So many training providers only concern themselves with gaining a certificate, and forget the reasons for getting there - which is a commercial career or job. Always start with the end goal - don't make the vehicle more important than the destination. It's common, for instance, to thoroughly enjoy one year of training but end up spending 10 or 20 years in something completely unrewarding, as an upshot of not doing some decent due-diligence when you should've - at the outset.

Stay focused on where you want to go, and create a learning-plan from that - don't do it back-to-front. Keep your eyes on your goals - making sure you're training for a career that'll reward you for many long and fruitful years. Seek help from a skilled advisor that has commercial knowledge of your chosen market-place, and is able to give you 'A day in the life of' outline of of what you'll be doing during your working week. It just makes sense to ensure you're on the right track long before you embark on your training program. After all, what is the point in kicking off your training only to realise you've made a huge mistake.

Does job security really exist anywhere now? In the UK for instance, with businesses changing their mind on a day-to-day basis, it certainly appears not. In actuality, security now only emerges in a quickly growing marketplace, pushed forward by a shortage of trained workers. This shortage creates the correct conditions for market-security - definitely a more pleasing situation.

The 2006 British e-Skills analysis showed that 26 percent of IT jobs cannot be filled because of a huge deficit of appropriately certified professionals. To put it another way, this means that the UK only has three properly accredited workers for each 4 positions available now. Well qualified and commercially educated new staff are accordingly at a resounding premium, and it's estimated to remain so for many years longer. With the market evolving at such a speed, there really isn't any other market worth investigating for a new future.

Including exams up-front and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams is a popular marketing tool with a number of training colleges. But look at the facts:

We all know that we're still paying for it - it's obviously already in the full cost of the package supplied by the training company. It's definitely not free (although some people will believe anything the marketing companies think up these days!) Trainees who take exams one at a time, funding them one at a time are much better placed to get through first time. They are conscious of the cost and revise more thoroughly to be ready for the task.

Isn't it in your interests to go for the best offer when you're ready, not to pay the fees marked up by a training company, and to take it closer to home - rather than possibly hours away from your area? Why borrow the money or pay in advance (plus interest of course) on exam fees when you don't need to? A great deal of money is secured by training companies getting paid upfront for exams - and then hoping that you won't take them all. In addition to this, many exam guarantees are worthless. Many training companies won't pay for re-takes until you have demonstrated conclusively that you won't fail again.

The cost of exams was approximately 112 pounds last year via UK VUE or Prometric centres. Therefore, why splash out often many hundreds of pounds extra to get 'Exam Guarantees', when it's obvious that the responsible approach is a regular, committed, study programme, with an accredited exam preparation system.

Small wonder then that a substantial quantity of certification tracks have been developed by Cisco to handle the myriad of technologies and patents it produces. Students tend to be recommended to begin with exactly the same certification program, and then move into specialist sectors as they progress. The 'Cisco' 'CCNA' (Cisco Certified Network Associate) training contains 2 exams, that will equip an appropriate starting candidate with the required skill in installation, configuration, operation, & trouble-shooting of medium-sized enterprise-level router & switched networks.

Ask almost any specialised advisor and they'll regale you with many awful tales of students who've been conned by dodgy salespeople. Only deal with a skilled professional who asks some in-depth questions to find out what's appropriate to you - not for their retirement-fund! It's very important to locate the right starting point of study for you. An important point to note is that, if you've got any previous certification, then you will often be able to commence studying further along than a trainee with no history to speak of. If you're a student embarking on IT studies as a new venture, it's often a good idea to ease in gradually, starting with some basic user skills first. This can be built into any study program.

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