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Ready for a Career Change? Travel the Microsoft Certification Route |
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Are you dissatisfied with your job? Do you want to find a
new one or at least make a move to another department within
your company? Do you need certifications in MCSE, MCP and
any of those other abbreviations? You need to sit down and
decide what career path you wish to take if you want to go
the Microsoft Certification route.
First of all, do you have any prior experience in the business
world? If so, no matter what you decide to do, whether it
is MCSE training or MCP training or anything else, you will
be ahead of others with no prior professional expertise. However,
if you choose to make a career change that is a complete 180
degrees from what you are doing now, you will have some trouble
finding gainful employment without some concrete experience.
For instance, if you are an Administrative Assistant and
decide to go for a Microsoft Certified System Engineer, better
known as an MCSE, you need to have some practical experience
(the basic requirement is about a year of previous experience)
under your belt before even starting your MCSE training. How
could you go about doing that? You have several options. Find
a mentor. Maybe another person within your company who has
an MCSE could give you pointers and some on-site knowledge
into his job. Volunteering through a nonprofit or some other
community organization could net you some valuable experience.
Serving as an intern, whether paid or unpaid, is another option.
A volunteer position or an internship also is beneficial
for those people with a fresh Microsoft certification but
no practical, hands-on experience. Practically every nonprofit
organization or community group has computers. Some of them
are small groups and others have computer labs (perhaps state-run
job placement places) with no budget to hire full-time staff.
You have got to think outside the box for ways to gain that
practical experience.
Networking mixers or social time is another great idea. You
can mingle with professionals in the field you are trying
to break into and find out about their internship opportunities.
It is the perfect venue in which to sell or market yourself.
Check out your local Chamber of Commerce for any local trade
organizations in the prospective field as a starting point
in this networking endeavor. Many times, you can find out
some priceless information about the ins and outs of your
potential area of certification. Learning from the experts
could be an eye opening experience for you. Heck, you could
even change your mind from braving those MCSE boot camps and
the seven tests for MCSE exams. Isn't it better to gain that
insight before you spend the time and money?
Once you have completed your certification, whether it is
navigating through MCP courses or any other Microsoft certification,
be prepared to start from scratch in your new endeavor. Just
remember, anything having to do with technology will change
again in a year or two, so you have to keep up with new trends
and that means continued instruction. As long as you travel
the Microsoft route, you'll be successful.
About the Author:
James Croydon, Microsoft Certified Professional and MCSE Certification
advisor - focusing on MCSE Online and MCSE Online Certification
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Relevant Resources |
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