Michael Marcello

There are four specialised areas of training in the full CompTIA A+ syllabus, of which 2 passes are needed for your A+ qualification. However restricting yourself to two of the four specialities is likely to leave your knowledge base somewhat light. At least learn about all four – employers will notice the difference.

As well as learning how to build PC’s and fix them, students of A+ will learn how to operate in antistatic conditions, how to fault find, to diagnose and to remotely access problems.

It could be a good idea to think about adding the CompTIA Network+ training as it will enable you to work with networks, and have a more responsible working role.

Getting your first commercial position can feel more straightforward if you’re supported with a Job Placement Assistance program. The fact of the matter is it’s not as hard as some people make out to secure the right work – once you’re trained and certified; the shortage of IT personnel in Britain looks after that.

You would ideally have CV and Interview advice and support though; also we would encourage all students to get their CV updated as soon as they start a course – don’t wait till you’ve finished your exams.

A good number of junior support jobs have been offered to people who’re still on their course and haven’t got any qualifications yet. This will at least get you into the ‘maybe’ pile of CV’s – rather than the ‘No’ pile.

If you’d like to keep travelling time and costs to a minimum, then you may well find that a local (but specialised) recruitment consultancy may be more appropriate than a centralised service, for they’re far more likely to be familiar with local employment needs.

Many trainees, it seems, put a great deal of effort into their studies (sometimes for years), and then just stop instead of looking for a job. Sell yourself… Do your best to let employers know about you. Don’t expect a job to just fall into your lap.

Beware of putting too much emphasis, as many people do, on the certification itself. Training for training’s sake is generally pointless; you’re training to become commercially employable. You need to remain focused on where you want to go.

You may train for one year and then end up doing the job for 20 years. Avoid the mistake of finding what seems like a very ‘interesting’ program only to spend 20 years doing a job you hate!

Spend some time thinking about how much you want to earn and the level of your ambition. This will influence which precise certifications you’ll need to attain and how much effort you’ll have to give in return.

All students are advised to talk with an experienced professional before they embark on a retraining path. This gives some measure of assurance that it features what is required for the career path that has been chosen.

Considering how a program is ‘delivered’ to you is often missed by many students. How many stages do they break the program into? What is the order and at what speed is it delivered?

A release of your materials stage by stage, as you complete each module is the usual method of releasing your program. This sounds sensible, but you should take these factors into account:

Maybe the order of study insisted on by the company won’t suit you. It may be difficult to get through every element inside of their particular timetable?

For future safety and flexibility, many trainees now want to insist that all study materials are delivered immediately, and not in stages. That means it’s down to you in what order and how fast or slow you’d like to work.

Traditional teaching in classrooms, involving piles of reference textbooks, is often a huge slog for most of us. If this describes you, look for learning programmes that are multimedia based.

Many studies have proved that memory is aided when we receive multi-sensorial input, and we take action to use what we’ve learned.

Interactive full motion video involving demonstration and virtual lab’s will beat books every time. And you’ll find them fun and interesting.

You must ensure that you see examples of the study materials provided by your chosen company. Be sure that they contain video demo’s and interactive elements such as practice lab’s.

Some companies only have access to training that is purely available online; sometimes you can get away with this – but, consider how you’ll deal with it if your access to the internet is broken or you get intermittent problems and speed issues. It is usually safer to have actual CD or DVD ROMs that removes the issue entirely.

(C) 2009 – S. Edwards. Go to JobQualification.co.uk/tjobqual.html or Flash Courses.

Due to the exciting choices available, the electrical industry offers jobs that many people choose. For simplicity’s sake we will use the phrase Electrical Industry to cover off the more accurate term of “Electro-Mechanical Engineering”. As there are a wide variety of global standards, we will focus on those from the UK and in particular those relating to the domestic and commercial markets. Due to the huge list of opportunities available for a career in the electrical industry, we have to begin by focusing on the main areas and look at the ‘add-ons’ later on.

We consider that there are two ways to enter the electrical market. Initially there’s the more traditional apprenticeship approach, but equally there is now an alternative, suited to those who are keen to enter later in their life. To begin with we have the ‘Junior Entrants’ and then we have the ‘Mature Entrants’.

People who do not want to pay any extra salaries, but want to enter the industry with the focus of being self employed are who we refer to as Mature Entrants. By contrast, Junior entrants would seek to work with an established electrical firm and build their skill-sets as they train. This could be a young apprentice’s first position since leaving school, so it will be necessary to pick up supplementary working skills.

