Currently in the UK, industry would struggle if it weren’t for support workers fixing networks and computers, while making recommendations to users on a constant basis. With the increasingly multifaceted levels of technological advances, greater numbers of qualified workers are required to look after the various different areas we’ve become dependent on.

How are we supposed to make a good choice then? With so many opportunities, we’ll need to know where to be looking – and what it is we should be investigating.

Make sure you don’t get caught-up, like so many people do, on the training course itself. Training for training’s sake is generally pointless; you should be geared towards the actual job at the end of it. Begin and continue with the end in mind. It’s a terrible situation, but a large percentage of students kick-off study that often sounds wonderful in the marketing materials, but which provides a job that doesn’t fulfil at all. Speak to a selection of university students for examples.

You also need to know how you feel about earning potential and career progression, and if you’re ambitious or not. You should understand what the role will demand of you, which exams they want you to have and how to develop your experience. All students are advised to talk with an experienced industry professional before following a particular study programme. This gives some measure of assurance that it contains the commercially required skills for the career path that has been chosen.

Consider only study courses that’ll lead to industry accepted accreditations. There are way too many trainers suggesting their own ‘in-house’ certificates that are essentially useless when you start your job-search. You’ll discover that only industry recognised accreditation from the likes of Microsoft, CompTIA, Adobe and Cisco will have any meaning to employers.

Students who consider this area of study are often very practical, and aren’t really suited to the classroom environment, and slogging through piles of books. If you identify with this, opt for more involving, interactive learning materials, with on-screen demonstrations and labs. Research over recent years has constantly confirmed that connecting physically with our study, is far more likely to produce long-lasting memories.

Courses are now available on CD and DVD discs, so you can study at your own computer. Through video streaming, you will be able to see the instructor presenting exactly how something is done, and then practice yourself – in a virtual lab environment. You really need to look at courseware examples from the company you’re considering. They have to utilise full motion videos of instructors demonstrating the topic with lab’s to practice the skills in.

Avoiding training that is delivered purely online is generally a good idea. Always choose CD or DVD based study materials where offered, as you need to be able to use them whenever it’s convenient for you – it’s not wise to be held hostage to a good broadband connection all the time.

Most training providers will only provide basic 9am till 6pm support (maybe a little earlier or later on certain days); very few go late in the evening or at weekends. Beware of institutions who use messaging services ‘out-of-hours’ – with the call-back coming in during office hours. This is no use if you’re stuck and want support there and then.

We recommend looking for training programs that utilise many support facilities active in different time-zones. All of them should be combined to offer a simple interface together with 24×7 access, when you need it, with no fuss. Never compromise where support is concerned. The majority of students who throw in the towel, would have had a different experience if they’d got the right support package in the first place.

One crafty way that course providers make extra profits is by adding exam fees upfront to the cost of a course and then including an ‘Exam Guarantee’. It looks impressive, until you think it through:

Everybody’s aware that they’re still footing the bill for it – obviously it has been inserted into the gross price invoiced by the training company. Certainly, it’s not a freebie (it’s just marketing companies think we’ll fall for anything they say!) It’s well known in the industry that if a student pays for each examination, at the time of taking them, there’s a much better chance they’ll pass first time – because they’ll think of their investment in themselves and their application will be greater.

Don’t you think it’s more sensible to not pay up-front, but at the appropriate time, rather than coughing up months or even a year or two in advance to the training company, and to do it in a local testing office – instead of miles away at the college’s beck and call? Many questionable training colleges secure a great deal of profit because they’re getting paid for all the exam fees up-front then hoping you won’t see them all through. Remember, with most ‘Exam Guarantees’ – they control when and how often you can re-take the exam. Subsequent exam attempts are only authorised at the company’s say so.

Prometric and VUE exams are in the region of 112 pounds in Britain at the time of writing. What’s the point of paying huge ‘Exam Guarantee’ costs (often covertly rolled into the cost of the course) – when good quality study materials, the proper support and consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software is what will really see you through.

Qualifications from the commercial sector are now, very visibly, beginning to replace the traditional academic paths into the industry – so why is this? With a growing demand for specific technological expertise, industry has had to move to specific, honed-in training only available through the vendors themselves – that is companies like Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA. Frequently this is at a far reduced cost both money and time wise. Academic courses, for example, often get bogged down in a lot of background study – with much too broad a syllabus. This prevents a student from getting enough specific knowledge about the core essentials.

The bottom line is: Authorised IT qualifications tell an employer precisely what skills you have – the title is a complete giveaway: for example, I am a ‘Microsoft Certified Professional’ in ‘Planning and Maintaining a Windows 2003 Infrastructure’. Therefore companies can look at the particular needs they have and what certifications will be suitable to deal with those needs.

Sometimes, individuals don’t comprehend what information technology is about. It’s thrilling, changing, and puts you at the fore-front of developments in technology affecting everyones lives in the 21st century. We’ve only just begun to get a feel for how technology will influence everything we do. The internet will profoundly transform how we view and interrelate with the entire world over the years to come.

If making decent money is up there on your wish list, then you will welcome the news that the usual remuneration for IT employees in general is significantly greater than salaries in the rest of the economy. Experts agree that there’s a significant UK-wide need for trained and qualified IT technicians. In addition, as growth in the industry shows little sign of contracting, it appears this pattern will continue for the significant future.