the occasion”. In learning as well as in life, we must have the attitude of a winner to allow ourselves to become a winner.

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I’m not suggesting that IT training and IT careers are the be-all and end-all of life on this planet. Can you imagine, for example, where we would be without the football superstars who entertain us so well on a weekly basis? Yet there’s got to be a reason why more and more people are training for careers within the IT industry.

The increase in IT training for those people who are seeking a career change or an enhancement to their existing skill sets has been an interesting development. In reviewing this, I’m curious to find out if this option really is viable, and why IT continues to offer the attraction?

When looking at relationships, we all accept that people and key elements can change. A girlfriend or boyfriend at the age of 10 is often thought a cute thing, but it’s not expected to last. Relationships at the age of 18-20 can be less transient, but again have a greater rate of short-term life span than those formed later in life.

We ask young people to make decisions and plan their working career fairly early on in life. Yet historically there seems to be an inherent resistance to change as times passes. So if we accept that life changes, and we accept that circumstances also change, isn’t it prudent for us to accept that career paths can and indeed ought to change?

Modern society continually relies on IT, and IT related factors. Based on simple economics of supply and demand, this leads many people to assume that a career in this field would be reliable and well paid. Many people see a direct transfer of how they use IT systems socially (such as social interaction on the internet e.g. facebook and playing games etc.) into a career. What factors would actually lead towards a successful career, and is this a genuine realism of a career within IT?

I believe that a key element in answering this is an understanding that a career in IT is as dependent on factors such as an employer (or client base if self-employed,) and economic issues, as any other career path. However, there is considerable evidence to suggest that professional people within the IT industry can move between employers and industry sectors more freely, due to the wide dependence on IT services across both geographic and industry models.

The term ‘Professional IT People’ is one of the key elements here – as in any other industry, employers have consistently sought staff where the skills can be proven by both experience and a recognised, approved benchmark. This is the same whether that’s a degree, or recognised apprenticeship culminating in an industry standard qualification, like an electrician or plumber.

The IT industry is just the same. Many people have access to a computer at home, and can experience several factors of the IT industry in a refined environment. Yet this is in many cases vastly different from the skills and resources required in the commercial sector. We’d all agree, I’m sure, that spending four hours a night surfing the internet or playing games doesn’t make us a qualified webmaster or a qualified games designer.

Professional qualifications within the IT field such as MCSE or MCSA are immediately recognisable as an industry standard. Employers can rely upon the skills offered, and as such there is a reduced risk of breach of commercial insurance policies for work and services provided by such people, whether they are self-employed or directly employed.

Anybody seriously thinking about a future in this field must look at how best to position themselves to become interesting to an employer – and clearly having a professional qualification will go a long way towards this. It’s the employer or client who pays the salary, so we should at least be aware of what they’re seeking in recruitment or engagement.

We have plenty of data in existence to support the view that the IT sector growth is faster and more resilient than many other industry sectors. We’re seeing a transitional shift in industry sectors, from the first world over to the third world. Many growing or ‘tiger’ economies are adapting to (and embracing) long standing IT systems at a very fast rate indeed.

Within this article so far we’ve considered the trends, which along with the demise of traditional industry and therefore traditional expectancies of a job-for-life, there will be a growing propensity towards multiple jobs and career paths throughout our working life.

What’s more, we’ve noted that the IT industry remains attractive consistently as it continues to provide both supply and demand across geographical boundaries and across industry sectors. Todays forecasts also predict the increasing long-term dependence on IT systems overall. This includes the professional individuals who develop, utilise and maintain those systems, as they remain integral to many organisations long-term requirements.

Salary expectations remain high within this field, and there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that this is achievable. However, it’s worth noting that in many other industries the top-people get paid the top-money, and simply ‘being there’ is not good enough and does not guarantee the top-money.

We’ve also argued the case that employers view recruitment for IT skills as no different to any other facet of their business. They expect the individuals to formally demonstrate their skills and qualifications, in exactly the same way as they expect their accountants and electricians to be professionally qualified to do the work they’re employed to do.

I believe that there is considerable evidence to promote a career within the IT industry as a strong and viable option to many people within today’s economic and social climate. High salaries are definitely achievable. Yet it’s equally clear and, to be fair, common sense to expect to have to achieve a recognisable professional IT qualification to be able to clearly demonstrate one’s own ability, and at the very least the attitude that you are serious about this career path and that your prospective employer can rely on you in the commercial field.