Clearly these two options have both differing training styles and methods of entry. Junior Entrants are heavily linked with NVQ’s (or the Scottish equivalent – SVQ’s.) The training itself is similar to non NVQ training, but completion of the full programme means getting the actual qualifications. As a result students often have to find their own work programmes to give them the relevant testing and course work covered by most apprenticeships.

By working independently and without the need for NVQ assessments, many Mature Entrants can concentrate on those areas that provide the biggest profit and offer the largest practical solutions for themselves. For example by concentrating on those qualifications aimed at giving them the best return from their training costs. This system does meet the purposes set out and therefore often provides a faster and more direct route into a trading position.

Salaries are often simply broken down to those that relate to self -employed people and those in general employment. With self-employment a person may be working on a part-time or full time basis -to that end we will assume they are working full time. Skill and knowledge levels can often determine salary levels, although this is equally via a proven ability or certification scheme.

Wages for ‘Junior Entrants’ can become as high as 30,000 or more per annum with the right experience, although starting salaries are around 12,000. On the other hand experienced self-employed electricians have been known to earn around 70 thousand or more within the UK. That aside, many added costs need to be remembered by self employed people in order to make their business work. Self employed people also have to allow for added expenses. In the UK there is a lot of work for electrical professions due to a short fall of current skilled people. In light of the above, a full seven day week is available to most people should they want it. Whilst figures of seventy to a hundred thousand are often bandied around in the press, they do not often inform you of the long hours you would need to work to achieve this.

For the most part there is a strong difference between the Junior and Mature Entrants’ working week. Most ‘Junior Entrants’ do not work at the weekends. To be fair, if the Mature electrician is focused on the domestic market then they often find themselves working out of hours, especially to support their clients when they get home. 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.

Once a Junior Entrant is employed within a company, then any follow-on knowledge they gain is often down to the employers’ activity as opposed to anything else. Then again, the mature entrant can even go outside of the electrical field to gas work or plumbing work for example. Certainly if they are employed within the domestic sector this makes it easier to take on work without having to rely upon other people.

An area that is relatively new to the industry overall, yet requires new expertise is that of ‘Green Engineering’. Looking together to the UK and the EEC this activity could be of benefit to both Junior and Mature Entrants, providing new growth and opportunities to both disciplines.

(C) 2009 – S. Edwards. Try City and Guilds Electrical Courses or www.NewCareersInformation.co.uk/nnci.html.

What are the sort of things you’d expect the most superior training companies certified by Microsoft to offer a client in the United Kingdom at present? Obviously, the ultimate in training tracks certified by Microsoft, providing a selection of courses to take you into different areas of the IT industry.

It’s a good idea to look for a person who’s got industry experience, who could help you sort out which area of the industry would be right for you, and what sort of tasks are suitable for an individual with your abilities and personal preferences.

After settling on your career path, your next search is for a suitable training program personalised to be right for your current level of knowledge and ability. The quality of training should more than match your expectations.

Getting your first commercial position can feel more straightforward with the help of a Job Placement Assistance facility. The honest truth is that it isn’t a complex operation to secure a job – as long as you’re correctly trained and certified; employers in this country need your skills.

Get your CV updated straight-away though – you should get plenty of help from your training provider on this. Don’t procrastinate and leave it till you’ve finished your exams.

It’s not uncommon to find that junior support jobs are offered to trainees who are still learning and have yet to take their exams. At the very least this will get your CV into the ‘possible’ pile and not the ‘no’ pile.

The top companies to get you a new position are normally specialist locally based employment services. Because they only get paid when they place you, they have the necessary incentive to try that bit harder.

A common grievance for various training providers is how much trainees are prepared to study to become certified, but how ill-prepared they are to market themselves for the role they’ve studied for. Don’t falter at the last fence.

Authorised exam simulation and preparation software is essential – and should definitely be supplied by your course provider.

Due to the fact that a lot of IT examining boards are from the USA, you’ll need to be used to the correct phraseology. It’s no use just answering any old technical questions – it’s essential that you can cope with them in the proper exam format.

A way to build self-confidence is if you verify your knowledge through tests and practice in simulated exam environments before you take the actual exam.

Students hoping to begin a career in IT normally don’t know what route they should take, or even what market to achieve their certification in.

