A expert and specialised advisor (in direct contrast to a salesman) will talk through your current situation. This is paramount to understanding the starting point for your education. With a little real-world experience or some accreditation, you may find that your starting point is not the same as someone new to the industry. Opening with a basic PC skills course first is often the best way to get into your computer studies, depending on your skill level at the moment.

Searching for your first position in IT sometimes feels easier to handle with a Job Placement Assistance program. With the massive need for more IT skills in Britain even when times are hard, there isn't a great need to make too much of this option though. It really won't be that difficult to land the right work once you're trained and certified.

However, don't leave it until you have qualified before polishing up your CV. As soon as your training commences, mark down what you're doing and get it out there! Various junior support roles are offered to trainees who are still learning and have yet to take their exams. At least this will get your CV into the 'possible' pile and not the 'no' pile. In many cases, a specialist independent regional employment service - who make their money when they've found you a job - will be more pro-active than a sector of a centralised training facility. It also stands to reason that they'll know the local area and commercial needs.

A slight aggravation of many training companies is how much trainees are prepared to study to get top marks in their exams, but how un-prepared that student is to get the role they're trained for. Get out there and hustle - you might find it's fun.

Trainees looking at this market can be very practical by nature, and won't enjoy sitting at a desk in class, and slogging through piles of books. If you're thinking this sounds like you, try the newer style of interactive study, where learning is video-based. Learning psychology studies show that memory is aided when we receive multi-sensorial input, and we put into practice what we've been studying.

Start a study-program in which you're provided with an array of DVD-ROM's - you'll learn by watching video tutorials and demonstrations, with the facility to hone your abilities through virtual lab's. You must ensure that you see some example materials 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.

Pick disc based courseware (On CD or DVD) every time. This then avoids all the potential pitfalls with broadband 'downtime' or slow-speeds.

Think about the following points carefully if you think the marketing blurb about a guarantee for your exam looks like a reason to buy:

We all know that we're still paying for it - obviously it has already in the full cost of the package supplied by the course provider. It's absolutely not free (although some people will believe anything the marketing companies think up these days!) Students who go in for their examinations when it's appropriate, paying as they go are much better placed to get through first time. They're thoughtful of their spending and revise more thoroughly to be up to the task.

Why should you pay a college up-front for examinations? Hold on to your money and pay for the exam at the time, don't pay mark-ups - and do it in a local testing centre - rather than possibly hours away from your area. Paying upfront for examinations (and if you're financing your study there'll be interest on that) is a false economy. Don't line companies bank accounts with your money only to please their Bank Manager! There are those who hope that you will never make it to exams - but they won't refund the cash. Most companies will require you to do mock exams and with-hold subsequent exam entries from you until you've demonstrated an excellent ability to pass - so an 'Exam Guarantee' comes with many clauses in reality.

Shelling out hundreds or thousands of pounds on an 'Exam Guarantee' is short-sighted - when consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software is what will really see you through.

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