It’s quite some achievement that you’ve already got this far! A small number of workers enjoy their work and find it stimulating, but the majority complain to each other and nothing happens. The fact that you’re here means it’s probable that you’re at least considering retraining, so well done to you. Now you just need to get busy to find your direction.

For those thinking of re-training, it’s vital that you have in mind your requirements from the job you’re looking to get into. Ensure that you would be more satisfied before you put a lot of energy into re-directing your life. So much better to look at the end goal first, to make an informed decision:

* Do you enjoy a busy working environment? Perhaps you like being a team player? Or you may prefer task-orientated work that you deal with by yourself?

* What criteria are fundamentally important when considering the market sector you’re looking to get into?

* Is this the final time you envisage re-training, and if it is, do you suppose your new career will give you scope to do that?

* Is it important for the course you’re re-training in to be in an industry where you’re comfortable you’ll have a job until retirement?

The biggest industry in the UK that fulfils the above criteria is the IT industry. There’s a need for more skilled staff in this sector, just check out any jobs website and there’ll be a long list. Don’t misunderstand and think it’s full of techie geeks staring at theirscreens all day long – there are loads more jobs than that. The majority of the people in IT are people of average intelligence, with well paid and stimulating jobs.

Accredited simulation materials and exam preparation packages are a must – and must be sought from your course provider.

Due to the fact that most IT examination boards come from the United States, you must be prepared for the way exams are phrased. It isn’t good enough just going through the right questions – they must be in an exam format that exactly replicates the real thing.

Ensure that you verify whether you’re learning enough through tests and simulated exams before you take the actual exam.

Most training companies only provide office hours or extended office hours support; most won’t answer after 8-9pm at the latest and frequently never at the weekends.

Avoid, like the plague, any organisations which use call-centres ‘out-of-hours’ – where an advisor will call back during standard office hours. It’s not a lot of help when you’ve got study issues and could do with an answer during your scheduled study period.

The most successful trainers have many support offices active in different time-zones. They use an online interactive interface to join them all seamlessly, no matter what time you login, help is just seconds away, without any contact issues or hassle.

Look for a training provider that goes the extra mile. Because only round-the-clock 24×7 support gives you the confidence to make it.

Now, why might we choose commercial qualifications as opposed to more traditional academic qualifications taught at the state educational establishments?

As demand increases for knowledge about more and more complex technology, industry has of necessity moved to specialist courses that can only be obtained from the actual vendors – in other words companies like Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA. This usually turns out to involve less time and financial outlay.

Essentially, only that which is required is learned. Actually, it’s not quite as pared down as that, but principally the objective has to be to cover the precise skills needed (alongside some required background) – without going into too much detail in everything else – in the way that academic establishments often do.

As long as an employer is aware what they’re looking for, then they simply need to advertise for the particular skill-set required. Vendor-based syllabuses all have to conform to the same requirements and don’t change between schools (like academia frequently can and does).

The market provides an excess of employment in IT. Arriving at the correct choice in this uncertainty can be very difficult.

What is our likelihood of grasping what is involved in a particular job when we haven’t done that before? Often we have never met anyone who performs the role either.

Usually, the way to come at this issue properly flows from a deep conversation around several areas:

* The kind of person you are – which things you get enjoyment from, and conversely – what you definitely don’t enjoy.

* For what reasons you’re stepping into the IT industry – maybe you’d like to overcome some personal goal like self-employment for instance.

* Any personal or home requirements you have?

* With everything that computing encapsulates, it’s obvious you’ll need to be able to see the differences.

* You need to understand the differences across each individual training area.

In all honesty, it’s obvious that the only real way to seek advice on these matters tends to be through a good talk with an advisor that understands Information Technology (and more importantly the commercial needs.)

(C) 2009 – S. Edwards. Pop over to Career Change Job or Career Skills Advice.

The CCNA is the way to go for training in Cisco. This teaches you how to work on maintaining and installing routers and network switches. Fundamentally, the internet is based upon huge numbers of routers, and commercial ventures who have several locations utilise them to allow their networks to keep in touch.

You might end up joining an internet service provider or a big organisation which is located on multiple sites but needs regular secure data communications. This career path is very well paid and quite specialised.

Achieving CCNA is where you need to be aiming – don’t be pushed into attempting your CCNP for now. After gaining experience in the working environment, you’ll know if it’s relevant for you to have this next level up. If it is, you’ll have significantly improved your chances of success – because you’ll know so much more by then.

Make sure that all your certifications are current and also valid commercially – don’t bother with programs that only give in-house certificates.

Unless the accreditation comes from a company like Microsoft, CompTIA, Adobe or Cisco, then chances are it will be commercially useless – because no-one will recognise it.

Considering the amount of options that are available, does it really shock us that a large majority of trainees get stuck choosing the job they will enjoy.

What is our likelihood of grasping the many facets of a particular career when we’ve never done it? Maybe we have never met anyone who performs the role either.

Achieving an informed answer will only come through a meticulous investigation covering many varying factors:

* Personality plays an important role – what gets you ‘up and running’, and what are the activities that really turn you off.

* Do you want to obtain training due to a precise raison d’etre – i.e. are you looking at working from home (self-employment?)?

* Is salary further up on your priority-scale than other factors.

* Many students don’t properly consider the level of commitment involved to attain their desired level.

* You have to understand what differentiates each individual training area.

To bypass the barrage of jargon, and reveal the most viable option for your success, have an informal chat with an industry-experienced advisor; someone who understands the commercial reality and of course each qualification.

If your advisor doesn’t ask many questions – it’s likely they’re just trying to sell you something. If they push a particular product before learning about your history and current experience level, then you know it’s true.

Occasionally, the training start-point for a trainee with a little experience is often massively different to the student with none.

Consider starting with user-skills and software training first. It will usually make the slope up to the higher-levels a less steep.

A sneaky way that training providers make more money is by adding exam fees upfront to the cost of a course and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams. This sounds impressive, but is it really:

Certainly it’s not free – you’re still being charged for it – the price has simply been included in the whole thing.

The honest truth is that if students pay for each progressive exam, one at a time, the chances are they’re going to pass every time – as they are conscious of what they’ve paid and their application will be greater.

Sit the exam as locally as possible and don’t pay up-front, but seek out the best deal for you when you’re ready.

Paying in advance for examination fees (which also includes interest if you’ve taken out a loan) is bad financial management. Why fill a company’s coffers with extra money of yours simply to help their cash-flow! There are those who hope that you won’t get round to taking them – so they get to keep the extra funds.

The majority of organisations will insist that you take mock exams first and prohibit you from re-taking an exam until you’ve completely proven that you’re likely to pass – so an ‘Exam Guarantee’ comes with many clauses in reality.

Exams taken at local centres are in the region of 112 pounds in Britain at the time of writing. Why pay exorbitant ‘Exam Guarantee’ fees (most often hidden in the package) – when the best course materials, the right level of support and study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will really guarantee success.

Copyright Scott Edwards. Visit Adult Retraining Courses or New Career Options.