Flicking through long lists of different and confusing job titles is no use whatsoever. The majority of us don’t really appreciate what our own family members do for a living – let alone understand the subtleties of any specific IT role.

Generally, the way to deal with this dilemma properly flows from a deep conversation around several different topics:

* Which type of individual you think yourself to be – what kind of jobs you enjoy doing, plus of course – what you definitely don’t enjoy.

* Why it seems right getting involved with the IT industry – maybe you’d like to achieve a life-long goal like being your own boss for instance.

* What scale of importance is the salary – is it very important, or does job satisfaction rate a lot higher on your priority-list?

* When taking into account all that Information Technology encapsulates, it’s obvious you’ll need to be able to understand the differences.

* How much time you’re prepared to put into obtaining your certification.

In all honesty, you’ll find the only real way to research these areas is via a conversation with an experienced advisor who has experience of Information Technology (and more importantly the commercial requirements.)

We’d hazard a guess that you’ve always enjoyed practical work – the ‘hands-on’ person. If you’re anything like us, the painful task of reading endless manuals is something you’ll make yourself do if you have to, but it doesn’t suit your way of doing things. Consider interactive, multimedia study if you’d really rather not use books.

Where we can get all of our senses involved in our learning, then the results are usually dramatically better.

Start a study-program in which you’ll receive a selection of CD and DVD based materials – you’ll be learning from instructor videos and demo’s, and then have the opportunity to use virtual lab’s to practice your new skills.

Every company that you look at should willingly take you through a few examples of their courseware. Make sure you encounter videos of instructor-led classes and a variety of interactive modules.

Go for physical media such as CD or DVD ROM’s if possible. You can then avoid all the difficulties of broadband outages, failure and signal quality issues etc.

(C) S. Edwards 2009. Visit Online Web Design Course or NewCareerCourses.co.uk/mncc.html.

To begin with newspapers appear to love discussing what can be earned in Plumbing. Within the UK, the figures of 30-70k p.a. are typical of Plumbers, mainly down to their low numbers. The question now is – are we being lied to, or is this the truth? To be fair, this wage level is reasonable for the correctly qualified and experienced Plumber. Salaries of 70-100k p.a. are achievable, but these appear to be the area of the self-employed Plumbers rather than those who take the more familiar working methods.

However, working for regular employers often results in the typical hours of Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm. From UK companies comes the standard reward such as holiday pay and sickness allowance and a potential wage of between 15k and 30k p.a. The self-employed person can generally achieve higher incomes than those available from the traditional approach, but would need to consider working ‘out of hours’ – and probably longer than the typical 9am-6pm Mon-Fri model. This is more common in the domestic market where self employed plumbers often have to work evenings and weekends to suit those clients that work during the week.

There is also the issue of self-employment itself – which definitely suits some people more than it suits others. This can include getting to grips with advertising & marketing, getting your own cost-per-hour correct and the need to learn and use good ‘business’ sense. Likewise self-employed people need to consider the implications of costs relating to materials and transport as well as legal and accountancy fees etc. These charges should always remain a small proportion of the overall income so that any profits created always outweigh them. And the benefits nearly always far outweigh the downsides!

Firstly, it is the ordinary employer who covers most of the needs and teaching prospects that Student Entrants are interested in. As quickly as possible the Self Employed Entrant needs to increase their list of accreditations that they will rely upon. That noted the main drive of self-employed workers is towards the ‘domestic’ market and not that of the commercial sector. (Well the majority do at least)

With reference to education in Plumbing, there is a likeness needed by each part of the industry in relation to the certification elements. A key debate however comes into play when considering the issue of NVQ’s (SVQ’s in Scotland.)

At first, the Student Entrant does appear to depend much more 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. In order to be able to meet the needs of the typical household, self-employed persons will need to rapidly gain key domestic-centred qualifications. Having covered off the key elements of training within the college, the Student Entrant usually then enters the apprenticeship stage within the workplace – where the NVQ element can be assessed. By using this cheaper form of study the Student Entrant can make sound financial savings from the outset. But the Self Employed Entrant will gain certifications faster (motivated by a more commercial viewpoint) and will therefore be achieving considerable financial reward long before the Student Entrant.

