Both if you’re a beginner, or an experienced technician looking to gain acknowledged certifications, there are interactive MCSA (Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator) courses to cater for both student levels.

Search for a provider that’s happy to take the time to get to know you, and will help identify the right direction for you, before they even talk about the course contents. You can also expect them to be in a position to tell you where to start dependent on your present knowledge and/or gaps in understanding.

OK, why ought we to be looking at qualifications from the commercial sector instead of more traditional academic qualifications gained through schools and Further Education colleges?

Key company training (to use industry-speak) is far more specialised and product-specific. The IT sector has acknowledged that specialisation is essential to cope with a technologically complex world. CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA are the dominant players.

Many degrees, as a example, become confusing because of a great deal of background study – and a syllabus that’s too generalised. This prevents a student from getting enough specific knowledge about the core essentials.

In simple terms: Authorised IT qualifications provide exactly what an employer needs – the title is a complete giveaway: as an example – I am a ‘Microsoft Certified Professional’ in ‘Windows XP Administration and Configuration’. So companies can identify exactly what they need and what certifications are required to perform the job.

Looking at the myriad of choice out there, there’s no surprise that nearly all newcomers to the industry have no idea which career they could be successful with.

How likely is it for us to understand the day-to-day realities of any IT job when we haven’t done that before? Maybe we don’t know someone who performs the role either.

Contemplation on these points is most definitely required if you need to discover the right solution that will work for you:

* Your personality can play a major role – what kind of areas spark your interest, and what are the things that get you down.

* Are you hoping to get certified for a specific motive – e.g. are you pushing to work based at home (self-employment possibly?)?

* Is the money you make further up on your priority-scale than some other areas.

* Some students don’t fully understand the amount of work required to get fully certified.

* Having a good look at what commitment and time you’ll make available.

For most of us, dissecting each of these concepts will require meeting with a professional that can investigate each area with you. And not just the certifications – but also the commercial expectations and needs of the market as well.

Some training providers will only provide office hours or extended office hours support; not many go late into the evening (after 8-9pm) or cover weekends properly.

Look for training where you can receive help at any time of day or night (even 1am on Sunday morning!) You’ll need direct-access to qualified mentors and tutors, and not a message system as this will slow you down – consistently being held in a queue for a call-back at a convenient time for them.

The very best training providers use multiple support centres active in different time-zones. They use an online interactive interface to join them all seamlessly, at any time you choose, help is just seconds away, without any problems or delays.

Never make do with less than you need and deserve. Direct-access 24×7 support is the only viable option when it comes to IT training. It’s possible you don’t intend to study late evenings; often though, we’re out at work at the time when most support is available.

Always expect the most up to date Microsoft (or relevant organisation’s) authorised exam preparation packages.

Confirm that the mock exams are not only asking questions from the right areas, but also asking them in the way the real exams will structure them. This throws students if the questions are phrased in unfamiliar formats.

As you can imagine, it’s very crucial to ensure that you’re absolutely ready for your actual certification exam before embarking on it. Rehearsing ‘mock’ tests logs the information in your brain and will save a lot of money on failed exams.

(C) S. Edwards 2009. Pop to CLICK HERE or InDesign Courses.

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