Many trainees presume that the tech college or university route is the right way even now. So why are qualifications from the commercial sector becoming more in demand? With 3 and 4 year academic degree costs becoming a tall order for many, along with the IT sector's recognition that corporate based study is often far more commercially relevant, there has been a great increase in CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA authorised training courses that supply key solutions to a student at a fraction of the cost and time involved. University courses, for instance, clog up the training with a lot of background study - with much too broad a syllabus. Students are then held back from understanding the specific essentials in enough depth.

The bottom line is: Recognised IT certifications give employers exactly what they're looking for - everything they need to know is in the title: as an example - I am a 'Microsoft Certified Professional' in 'Designing Security for a Windows 2003 Network'. Consequently an employer can identify exactly what they need and which qualifications are needed for the job.

An area that's often missed by those mulling over a new direction is the concept of 'training segmentation'. This is essentially how the program is broken down into parts to be delivered to you, which vastly changes what you end up with. Most companies will sell you a program typically taking 1-3 years, and drop-ship the materials to you piecemeal as you get to the end of each exam. On the surface this seems reasonable - until you consider the following: Often, the staged breakdown pushed by the company's salespeople doesn't suit all of us. You may find it a stretch to finalise all the sections at the speed required?

To be straight, the best option is to obtain their recommendation on the best possible order of study, but get everything up-front. You then have everything if you don't manage to finish quite as quick as they'd want.

Look at the facts below very carefully if you believe the sales ploy of an 'Exam Guarantee' sounds great value:

You'll pay for it by some means. It certainly isn't free - it's just been rolled into the price of the whole package. Passing first time is everyone's goal. Entering examinations in order and paying as you go sees you much better placed to get through first time - you put the effort in and are mindful of the investment you've made.

Look for the very best offer you can when you take the exam, and hang on to your cash. You'll then be able to select where you sit the exam - so you can choose somewhere closer to home. Why borrow the money or pay in advance (plus interest of course) on exam fees when you don't need to? Huge profits are secured by training companies getting money in early for exam fees - and banking on the fact that many won't be taken. The majority of companies will require you to sit pre-tests and hold you back from re-takes until you've proven conclusively that you can pass - so an 'Exam Guarantee' comes with many clauses in reality.

Exams taken at local centres are currently clocking in at an average of 112 pounds in Britain at the time of writing. Why pay exorbitant 'Exam Guarantee' fees (often covertly rolled into the cost of the course) - when the best course materials, the right level of support and commitment, effort and practice with quality exam preparation systems are the factors that really get you through.

We need to make this very clear: You absolutely must have proper 24x7 professional support from mentors and instructors. You'll definitely experience problems if you don't follow this rule rigidly. Always avoid training that only supports trainees via a message system when it's outside of usual working hours. Training companies will always try to hide the importance of this issue. The bottom line is - support is required when it's required - not when it's convenient for them.

Top training companies use multiple support centres from around the world. An online system provides an interactive interface to provide a seamless experience, no matter what time you login, there is always help at hand, without any contact issues or hassle. Don't compromise with the quality of your support. Many students who give up, are in that situation because of a lack of support.

When did you last consider your job security? Normally, we only think of this after something dramatic happens to shake us. Unfortunately, the reality is that our job security is a thing of the past, for the vast majority of people. We're able though to reveal market-level security, by probing for areas of high demand, coupled with work-skill shortages.

The computing Industry skills shortfall throughout the UK falls in at around twenty six percent, as noted by the most recent e-Skills analysis. Quite simply, we can't properly place more than three out of every 4 jobs in the computer industry. Highly trained and commercially accredited new workers are thus at a resounding premium, and it seems it will continue to be so for many years to come. As the Information Technology market is evolving at such a rate, there really isn't any other area of industry worth investigating for retraining.

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