As we progress through our professional lives, we all strive to grow and become the best we can.  For some that means management, aspiring to executive positions or business ownership 

To others that means becoming a loyal, valuable employee makes the best decisions possible and brings value to the company they work for.  No matter what your goals, one thing that is common is the need to constantly grow.

Developing new skills, gaining responsibility, and increasing your job satisfaction is what we all strive for.  Icing on the cake is achieving all of this while increasing our income at the same time.  Is that simply pie in the sky, or is that possible?  It’s absolutely possibly, and there people all over the world doing just that.

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We put up a new video on YouTube, a 10 minute sample of our CompTIA A+ training videos. 

Our IT Certification training video samples are some of the most viewed IT videos on YouTube.  You can visit our YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/palaestratraining

This video covers printers, and goes into detail regarding a number of printing technologies:

• Dye Sublimation Printers
• Thermal Printers
• Thermal printer papers
• Laser Printers
• The 6 steps of the laser printer process
1. Clean
2. Charge
3. Write
4. Develop
5. Transfer
6. Fuse
• Coverage of the EP (Electrophotostatic drum)
• Fuser assembly
• Corona wire / assembly
• Troubleshooting some common printer problems

This short demo is a clip from the longer two-part printer video series.  All together our CompTIA A+ training has 32 videos and over 20 hours of world-class training you can take with you and watch anytime, anywhere.

As with all our training, it’s available for immediate delivery via download, or we can physically ship to your location.

With the overwhelming rate of change in all the areas of IT, the skills you have today are outdated tomorrow, so the path you choose can be both exciting and daunting.

And the rise of e-everything the need for IT floods every corner of our lives. Technology has revolutionized communications, computing, productivity, and has had a profound effect the quality of human life.

So much of our lives depend on technology, which means there’s a variety of employment areas to choose from, such as web design, software development, software testing, programming, systems administration, networking, and more. Even jobs outside the IT sector require IT skills.

If you’re contemplating breaking in, consider a few of the highest paid entry level IT jobs as your springboard into an exciting and rewarding career.

The following pay scales are according to the salary.com national averages for the Chicago, Illinois area.

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The information technology field continues to grow, and the demand for computer engineers, software developers, and related IT skills will grow significantly in 2008.

Computer science, specifically software engineering, nearly tops the list on the top jobs for 2008.  The demand for "professional" and "service" related jobs will increase more than double the rate of other categories.

According to a recent MSNBC article, "Tech firms are picking up hiring again, in a way they haven’t in nearly a decade."  The prediction is that software engineering and computer science fields will experience 20% growth throughout 2008.

This also means that we very well may start to see 90’s era growth throughout the IT sector as companies ramp up for new technologies, refresh their existing infrastructures and replace workers who are retiring.

Many companies are already chomping at the bit to take advantage of many of the features Windows Server 2008 offers.

Services such as improvements to Terminal Services, Server Virtualization and security enhancements including bitlocker and read-only domain controllers for branch-office type installations.

Many of the services and features included in Windows Server 2008 will be able to replace software and applications many companies pay for currently.  While this is certainly going to be a welcome addition by many IT departments, it also creates opportunities as well.

Training and certification will continue to play a big part in securing higher paying jobs, opening doors, being considered for new opportunities, changing careers, earning the promotion, etc.  Some of the Top IT Certifications for 2008 will continue to be the perennial favorites, including CompTIA A+ Certification and Cisco CCNA Certification.

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Are you a Microsoft Outlook expert?  Do you use even half the features the program has to offer?

Chances are, you don’t.  Most people only use about 10% of the functionality in Microsoft Outlook (or any Office product for that matter). 

What the ends up doing is costing you time and effort, reduces your productivity and wastes time.  Palaestra Training has just released a new training series on Microsoft Outlook 2003 that covers everything from the basics to the advanced topics. 

Whether you are a casual home user or a power business user, our training series will teach you how to be more productive and unlock the true power Microsoft Outlook has to offer.

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Palaestra Training’s CCNA Certification Training video on Frame Relay has gotten over 45,000 views on YouTube in just over 9 months time. 

Our IT Certification Training Videos are the most watch IT Certification videos on YouTube and just goes to show we’re not the only ones who think our training is simply the best!

Jason Emerson, Palaestra Training’s Cisco CCNA instructor has a great conversational style, and makes learning technically advanced concepts fun.  The recently updated series covers the material on the new Cisco 640-802 exam and fully prepares students to take the exam and do the job.

That’s an amazing amount of interest for a technical training video, and a testament to the quality of our training.  We create technically-accurate training that is both educational and highly-entertaining.

In addition to IT certification training for Microsoft, Cisco and CompTIA, Palaestra Training also created an Internet Safety training series designed for parents to help keep their children safe while online. 

Several recent surveys, including the recent article by Computer World shows that demand for IT workers is growing at the highest rate in several years. 

As a result, salaries are also on the rise.  Why?  Companies need talented, motivated Information Technology professionals and many companies report difficulty in finding those people.

Additionally, as with any asset, IT infrastructure has a life-cycle that necessitates upgrading and/or replacing every 3-5 to stay current with new and emerging technologies.  For many companies, utilizing current technology is a competitive advantage.  For others, it’s a necessary evil, but either way, those companies need IT professionals who know how to install, migrate, maintain and support their infrastructure.

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Palaestra Training has just released it’s newest training title, Microsoft MCDST Certification training for the 70-271 exam. 

Our trainer, Bill Ferguson, literally wrote the book on MCDST Certification.  He is the author of the best selling book "MCDST Certification Study Guide" published by Sybex and is a much sought-after trainer and speaker.

Bill is one of only a handful of Microsoft Certified Trainers (MCT) in the world to be featured on Microsoft’s website.  Palaestra Training is very excited to be able to bring this information-packed training series to it’s customers.

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What is the DoD 8570.1-M?  It’s part of a directive that’s part "Information Assurance Workforce Improvement Program".

This program mandates which mandates that every full- and part-time military service member, defense contractor, civilian and foreign employee with privileged access to a DoD system, regardless of job series or occupational specialty obtains a commercial certification credential that has been accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

For personnel who are tasked with maintaining computer hardware and/or software, CompTIA A+ certification meets the T1 requirements of the directive.  CompTIA A+ Certification is the cornerstone of any IT career and allows a student to secure a position in a wide variety of industries.

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