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IT Networking Career Courses (CCNA or MCSA)

If you've always had an interest in computers and see yourself as a bit of a 'techie', then a career in IT could be right up your street.

Getting retrained to gain professional IT certifications is a sensible idea for anyone with a flair for this work. If you just take the UK, there are currently around 1.1 million IT positions in the professional marketplace.

Looking To Learn Computer Applications?

The main focus of this information sheet is on IT developer skills - in other words, the workings of computers.

If you're interested in improving and extending your user skills, you may wish to look for training that covers the different Microsoft Office applications.

The most useful applications for commerce are probably Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Publisher. For an excellent grounding in a range of office skills look for the European Computer Driving Licence.

Improve Your Career Prospects

It's worth noting that IT was one of the last industries to slow down as the recession took hold. Correspondingly as the economy starts to build pace again IT must claim a key role.

And it's probably safe to say that IT is one of the most stimulating and innovative industries you could look to get into. We're going to see huge changes in the not so distant future because of the developments taking place in IT.

Computer technology is indeed a very exciting sector to be a part of.

A Great Variety of Roles...

When you're looking at IT training, there are several different factors to consider because of the range of jobs and skills. Some require a good deal of physical interaction and getting out and about, but others need you to sit at your screen. Some roles are mostly analytical and investigatory, and some are hands-on and practical. There are roles which involve working with and supporting other people, and still others which will require you to work alone for a considerable amount of your day.

... Investigate Now!

So if this is the first time you've considered IT training, talk through the range of jobs first with a proper training advisor (don't be fobbed off with a sales person) who can help you work out which role will suit you. Most importantly discover as much as you can about the daily routine of the job before making your decision. Finding the right career role and training company is the key to your success.

Technical Support and Networking

The increasing dependence of businesses on computer systems means a growing demand for people to fix and maintain them. Have you thought about starting on a Helpdesk answering people's queries, or becoming a technician? Work in Support covers a wide range, and also there are roles in Network Administration and Communications. Then there's always Systems Planning and Design work - if that's something that sounds good to you.

This work covers a very broad brush - we're talking technical support in PC World at one end, to international troubleshooting at the other. Many people start by working on fixing and maintaining small networks. As they gain more experience and become better qualified, they can move into more advanced security work.

Computer professionals working in this area of IT are the very people who keep industry going. Without technical engineers and problem-solvers the commercial world as we know it would grind to a halt. There are countless millions of PC's being used commercially the world over, with more being introduced all the time. As a result, this also means that the requirement for professional technicians never abates, as all new PC's and networks can't run without them. Do you think you could be taught how to trouble-shoot and resolve technical faults? Then why not consider studying for a networking qualification? Both CompTIA and Microsoft offer well recognised commercial programs.

Getting Commercially Certified

Industry-authorised qualifications will give you greater confidence in the job market. And once you've built your on-the-job knowledge as well, you'll be considered for more promotions and have greater credibility than those who skipped the training and exams. You can expect a salary of approximately 33 to 37 thousand per annum when you've been in industry for three to four years.

Of course, there are people who work in networking positions who don't have any professional certifications. They certainly can make a difference if there's no-one else to do the job, but employers tend to rely on qualifications to verify someone's track record. Professional certifications give an excellent measure of what someone can do, and to what level of competence.

Certified employees lead to higher productivity as they understand how to perform tasks more objectively and speedily. However there's more to it than that. When an employer takes someone on, they want a person with focus, commitment and perseverance - those who've put themselves through training have demonstrated that. One last point - it's increasingly the case that corporate insurance claims are not being paid if computer systems were not managed and maintained by certified professionals.