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Retrain For a IT Career in Basic Networking

An IT career could be just the thing for you if you've always enjoyed spending time at your PC. Becoming commercially IT trained and certified is a great career move - as the world is becoming ever more dependent on technology today. And there are more IT jobs in Britain alone than most people realise, with a national skills shortage still evident despite recession.

Is It User Skills You're After?

When we refer to work in the IT sector, we're primarily talking here about developer skills. If you want to improve your knowledge of using PC's, you could search for training in any of the Microsoft Office applications.

There are all sorts of short vocational courses that teach individual applications, such as Microsoft Word. The European Computer Driving Licence (or ECDL for short) teaches various computer literacy skills and is a good place to start.

Improve Your Career Prospects

It's important to bear in mind that in this challenging economy, the IT industry was one of the last to be affected by the downturn. Equally it's being seen as a leader in recovery as 'green shoots' start to emerge.

And it's true to say that as Information Technology is right at the forefront of developments, it offers fascinating career opportunities. The way we currently live and work will change out of all recognition as IT continues its momentum. The IT industry really does offer an excitement unlike any other.

Lots To Choose From...

There are a great variety of roles in IT, and thus a great many training courses. Some are very much desk jobs where all the work is on screen, whereas others are quite the opposite and you're never still for long. Some ask for practical skills and others ask for a more cerebral mentality. Some will have you in a quiet office environment and then again some will have you constantly sorting things out for others.

... Investigate Now!

Now if commercial IT training is new to you, be sure to get some good advice from an experienced advisor. They will understand about the different job specs, and the sort of people who get on well in each of them. Most importantly discover as much as you can about the daily routine of the job before making your decision. Get as much information as you can from the various colleges and training companies.

Careers In Network Support

As more and more computers are used in industry, the demand for support workers increases. Have you thought about starting on a Helpdesk answering people's queries, or becoming a technician?

There are very broad-ranging Support jobs, plus jobs in Networking, Server Administration, Communications and Security. Plus there's Systems Planning and Design work - that might be more up your street.

Early work could have you very much involved as a local technician, but in time you could find yourself travelling around the globe. Solving computer and network problems can be a good starting point, and then with further exams and increased skills this can lead to very lucrative work in design and security.

IT personnel in this area of the market are responsible for keeping the wheels of industry turning. Were it not for IT technicians and administrators, business as we know it would cease to exist.

The number of PC's used for commercial purposes is staggering, and it gets greater every month. By definition then, this creates a parallel need for skilled and competent technicians to design, build and fix both the computers themselves and the networks they're a part of. Would you be able to pick up the skills needed to deal with both software and hardware issues? Then what about joining the industry by studying for a Microsoft certification, or becoming CompTIA certified?

Why Become Professionally Certified?

You will have increased job security if you arm yourself with professional qualifications. Commercially qualified staff who go on to build their knowledge in the workplace will command a great deal of respect from their peers, and become eligible for more career opportunities. It's well known that IT salaries are higher than average, and as a professionally qualified networker with three years experience you could expect to command an income in the region of 35k.

It's not unusual to come across people who have a certain knowledge of the way networks are run, and of PC software and hardware. 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.

By becoming professionally trained and qualified, a candidate can give the employer an assurance of what their competency level is.

Companies find they achieve higher productivity when they employ fully qualified technical workers, as they are more reliable and faster in their output. But it's more than that. Employers also recognise the application and perseverance of a candidate who has committed themselves to being professionally competent in the workplace - and they want to employ that attitude. One final thing - it's not uncommon for insurance companies to insist that businesses only employ qualified personnel to work on their computer systems.