Considering an MCSE? Then it's likely that you'll fall into one of two camps: You are a knowledgeable person and you'd like to gain accreditation with an MCSE certification. Or you might be just about to enter commercial IT, and you've found that there's a growing demand for qualified people.
Always make sure you prove conclusively that your training company is actually training you on the most up-to-date Microsoft version. Many trainees get frustrated when they find that they've been studying for an out-of-date syllabus which will need updating. Training providers ought to be devoted to finding the right path for aspiring trainees. Educational direction is as much about helping people to work out which direction to go in, as it is giving them help to reach their destination.
Discovering job security in this economic down-turn is problematic. Companies will drop us from the workplace at the drop of a hat - as long as it fits their needs. We could however discover market-level security, by looking for areas of high demand, coupled with shortages of trained staff.
Taking the IT industry for example, a recent e-Skills survey showed massive skills shortages throughout the UK around the 26 percent mark. Essentially, we can only fill three out of every 4 jobs in the computing industry. Highly trained and commercially certified new professionals are thus at a complete premium, and it's estimated to remain so for a long time. Without a doubt, this really is a fabulous time to join IT.
Any program that you're going to undertake should always lead to a widely recognised accreditation at the finale - and not a worthless 'in-house' piece of paper. From the perspective of an employer, only the major heavyweights such as Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA or Cisco (to give some examples) will open the right doors. Anything less just doesn't cut the mustard.
A service provided by many trainers is a Job Placement Assistance program. This is to steer you into your first IT role. The honest truth is that it's not as difficult as you may be led to believe to land the right work - once you're trained and certified; because there's still a great need for IT skills in the UK today.
Help and assistance with preparing a CV and getting interviews might be provided (if it isn't, consult one of our sites). Be sure to you update that dusty old CV straight away - not after you've qualified! Getting your CV considered is more than not being known. Many junior support jobs are given to trainees (who've only just left first base.) If you'd like to keep travelling time and costs to a minimum, then it's quite likely that an independent and specialised local employment service might be of more use than some national concern, because they're going to know local employment needs.
A constant frustration of various course providers is how hard people are prepared to study to get top marks in their exams, but how ill-prepared they are to market themselves for the role they've qualified for. Get out there and hustle - you might find it's fun.