Training courses

[fadanoid]

Benched 2004. Bit hard. Sunk £3k into ISEB and Prince2. Tumbleweed. Then. Salvation. Contract city since. Day rate increased by 100%. Paid for itself ages ago and the rest is GRAVY.

Moral. The man doesn't need to see quals but he sure does like 'em.

[Solent]

The key to it all, is to do something you'll find interesting. Currently studying NVQ Level III Fitness (personal training), ok, albeit not the best money around but brings in extra 'pocket money'.

If you enjoy a subject, it makes it easier to learn. Don't pick something random, ok you could, I ended up studying archeology at A Level two years ago and passed but as said do something you enjoy, and my A Level has done b*gger all for me

[TykeMerc]

I haven't listed my A levels on my CV in years and gave up even stating that I have any about 2 years back. A levels won't help to any extent once you have experience i.e. if you're over 25 they really don't count for much as they've either been counterfeited by a degree or years of work.

The only qualifications worth taking are professional or in some cases Masters degrees like MBA.

[dmuk]

I haven't listed my A levels on my CV in years and gave up even stating that I have any about 2 years back. A levels won't help to any extent once you have experience i.e. if you're over 25 they really don't count for much as they've either been counterfeited by a degree or years of work.

The only qualifications worth taking are professional or in some cases Masters degrees like MBA.

I thought you IT guys pull in £500+ per day without blinking. A couple of MS certifications and some time in support and you can start demanding what you like? If you compare the accounting v city v IT roles, many of the IT roles (at least contract) blow everything else out of the water.

I always think work experience is important. If you can show practical experience AND delivering benefits then this outweighs a lot of the certificates. I guess things change when the market gets more competitive?

I have done my PRINCE2 and always get good feedback on it. However I lack extensive project experience, so this may be of greater benefit for someone with some decent project experience, especially on the gov side.

What do people think about sitting down with a "dummies" or "learn x in 24 hours" guides and spending a month working through the book, exercises etc etc? Does this add much value?

[Cheshire Cat]

Not doing/done but certainly fancy it. Doing Prince2 for an IT CV keyword but have oft considered doing a sparky or plumbing course mainly cos i just reckon i'd enjoy it. Dunno where you are in Cheshire but Macc college do night courses in trades.

Thanks for the tip, but I'm an exile.
I reckon I'd enjoy learning to be a sparky, with the bonus that I could then ligitimately start ripping holes in the walls and "automating" the house, without risk of being dragged into the street and summarily executed by the building regs police.