What can a student searching for Microsoft certified training expect to find today? Obviously, companies should give access to a number of routes that match the needs of Microsoft certified training paths. Maybe you’d choose to talk about career options with a training advisor – and should you be confused, then get help to sort out whereabouts in industry would be best, based on your personality and ability level. Insist that your training is tailored to your ability level and skills. The best companies will make sure that the training is designed for the career you want to get into.

Since the computer industry presents such an array of exceptional career development prospects for us all – what are the questions we should raise and what elements carry the most importance?

Many companies only concern themselves with gaining a certificate, and completely avoid why you’re doing this – which will always be getting the job or career you want. Always start with the final destination in mind – don’t get hung-up on the training vehicle. It’s a testament to the marketing skills of the big companies, but thousands of new students kick-off study that often sounds spectacular in the syllabus guide, but which provides a job that doesn’t fulfil at all. Speak to a selection of university students to see what we mean.

Set targets for earning potential and the level of your ambition. This can often control what precise accreditations you’ll need to attain and what industry will expect from you in return. Before setting out on a training course, it makes sense to talk through individual career requirements with an experienced industry professional, to ensure the retraining program covers all the bases.

We’d hazard a guess that you’ve always enjoyed practical work – the ‘hands-on’ individual. Usually, the painful task of reading endless manuals is something you’ll make yourself do if you have to, but you’d hate it. So look for on-screen interactive learning packages if book-based learning really isn’t your style. Many years of research has constantly verified that getting into our studies physically, is proven to produce longer-lasting and deeper memory retention.

Locate a program where you’ll get a host of DVD-ROM’s – you’ll be learning from instructor videos and demo’s, with the facility to use virtual lab’s to practice your new skills. Always insist on a look at some courseware examples from your training provider. You should ask for instructor videos, demonstrations, slide-shows and lab’s for you to practice your skills in.

Pick disc based courseware (On CD or DVD) wherever available. Thus avoiding all the issues associated with broadband ‘downtime’ or slow-speeds.

Full support is of the utmost importance – look for a package that includes 24×7 access, as not opting for this kind of support could impede your ability to learn. Try and find training where you can access help at all hours of the day and night (irrespective of whether it’s the wee hours on Sunday morning!) Make sure it’s always direct-access to qualified mentors and tutors, and not a call-centre that will take messages so you’re consistently being held in a queue for a call-back – probably during office hours.

The best training colleges opt for an online access 24×7 package pulling in several support offices across the globe. You will have a single, easy-to-use environment which switches seamlessly to the best choice of centres irrespective of the time of day: Support when it’s needed. Don’t compromise when it comes to your support. Many students that fall by the wayside, are in that situation because of support (or the lack of).

‘In-Centre’ days can be portrayed as a great feature by a lot of training companies. After talking to most computer industry trainees that have tried them out, you’ll likely realise that they’ve now become a waste of time due to many reasons:

* All that travelling – many journeys and normally 100′s of miles at a go.

* Taking frequent time off work – most colleges only offer Mon-Fri workshop availability – typically grouping 2 or 3 days together. If you’re working then this can be difficult, and it’s made more problematic if you include the travel time on top.

* Don’t disregard the lost vacation days. Usually we’re lucky to have 20 days holiday per year. If at least half is sacrificed to learning, then we haven’t got much left for ourselves.

* Classes can ‘sell out’ fast and can be very crammed in.

* The ‘pace’ – workshops normally contain trainees of varying skill, so tension can be created between students with more background knowledge and those with less experience.

* Soaring travel costs – driving to the training centre and of course bed and breakfast for the night can really add up each time you attend. If we just assume five to ten workshops costing around 35 pounds for a single over-night room, plus a petrol cost of 40 pounds and 15 pounds for food, we find an extra four to nine hundred pounds of costs that we weren’t expecting.

* Most attendees want to keep their training private to avoid any kind of questions in their job.

* It’s really not that uncommon for people not to pose the question that’s bugging them – just due to the reason that they’re amongst other classmates.

* More often than not, days in-centre frequently become pretty much undoable, where you live or work away from home for part of the week.

For a far more flexible approach, exploit ready-made, videoed classes in the comfort of your own chosen environment – and do it when it’s convenient to you – not anybody else. Do them at home on your PC or if you have laptop, why not get outside if the weather’s nice. Any questions; then make use of the 24×7 support (that we hope you’ll insist on with any technical courses.) Repeat lessons and modules whenever you feel you need to – the more times you cover something – the more you’ll remember. And no worrying about keeping up with note-taking either – it’s all provided. Could it get any simpler: No wasted time or money, travelling is avoided; plus you’ve got a much more peaceful study setting.

IT has become one of the most thrilling and changing industries that you can get into right now. Being up close and personal with technology is to be a part of the massive changes shaping life over the next few decades. We’re only just starting to understand how all this change will affect us. The way we correlate with the world as a whole will be profoundly affected by computers and the internet.

And keep in mind that on average, the income of a person in the IT sector across the UK is much better than remuneration packages in other industries, which means you will more than likely gain considerably more as an IT specialist, than you could reasonably hope to achieve elsewhere. Excitingly, there’s a lot more room for IT sector development throughout this country. The industry continues to grow hugely, and as we have a significant shortage of skilled professionals, it’s most unlikely that there’ll be any kind of easing off for years to come.