This shows the necessity of a clear careers discussion, covering the overall study and certification requirements alongside the required financial return. It would prove extremely difficult for an adult – requiring 20kp.a and having to look after their family – to go back to college and then spend 3 years in low-paid apprenticeship work. It should also be borne in mind that many young Student Entrants have their studies paid for them as part of their overall apprenticeships, whereas the self-employed student generally funds the course themselves. These costs (for self-employed status) can often end up around 3k-10k+, dependent upon the course structure and the level of certification sought.

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. Plumbing training companies can offer commercial routes in to reputable training paths that cover the necessary qualifications and skill-sets. The ability to train in evenings, part-time or in self study classes allowing people to continue with their existing job and maintaining their current financial situation remains one of the key advantages to Self Employed Entrants. With so many colleges at hand, the key is to secure as many with technical data sources and gather them. Having provided an option for you to come back and review the links and adverts from several sites, why not book mark this page (CTRL-D).

It is through the use of bonus courses that many plumbing students want to increase their ‘marketability’. Areas such as Gas, Green Energy and Electrical training can offer additional qualifications to Plumbers. A typically popular route for Plumbers is Gas training, especially as this forms part of the usual commercial and domestic heating system.

Gas Training, with subjects followed by a focus on NVQ’s is recognised as an accurate and exact training program. For those who trained as a plumber these schemes offer many options for further development and can clearly seen to add additional skills to the table. It could be said, from that viewpoint, that a hybrid of Plumbing/Gas training would be more suited to the mature student. By reducing the NVQ parts the Mature Student appears to be able to allow the focus on the core subjects.

It is from this particular training program that the self-employed professional gains ground. There is a great empathy for earning money whilst learning a wider range of work skill sets. Instead of having to rely upon third parties to complete certain skill-sets, this adds to their commercial viability. 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. In order to offer more value to their relative clients Plumbers need to be more skilled in their job role.

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 refers to the UK industry requirement and their policies alone.

Written by Scott Edwards. Check out Plumbing Certifications or Intensive Plumbing Courses.

The salaries of Plumbers are often highlighted in the national press. Within the UK, the figures of 30-70k p.a. are typical of Plumbers, mainly down to their low numbers. The question now is – are we being lied to, or is this the truth? To be certain, for the correctly qualified and experienced plumber, this level of salary is achievable and indeed attainable. Salaries of 70-100k p.a. are achievable, but these appear to be the area of the self-employed Plumbers rather than those who take the more familiar working methods.

If you are working for a traditional company within the UK, then the hours of Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm are normal. Approximately wages of 15k and 30k p.a. are reasonable within the UK, along with standard benefits such as holiday pay and sickness allowance. A self-employed person can earn more money than this traditional approach, but will often need to work outside of the Mon- Fri, 9am to 6pm example. Without a doubt in the domestic market many clients require evening and weekend visits and self employed plumbers have to meet that need.

There is the also the fact which fits some people more than others and that is self employment. By using ‘good business sense’, including getting your own cost per hour correct, items such as advertising and marketing can also be worked out. 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. While these costs can mount up, so too do the benefits, however the costs should always remain a smaller part of the income generated. And the benefits nearly always far outweigh the downsides!

Student Entrants are generally looking for regular employment with a particular employer who can cover most of their working needs and teach them from experience. The Self Employed Entrant on the other hand will need to widen their list of plumbing accreditations and certifications as quickly as possible. That said the vast majority of self-employed plumbers appear to favour the ‘domestic’ instead of the commercial market. (Not all, just the majority!)

Considering the education in Plumbing, each path into the industry needs some match in the certification modules. There does remain considerable question when the factor of NVQ’s (SVQ’s in Scotland) is realised.

To begin with, the Student Entrant appears to rely more heavily on the NVQ structure than 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. In order to be able to meet the needs of the typical household, self-employed persons will need to rapidly gain key domestic-centred qualifications. In a similar way to an apprenticeship the Student Entrant will, once the core learning tools have been learned, enter the workplace and be able to carry on the NVQ element of their study. As it is cheaper form of study overall then the Student Entrant can make financial savings from the beginning. But the Self Employed Entrant will gain certifications faster (motivated by a more commercial viewpoint) and will therefore be achieving considerable financial reward long before the Student Entrant.

Clearly this illustrates the need for a careers discussion that covers certifications and study alongside those of financial returns. 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. Equally, many self-employed students fund the courses themselves whereas the Student Entrants often have their studies paid for them as part of their overall apprenticeships. These courses can run between 3k through to 10k+, depending upon the course and level of certification required and that is something that people need to consider.

