If you're thinking of using a trainer which still utilises 'in-centre workshop days' as a benefit of their course, then listen to these problems met by many students:

- Recurrent travelling - 100's of miles in many cases.

- Requesting frequent time off work - typical training companies only offer Mon-Fri class availability and often group days together in a clump. This isn't ideal for most people who work, and this is made worse if you include the travel time on top.

- Annual leave lost - many employed people only get 4 weeks annual leave. If you use up half of that with training classes, that isn't going to leave much vacation time for the student.

- In a situation where running costs are very high, a lot of schools make the classes quite large - certainly not ideal (giving less time per student).

- Many students want to study at a somewhat more suitable pace - rather than be dictated to by the rest of the class. Sometimes this causes the tension often found in classrooms.

- You can't forget the extra financial outlay of travelling or over-night accommodation either. Often, this will cost a lot of money - from hundreds to thousands. Sit down and add it up - you'll be (unpleasantly) surprised.

- Privacy is important to us all. We should never risk throwing away any lift up the ladder due to us because of our studies.

- Posing questions in a class full of students will often make any one of us feel nervous. Have you ever left a question un-asked just because you honestly thought you might seem thick?

- Where students have to on occasion live away for part of the week, think of the now-increased trouble of getting to the requisite events, as time is now more scarce than ever.

The most elegant solution comes from viewing a ready-made, videoed class - enabling you to learn at any time of day. Do them at home on your desktop computer or if you have laptop, why not get outside if the weather's nice. If you've got questions, then logon to the 24x7 support facility (that should've been packaged with any technical type of training.) You have the ability to re-watch and re-cover the modules as often as you need to revise. And of course, you don't have to make notes as the teaching is yours forever. The final outcome: Reduced stress, more money in the bank, and you've avoided all travel.

Make sure that all your certifications are commercially valid and current - don't bother with programs that lead to in-house certificates. You'll discover that only industry recognised examinations from the top companies like Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA and Adobe will have any meaning to employers.

A rudimentary understanding of networks is a great first base for anyone coming into the IT industry. Practically nothing else will make any sense until you have a grasp of the way PCs operate and connect to one another. Providing you have a minimum of basic user-skills, you will find the CompTIA A+ and Network+ programs are excellent for starters. Information on these certifications can be found in the 'CompTIA' section of this website.

Moving forward you can either follow the MS MCSA or MCSE track if you're focused on software, or the 'Cisco' 'CCNA' or 'CCNP' path if you are interested in 'hardware'. Even so, it must be said that a comprehensive knowledge of MS network systems is virtually a necessity for the majority of network environments, due to MS's penetration in this field. As before, you'll come across details about each certification on the actual Cisco and Microsoft pages of the website.

Equally of course you might want to enhance your Wi-Fi (wire-less) skillsets with qualifications like the CWNA and CWNP, or keep going along the CompTIA path with Security+ , Linux+ or Server+ .

One fatal mistake that we encounter all too often is to look for the actual course to take, instead of focusing on the end result they want to achieve. Universities are brimming over with unaware students that chose a program because it looked interesting - instead of what would yield an enjoyable career or job. It's a sad fact, but thousands of new students start out on programs that sound great in the prospectus, but which provides the end-result of a job that doesn't fulfil at all. Talk to many college leavers and you'll see where we're coming from.

You also need to know your leanings around earning potential and career progression, and if you're ambitious or not. It makes sense to understand what industry expects from you, what qualifications will be required and how you'll gain real-world experience. Have a conversation with an experienced industry professional that has a commercial understanding of the realities faced in the industry, and who'll explain to you a detailed run-down of what tasks are going to make up a typical day for you. Getting all these things right before commencement of any learning program will save you both time and money.

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