Looking at the myriad of choice out there, it's not really surprising that nearly all students balk at what job they will follow. Because in the absence of any solid background in the IT industry, in what way could we be expected to understand what a particular job actually consists of? Ultimately, an informed answer really only appears via a thorough study of several varying key points:

- Our personalities play a starring part - what things get your juices flowing, and what are the areas that ruin your day.

- Are you driven to get qualified due to a specific reason - for example, are you pushing to work based from home (being your own boss?)?

- Does salary have a higher place on your priority-list than other requirements.

- Always think in-depth about the work needed to achieve their goals.

- You need to understand the differences across each area of training.

At the end of the day, your only chance of investigating all this is from a long chat with a professional that understands the market well enough to give you the information required.

In its most basic format, a program will make use of a specific 'language' to inform a piece of electronics how to carry out a function. Needless to say, this is a considerable over-simplification. At the level of a Windows desk-top computer, there are probably close to a hundred individual programs that are operating behind the scenes, all maintaining the system and enabling you to actually do things. PC's essentially run on two distinct types of software - the operating system is low level, & the 'applications' run by the operating system are higher level. Microsoft 'Windows' is among the most well-known operating-systems to us all. An entire suite of programs need to inter-act here to make your PC do anything you require of it - from controlling your desktop space, to managing your interaction with it, to hooking you up to the internet or to your network etc.

It's usual for students to get confused with a single courseware aspect usually not even thought about: The breakdown of the course materials before being packaged off through the post. Many think it logical (with most training taking 1-3 years for a full commercial certification,) for a training company to release one section at a time, as you complete each part. However: What if there are reasons why you can't finish every section? And what if you find the order of the modules counter-intuitive? Due to no fault of yours, you might take a little longer and therefore not end up with all the modules.

An ideal situation would be to have all the training materials sent to you immediately; the whole caboodle! This prevents any future issues from rising that will affect your progress.

You have to make sure that all your qualifications are commercially valid and current - you're wasting your time with programs which lead to some in-house certificate (which is as useless as if you'd printed it yourself). You'll find that only recognised qualifications from the top companies like Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA and Adobe will have any meaning to employers.

Consistent with other technical training-tracks, you need to hold a clear strategy of the objectives you intend to attain, to ensure that the correct milestones can be met along the route. If you forget to start out with the end objective in mind, but just enrol on what looks like the most 'reasonable' course, you might finish up in the most inappropriate place altogether! Software certification really isn't the easiest certification to comprehend, and the I.T. sector can be a bit of a minefield unless you choose properly, so we suggest that you consult with an experienced industry advisor before committing to any training programs or expenditure. A 40 min chat could save you thousands of pounds and years of wasted training!

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