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Recently published long term studies have indicated that on average, it costs a total of 193,000 pounds to bring up a child in the UK – equating to approximately 26-28 pounds each day. This news was received with a swathe of cynical reactions from long suffering parents, few of whom were totally shocked.

The current recession and its effect on traditional educational systems is now being evaluated by many pundits. They make consistent reference to the strategies to survive adopted by parents, teachers and students alike in the recession of the 1990’s.

Analysis suggests that on average up to 40 percent of the entire household disposable income is spent on education and schooling overall. With the hardening attitude towards bank lending and mortgage allocation this figure could rise as our young people stay with their parents for longer before leaving the nest and lengthen their education programs – almost as a by product of something to do whilst we wait for things to get better.

The cost of living is increasingly monopolising the family focus. Additionally, many companies are cutting back on training and development programs. So people feel it’s pointless spending money on training when they do not know for certain that they will not be made redundant – it is little wonder that many are now re-accessing their method of personal development and the subject matter that they study in.

Historically, public services, banking and the like have all been thought of as stable long term employers and attracted people accordingly. Over the last decade or so this has largely been superseded by the perception of employment offered within the IT industry.

Unlike training in the motor industry or engineering, where key skills often have to be gained in a practical environment, IT training can be predominantly home based. Whilst it is difficult to transport a complete car production line into the home, computer based training is easily at hand. Developments in the intellectual property field such as IT have grown exponentially as a result of this and the continued enhancements in the way the skills are taught and learnt.

New training methods using round the clock remote access to highly skilled lecturers adds weight to the strategy and results in certification in a field that is widely sought after all over the world. Along with visably quantified salary and career structures it is not surprising that IT training is so attractive.

Many people are unsure of their future, whether early on in their career or mid way through life. Home based training, for example in IT, can often be viewed as a highly effective, low cost, easy-paced development program; gaining skills that are sought after all over the world and very resilient in a volatile economic environment.

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Dividing the different stages of learning into sections can be really helpful when we’re trying to work out where we are and how far we can go. Looking at the big goal can be quite scary – (let’s say professional web designer with a big portfolio of customers who are dependent on our expertise), when it’s as much as we can do to recall the names of the software we’ll be learning from!

Let’s look at four different levels of understanding. Whenever we take on anything new, we all experience these stages, and recognising them helps us to evaluate ourselves and our progress.

1. Unconscious Incompetent, 2. Conscious Incompetent, 3. Conscious Competent, 4. Unconscious Competent

Unconscious Incompetent – This is stage one where career changers often start. At this stage we know we want to change, but we don’t yet know what we don’t know, what we need to know, how to learn it or where it might take us! Sounds a bit desperate, but the main thing is knowing we want to change – everything else can be taught.

The main thing is to take advice. The stage one person can discover what’s involved in the process by talking things through with an experienced advisor; then they can find out where they want to go and what they need to learn.

This moves us swiftly on to stage two – Conscious Incompetent. Now we’re probably at the start of your training course. Having been taught the different options, we’ve decided on our career path, and we know what we have to learn – in other words we’re conscious of what we don’t yet know, or what we’re currently incompetent at.

Understanding this is important, to have the wisdom of knowing where we are. Grasping conscious incompetence means that we don’t get quite so frustrated in the early stages of our learning – it’s possible we’re not very good at it (especially if it’s been a while since we were at school…) but we know we’ll get better. Modern interactive learning accelerates this process, so we won’t be at this stage for long.

Conscious Competent takes us to stage three. We’re in the flow of the learning environment, and can pick things up much more quickly. We still have to consciously think about what we’re doing on a continuous basis, but we’re able to learn competently. We’ll most likely complete our studies and successfully pass our exams during this learning stage, which will probably also extend into our working life too.

Think about when we learned to drive a car. We’d reached conscious competency at the time of our exam – still very conscious of every manoeuvre, but good enough to pass the test. We could only move into stage four when we gained more experience along with the knowledge.

In the computer world, before we become Unconsciously Competent we’ll most likely be several years into our working experience. At that stage, we know what we need to know, and no longer have to consciously think about why we do something. Although school’s never out for the pro, (and the joy in IT is there’s always more to learn) getting to this lofty height of understanding makes all the hard work worth it.

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