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There are actually 4 different sectors in the full CompTIA A+ syllabus, but you’re just required to achieve pass marks in 2 for competency in A+. Be aware though that only studying two of the four specialities could expose flaws in your knowledge when applying for a job. At least learn about all four – this will give you the edge in the working environment.

Qualifying in CompTIA A+ on its own will set you up to fix and maintain stand-alone PC’s and MAC’s; ones that are most often not part of a network – essentially the domestic or small business sector.

Should you fancy yourself as the person who is involved with a big team – supporting, fixing and maintaining networks, you’ll need to add CompTIA Network+, or consider an MCSA or MCSE with Microsoft as you’ll need a deeper understanding of how networks function.

Beware of putting too much emphasis, as can often be the case, on the accreditation program. Training is not an end in itself; this is about gaining commercial employment. Focus on the end-goal.

Students often train for a single year but end up doing the actual job for 10-20 years. Don’t make the mistake of choosing what sounds like a program of interest to you only to waste your life away with a job you hate!

Get to grips with what you want to earn and what level of ambition fits you. This can often control what precise qualifications you’ll need to attain and what industry will expect from you in return.

All students are advised to speak to an industry professional before they embark on a training program. This is required to ensure it has the required elements for the career that is sought.

Many people assume that the state educational system is the right way even now. So why then are commercial certificates slowly and steadily replacing it?

Industry now recognises that to learn the appropriate commercial skills, proper accreditation from the likes of Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA is far more effective and specialised – saving time and money.

Vendor training works through concentrating on the skills that are really needed (together with an appropriate level of associated knowledge,) instead of going into the heightened depths of background ‘extras’ that computer Science Degrees often do (because the syllabus is so wide).

Just as the old advertisement said: ‘It does what it says on the tin’. The company just needs to know what they need doing, and then advertise for someone with the specific certification. They’ll know then that all applicants can do what they need.

A service offered by some training providers is a programme of Job Placement assistance. The service is put in place to help you get your first commercial position. The fact of the matter is it isn’t so complicated as you might think to land your first job – once you’re trained and certified; the shortage of IT personnel in Britain looks after that.

Get your CV updated straight-away though (advice can be sought on this via your provider). Don’t wait until you’ve graduated or passed any exams.

Quite often, you will get your first role whilst you’re still studying (even in the early stages). If your CV doesn’t say what you’re learning (and it hasn’t been posted on jobsites) then you don’t stand a chance!

The top companies to help you land that job are normally specialist independent regional recruitment consultancies. As they’re keen to place you to receive their commission, they have more incentive to get on with it.

In a nutshell, as long as you focus the same level of energy into securing your first IT position as into training, you won’t find it too challenging. A number of men and women bizarrely spend hundreds of hours on their course materials and then just stop once certified and appear to be under the impression that jobs will come to them.

Can job security really exist anymore? In the UK for example, with businesses changing their mind on a whim, there doesn’t seem much chance.

However, a marketplace with high growth, where staff are in constant demand (as there is a massive shortage of properly qualified professionals), enables the possibility of real job security.

The Information Technology (IT) skills shortage throughout the country falls in at approximately twenty six percent, as shown by the most recent e-Skills study. So, for each 4 job positions available in Information Technology (IT), companies are only able to locate enough qualified individuals for 3 of them.

Achieving in-depth commercial IT qualification is thus a ‘Fast Track’ to achieve a long-lasting as well as gratifying living.

No better time or market conditions is ever likely to exist for getting trained into this quickly expanding and evolving business.

Copyright Scott Edwards 2009. Go to Training Managers or www.RetrainingCourses.co.uk/vrecourse.html.