A study programme really needs to work up to a commercially valid accreditation as an end-result - definitely not some 'in-house' diploma - fit only for filing away and forgetting. From a commercial standpoint, only the top companies such as Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA or Adobe (to give some examples) really carry any commercial clout. Anything less just won't hit the right spot.

We can't make a big enough deal out of this point: You absolutely must have proper 24x7 professional support from mentors and instructors. You will have so many problems later if you don't follow this rule rigidly. Never accept study programmes that only provide support to trainees with a call-centre messaging service after office-staff have gone home. Training organisations will give you every excuse in the book why you don't need this. Essentially - support is required when it's required - not as-and-when it's suitable for their staff.

The very best training providers utilise several support facilities from around the world. They use an online interactive interface to seamlessly link them all together, at any time you choose, help is at hand, avoiding all the delays and problems. You can't afford to accept less than this. 24x7 support is the only kind to make the grade when it comes to technical courses. Maybe late-evening study is not your thing; but for the majority of us however, we're working at the time when most support is available.

Potential Students hoping to kick off an Information Technology career generally don't know what direction is best, or even which market to get qualified in. What chances do most of us have of understanding the day-to-day realities of any IT job when we haven't done that before? Maybe we don't even know anybody who works in that sector anyway. Contemplation on many issues is required when you want to dig down a solution that suits you:

- Our personalities play a starring role - what kind of areas spark your interest, and what are the areas that ruin your day.

- Is it your desire to pull off a key objective - for example, working for yourself sometime soon?

- What scale of importance is the salary - is an increase your main motivator, or do you place job satisfaction higher up on your list of priorities?

- With so many areas to train for in computing - you will have to get a basic understanding of what differentiates them.

- Taking a good look at how much time and effort that you're going to put into it.

The best way to avoid the industry jargon, and reveal the best path to success, have an informal chat with an experienced professional; an individual that understands the commercial reality while explaining all the qualifications.

Don't get hung-up, like so many people do, on the certification itself. You're not training for the sake of training; this is about gaining commercial employment. Begin and continue with the end in mind. It's an awful thing, but thousands of new students commence training that sounds wonderful from the syllabus guide, but which provides a job that is of no interest. Just ask several university students to see what we mean.

You'll want to understand the expectations of your industry. Which qualifications they'll want you to gain and how you'll build your experience level. You should also spend a little time setting guidelines as to how far you reckon you're going to want to build your skill-set as it will affect your choice of certifications. It's good advice for all students to talk with an experienced industry professional before deciding on their retraining programme. This gives some measure of assurance that it contains the relevant skills for the chosen career.

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