Ask a skilled consultant and you'll be surprised by their many worrying experiences of students who've been sold completely the wrong course for them. Stick to an experienced professional who quizzes you to discover the most appropriate thing for you - not for their pay-packet! Dig until you find a starting-point that will suit you. Remember, if in the past you've acquired any work-experience or certification, then you can sometimes expect to commence studying further along than a trainee with no history to speak of. Always consider starting with some basic Microsoft package and Windows skills first. This can help whip your basic knowledge into shape and make the transition to higher-level learning a little less steep.

We're regularly asked to explain why qualifications from colleges and universities are being replaced by more commercially accredited qualifications? As we require increasingly more effective technological know-how, the IT sector has of necessity moved to the specialised training that the vendors themselves supply - namely companies such as Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe. Frequently this is at a far reduced cost both money and time wise. Academic courses, as a example, clog up the training with too much background study - and much too wide a syllabus. Students are then held back from understanding the specific essentials in enough depth.

Put yourself in the employer's position - and your company needed a person with some very particular skills. What should you do: Trawl through loads of academic qualifications from several applicants, struggling to grasp what they've learned and which vocational skills have been attained, or choose a specific set of accreditations that precisely match your needs, and then select who you want to interview from that. The interview is then more about the person and how they'll fit in - instead of having to work out if they can do the job.

Usually, the everyday person really has no clue what way to go about starting in the IT industry, let alone which market they should be considering getting trained in. After all, if you've got no experience in the IT industry, how could you possibly know what a particular IT employee does each day? And of course decide on what certification program provides the best chances for your success. Reflection on the following areas is required if you want to dig down the right answer for you:

- Your personal interests and hobbies - as they can define what areas will provide a happy working life.

- Are you driven to obtain training due to a specific motive - e.g. are you looking at working from home (self-employment possibly?)?

- Is the money you make further up on your priority-scale than other factors.

- Often, trainees don't consider the time required to gain all the necessary accreditation.

- You have to understand the differences across the myriad of training options.

Ultimately, your only chance of covering these is via an in-depth discussion with a professional that has enough background to lead you to the correct decision.

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