Any program that you're going to undertake really needs to work up to a widely recognised certification at the finale - and not a worthless 'in-house' piece of paper. If the accreditation doesn't feature a major player like Microsoft, Cisco, Adobe or CompTIA, then chances are it will have been a waste of time - because it won't give an employer any directly-useable skills.

If you're considering a training provider which still utilises 'in-centre workshop days' as a benefit of their course, then consider these hassles met by most IT hopefuls:

- Masses of travelling to and from the training centre - often 100's of miles.

- Monday to Friday accessibility with classes can be usual, and trying to take several days leave in a single chunk is usually problematic for a lot of trainees who are working.

- Usually, we find 20 days holiday per year isn't enough by far. Sacrifice at least half of this for training workshops and see how much more difficult it makes things.

- Classes usually are over-subscribed, meaning we have to accept a less-than-ideal slot.

- Class pace - centre-days often have students of mixed talent, consequently there is often tension between students that want a quicker pace to the ones who need a little longer.

- Many attendees tell us of the considerable cost of travelling back and forth to the training centre while forking out for food and accommodation becomes prohibitively expensive.

- You should never risk any chance of letting yourself be overlooked for advancement or pay-rises because your employer knows you're retraining.

- Surely, all of us at some time have shied away from raising a hand in the air, because we wanted to maintain the illusion that we did, in fact, understand?

- If you occasionally work away from home, it's apparent that workshops now become difficult to get to - but unfortunately, they've been paid for in advance.

Surely it makes a lot more sense to study when it suits you -- not the training company - and make use of virtual lab environments with videos of your instructors. Consider... Utilising a notebook PC then you could study in the garden, a park, or just outside. And 24x7 support is only a web-click away in case of difficulty. There's no need to take notes - all the lessons and background info are laid out on a plate. If you need to cover something again, it's all right there. Could it get any simpler: No travelling, wasted time or money; and of course you get a much more comfortable training atmosphere.

Its really quite possible if you're wanting to get into IT from another career that you will want to begin your training program somewhere amongst these stages. Where exactly will depend on the skill-sets you currently have. We would suggest you discuss your strategies on training programs & IT careers with an experienced advisor if you've got more technical ambitions. In truth, if you are planning a career move, you ought to have this conversation before you try out any qualification - to ensure that you are taking the correct path from the outset. Individuals who do not plan where they're heading from the outset generally find themselves wasting a lot of time & money - which could have been prevented with a basic 30 minute discussion.

Commercial qualifications are now, very visibly, already replacing the traditional routes into the industry - but why is this happening? With university education costs becoming a tall order for many, along with the industry's recognition that corporate based study is often far more commercially relevant, there has been a great increase in Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe based training routes that provide key skills to an employee at a fraction of the cost and time involved. Typically, only required knowledge is taught. Actually, it's not quite as pared down as that, but the principle objective is to concentrate on the fundamentally important skill-sets (including a degree of required background) - without attempting to cover a bit about all sorts of other things - in the way that academic establishments often do.

In simple terms: Authorised IT qualifications provide exactly what an employer needs - the title says it all: i.e. I am a 'Microsoft Certified Professional' in 'Planning and Maintaining a Windows 2003 Infrastructure'. Consequently employers can look at the particular needs they have and which qualifications are required to perform the job.

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