Just ten percent of adults in this country are enjoying job satisfaction. The vast majority of course will do nothing about it. You've reached this paragraph, which at least tells us that you know it's time to make a change.

We'd recommend that in advance of taking a training course, you discuss your plans with a person who has knowledge of the industry and can make recommendations. The right person will be able to assess your personal likes and dislikes and give you guidance on the right role for you:

* Do you enjoy a busy working environment? Perhaps you like being a team player? Perhaps you prefer not to be disturbed and enjoy responsibilities that you deal with by yourself?

* What ideas are fundamental regarding the industry you hope to work in?

* Is it important that this should be the only time you will need more qualifications?

* Do you want your training course to be in a market sector where you know you'll have a job until your pension kicks in?

Don't overlook Information Technology, that's our recommendation - unusually, it's one of the growing market sectors in the UK and Europe. And the salaries are much higher than most.

Beware of putting too much emphasis, as many people do, on the training process. Training is not an end in itself; this is about employment. Stay focused on what it is you want to achieve. It's unfortunate, but a great many students commence training that sounds fabulous in the sales literature, but which provides a job that is of no interest at all. Talk to many college leavers and you'll see where we're coming from.

You'll want to understand the expectations of your industry. What precise certifications they will want you to have and how you'll build your experience level. You should also spend a little time setting guidelines as to how far you wish to build your skill-set as it will present a very specific set of certifications. Look for help from an experienced industry advisor that appreciates the market you're interested in, and will be able to provide 'A typical day in the life of' understanding of what kinds of tasks you'll be undertaking day-to-day. It makes good sense to ensure you're on the right track before you jump into the study-program. There's really no point in beginning your training only to find you've taken the wrong route.

In most cases, the average trainee really has no clue what way to go about starting in IT, let alone which sector they should look at getting trained in. Because with no previous experience in Information Technology, how could any of us understand what any job actually involves? Getting to the right decision will only come via a methodical investigation of several changing criteria:

* The kind of individual you think yourself to be - which things you enjoy doing, and don't forget - what you hate to do.

* Are you looking to pull off a closely held aim - like being your own boss in the near future?

* How important is salary to you - is it of prime importance, or do you place job satisfaction a little higher on your list of priorities?

* With many, many markets to choose from in Information Technology - you will have to gain some key facts on what makes them different.

* Taking a good look at the level of commitment, time and effort that you're going to put into it.

For the average person, getting to the bottom of all these ideas tends to require the help of someone that has direct industry experience. Not only the accreditations - but the commercial needs and expectations of the market as well.

Many people think that the school and FE college path is still the best way into IT. So why then are commercial certificates slowly and steadily replacing it? With 3 and 4 year academic degree costs becoming a tall order for many, along with the industry's general opinion that vendor-based training often has more relevance in the commercial field, we have seen a large rise in Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe certified training paths that create knowledgeable employees for considerably less. Typically, the learning just focuses on what's actually required. Actually, it's not quite as pared down as that, but the principle objective is to concentrate on the fundamentally important skill-sets (with some necessary background) - without overdoing the detail in everything else - in the way that academic establishments often do.

It's rather like the advert: 'It does what it says on the label'. All an employer has to do is 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.

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