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. Often through the use of established training schemes many commercially oriented plumbing courses are now able to deliver the necessary skill-sets and qualifications. 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. Considering so many options on hand it is clever to gather data from as many sources as one can. To review your options why not book mark this page (CTRL-D) and you can come back and review the links and adverts we have provided for you.

By going on added training programs many plumbing students seek to increase their ‘marketability’. These courses can provide a range of additional certifications in areas such as Gas, Green Energy and Electrical. Forming part of the common domestic and commercial heating system, Plumbers have often opted for 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. It could be said that the blend of training covering Plumbing/Gas training is better matched to the mature student. It is by centring on these core elements and dropping the NVQ elements that the Mature Student appears to settle.

It is from this mix of training methods that the self-employed professional appears to benefit. The opportunity to learn a wider range of perceived skill-sets (whilst earning money from them) becomes the attraction. Instead of having to rely upon third parties to complete certain skill-sets, this adds to their commercial viability. 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 higher the skill level of a Plumber the more that they can 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: This information refers to the UK industry requirement and their policies alone.

(C) 2009 S. Edwards. Pop to Plumbing NVQ or www.MidLifeCareerChange.co.uk/FMLCC.html.

These days, many workplaces couldn’t function properly if it weren’t for support workers fixing networks and computers, while advising users on a day to day basis. Because of the multifaceted levels of technology, growing numbers of trained staff are required to specialise in the various different areas we rely on.

There is no way of over emphasising this: It’s essential to obtain proper 24×7 round-the-clock instructor and mentor support. Later, you’ll kick yourself if you don’t.

Always avoid certification programs which can only support trainees through a message system when it’s outside of usual working hours. Companies will try to talk you round from this line of reasoning. But, no matter how they put it – you need support when you need support – not when it’s convenient for them.

The most successful trainers utilise several support facilities around the globe in several time-zones. They use an online interactive interface to join them all seamlessly, any time of the day or night, help is just seconds away, without any contact issues or hassle.

If you accept anything less than support round-the-clock, you’ll end up kicking yourself. It may be that you don’t use it late at night, but you’re bound to use weekends, late evenings or early mornings.

An all too common mistake that we encounter all too often is to focus entirely on getting a qualification, and take their eye off where they want to get to. Colleges are brimming over with unaware students who took a course because it seemed fun – rather than what would get them an enjoyable career or job.

It’s possible, in some situations, to get a great deal of enjoyment from a year of study and then find yourself trapped for decades in a tiresome job role, as a consequence of not performing the correct research at the beginning.

It’s well worth a long chat to see what industry will expect from you. Which precise exams they’ll want you to gain and in what way you can gain some industry experience. It’s also worth spending time thinking about how far you think you’ll want to progress your career as often it can force you to choose a particular set of exams.

Take advice from a professional advisor, even if you have to pay – as it’s a lot cheaper and safer to find out at the start whether you’ve chosen correctly, rather than find out after several years of study that you aren’t going to enjoy the job you’ve chosen and have to start from the beginning again.

Let’s face it: There really is pretty much no individual job security anywhere now; there’s only industry or business security – companies can just drop any single member of staff if it suits their business interests.

In actuality, security now only emerges in a fast rising market, driven by a lack of trained workers. It’s this shortage that creates the right conditions for a secure marketplace – definitely a more pleasing situation.

The IT skills-gap in the United Kingdom is standing at approximately twenty six percent, according to the most recent e-Skills survey. That means for each four job positions existing across computing, we have only 3 certified professionals to fulfil that role.

This single reality on its own underpins why the United Kingdom urgently requires considerably more people to get into the industry.

Because the IT sector is evolving at such a rate, there really isn’t any other sector worth investigating as a retraining vehicle.

Sometimes men and women assume that the state educational system is still the most effective. So why are commercially accredited qualifications beginning to overtake it?

With a growing demand for specific technological expertise, industry has moved to the specialised core-skills learning only available through the vendors themselves – in other words companies such as Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA. This usually turns out to involve less time and financial outlay.

Obviously, a necessary amount of background information needs to be learned, but precise specialised knowledge in the required areas gives a vendor educated student a real head start.

When an employer understands what areas they need covered, then all they have to do is advertise for someone with a specific qualification. The syllabuses are all based on the same criteria and don’t change between schools (in the way that degree courses can).

Copyright Scott Edwards. Check out www.Which-Career.co.uk/wcark.html or Flash Training.