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A very small number of men and women in this country are pleased and contented with their working life. Inevitably, huge numbers will do nothing about it. You’ve reached this paragraph, which at least suggests that change is beckoning.

We’d politely request that in advance of taking a course of training, you discuss your plans with a person who has knowledge of the industry and can give you advice. The right person will be able to assess your personal likes and dislikes and help you sort out a role to fit you:

* Do you like to be around others at work? Are you better with new people or those you know well? Perhaps you prefer not to be disturbed and enjoy responsibilities that you can get on with on your own?

* Are you thinking carefully about which area you choose to work in? (These days, it’s more important than ever to choose well.)

* Is this the final time you want to study, and if so, do you believe this career choice will give you scope to do that?

* Are you confident that your industry training course will offer you employment opportunities, and have the ability to allow you to work until retirement?

We ask you to really explore the computer industry – there are more jobs than employees, and it’s a rare career choice where the industry is expanding. Despite what some people would have you think, IT is not full of nerdy individuals looking at screens the whole day (though those jobs exist.) Most positions are done by ordinary people who want to earn a very good living.

Of all the important things to consider, one of the most essential is always comprehensive 24×7 direct-access support from expert mentors and instructors. It’s an all too common story to find providers that only seem to want to help while they’re in the office (9am till 6pm, Monday till Friday usually) and nothing at the weekends.

some companies only provide email support (slow), and phone support is usually just a call-centre which will just take down the issue and email it over to their technical team – who will then call back sometime over the next 24hrs, at a time suitable for them. This is no good if you’re stuck and can’t continue and have a one hour time-slot in which to study.

If you look properly, you’ll find professional companies that recommend and use direct-access online support 24×7 – even in the middle of the night.

If you accept anything less than direct-access 24×7 support, you’ll regret it. It may be that you don’t use it during the night, but you may need weekends, evenings and early mornings at some point.

Looking around, we find a myriad of professional positions up for grabs in the IT industry. Finding the particular one out of this complexity is a mammoth decision.

As having no commercial background in the IT industry, in what way could we be expected to know what any job actually involves?

Often, the key to unlocking this problem appropriately stems from an in-depth chat, covering several different topics:

* Personalities play a significant part – what gets you ‘up and running’, and what are the things that really turn you off.

* Why you want to consider moving into Information Technology – maybe you want to triumph over a life-long goal such as working from home for instance.

* The income needs that guide you?

* Some students don’t fully understand the amount of work required to achieve their goals.

* Taking a good look at how much time and effort you can give.

To bypass the barrage of jargon, and reveal what’ll really work for you, have an informal chat with an industry-experienced advisor; an individual who appreciates and can explain the commercial realities as well as each qualification.

Don’t accept anything less than the current Microsoft (or Cisco, CompTIA etc.) authorised simulation materials and exam preparation packages.

Make sure that the mock exams haven’t just got questions on the correct subjects, but also asking them in the same way that the proper exam will formulate them. It throws students if they’re met with completely different formats and phraseologies.

A way to build self-confidence is if you test your knowledge through tests and practice exams to get you ready for the real deal.

A subtle way that colleges make a lot more is by adding exam fees upfront to the cost of a course then giving it ‘Exam Guarantee’ status. This sounds impressive, but let’s just examine it more closely:

These days, we tend to be a tad more knowledgeable about sales gimmicks – and most of us know that for sure it is something we’re paying for – it’s not because they’re so generous they want to give something away!

The fact is that if a student pays for each progressive exam, one at a time, they’ll be in a better position to get through on the first attempt – because they’ll think of what they’ve paid and will therefore apply themselves appropriately.

Why pay the college in advance for exam fees? Go for the best offer when you’re ready, rather than pay marked up fees – and take it closer to home – not at somewhere of their bidding.

Big margins are netted by some training companies who take the exam money up-front. Many students don’t take them for one reason or another but the company keeps the money. Astoundingly enough, there are companies around who actually bank on it – as that’s where a lot of their profit comes from.

Additionally, exam guarantees often have very little value. Many training companies won’t pay for re-takes until you have demonstrated conclusively that you won’t fail again.

With average Prometric and VUE examinations costing in the region of 112 pounds in this country, it makes sense to pay as you go. It’s not in the student’s interests to fork out hundreds or thousands of pounds for exams when enrolling on a course. Study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will really guarantee success.

Copyright Scott Edwards. Go to Learn Programming or CLICK HERE.