What are the sort of things you'd expect the most superior Microsoft accredited suppliers to give a student in the UK today? Clearly, the most supreme Gold Partner Microsoft authorised training routes, supplying a range of options to take you towards various areas of industry. Try to review all your options with somebody who is on familiar terms with the IT industry, and has the ability to guide you towards the best kind of work to match your character. Having selected the career path you want, you'll need a suitable training program matched to your ability level and skill set. Your course material should be second to none.

A question; why ought we to be looking at commercial qualifications and not more traditional academic qualifications taught at tech' colleges and universities? Key company training (as it's known in the industry) is most often much more specialised. The IT sector has acknowledged that this level of specialised understanding is necessary to cope with an acceleratingly technical workplace. Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe are the key players in this arena. Academic courses, as a example, can often get caught up in a lot of background study - and a syllabus that's too generalised. This holds a student back from understanding the specific essentials in enough depth.

If an employer is aware what they're looking for, then all they have to do is advertise for the particular skill-set required. Syllabuses are set to exacting standards and don't change between schools (in the way that degree courses can).

Getting your first commercial position sometimes feels easier to handle with a Job Placement Assistance facility. The need for this feature can be bigged up out of proportion though - it's quite easy for eager sales people to overstate it's need. The fact of the matter is, the massive skills shortage in Great Britain is why employers will be interested in you.

Advice and support about getting interviews and your CV might be provided (alternatively, check out one of our sites for help). Make sure you update that dusty old CV right away - don't leave it till you pass the exams! It's possible that you won't have even qualified when you will be offered your first junior support role; although this isn't going to happen unless your CV is with employers. Most often, a local IT focused recruitment consultant or service (who will get paid commission to place you) is going to give you a better service than a sector of a centralised training facility. Also of course they should be familiar with the local area and commercial needs.

Essentially, if you put the same amount of effort into landing a job as into studying, you're not likely to experience problems. A number of trainees bizarrely put hundreds of hours into their learning program and then just stop once certified and appear to be under the impression that jobs will come to them.

Looking at the myriad of choice out there, it's not really surprising that nearly all students get stuck choosing the job they could be successful with. I mean, if you don't have any experience in the IT market, what chance is there for you to know what a particular IT employee spends their day doing? And of course decide on what certification program would be most appropriate for your success. Generally, the way to deal with this issue appropriately comes from a deep chat, covering several different topics:

* What hobbies you're involved with in your spare-time - these can define what areas will provide a happy working life.

* What is the time-frame for retraining?

* What are your thoughts on salary vs the travel required?

* Often, trainees don't consider the work expected to get fully certified.

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

At the end of the day, the best way of covering these is from an in-depth discussion with a professional who through years of experience will be able to guide you.

Be alert that all certifications that you're considering are commercially relevant and are current. 'In-house' exams and the certificates they come with are generally useless. Unless the accreditation comes from a company like Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA or Cisco, then you'll probably find it will have been a waste of time - because no-one will recognise it.

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