Thankfully we can put all that behind us as adults. Training programs for mature students are all about effective learning systems that fit in with our lifestyle. It’s also vital that the course content fits with what the industry’s looking for if you’re learning for career reasons.
First of all there are classroom-based colleges, universities and boot camps. You have to put your life on hold to study with these establishments. Delivery methods are tutorials, backed up with technical books. All the students are required to go at the same pace throughout the course which inevitably leads to challenges. If you miss any classes, you’re expected to catch up.
With a boot camp, in 10 to 12 weeks you’ll romp through a syllabus that usually takes two years (so don’t even think of missing one session or you’ll never catch up). These courses are purely to get you through an exam and nothing more. You will gain a limited ability to do the job based on what you learn, and employers aren’t impressed with this type of training. Really, the only students who should use such courses are experienced IT workers who are upgrading their qualifications to the latest level. They are absolutely not for the new person planning to enter the world of IT.
The courses tend to be more academic with colleges and universities, and are not always in-tune with current industry requirements. It can be difficult for the student to enter industry without gaining some additional commercial skills.
Secondly we have home-based commercial training providers. They offer the most convenient way to learn by far, although some adults worry they might need the structure of a classroom. In fact, this usually isn’t the case with the right training; it’s just a throw back to how they felt in adolescent days.
Some commercial training providers are very good, but there are also some very bad ones. Always look at the standard of their training materials; if they won’t show you any, don’t buy. The easiest way to study today is via interactive on-screen training. It’s so much more user-friendly and more engaging than books. It also enhances your ability to recall what you’ve learned because it utilises multi-sensory input.
The best training providers will give you direct access to instructors in the evening and at weekends, at the time you probably intend to study. Check by asking specific questions – some companies ’24×7 Support’ can be a message system out of office hours. In addition, they need to supply an authorised exam preparation system (from Microsoft, CompTIA or Cisco for example) – be wary of being taught in a specific style, only to find the exam uses different phraseology and terms.
A couple of other things: Don’t fork out for exams fees up-front – it’s more expensive. Good quality training shouldn’t need to be backed up by the huge additional expense of classroom visits. Traditional training is much more expensive than modern interactive training and results in fewer successful students.
Selecting the right IT training provider is really a matter of research. Don’t be frightened to ask questions – remember, it’s your future.
(C) 2009. Check out LearningLolly.com for quality information on Filemaker Security and Filemaker Security Training.
