Commercial certification is now, most definitely, beginning to replace the traditional routes into the IT industry - why then is this? Accreditation-based training (to use industry-speak) is far more specialised and product-specific. Industry has realised that specialisation is necessary to meet the requirements of an increasingly more technical workplace. CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA are the big boys in this field. They do this through concentrating on the actual skills required (together with an appropriate level of associated knowledge,) rather than covering masses of the background 'padding' that academic courses often do (to fill up a syllabus or course).

Just as the old advertisement said: 'It does what it says on the tin'. All an employer has to do is know what they're looking for, and then match up the appropriate exam numbers as a requirement. Then they know that anyone who applies can do the necessary work.

There are also two specialist subjects in the MCSE path - security & messaging. Dependent on exactly which preliminary 7 MCPs are preferred, this may necessitate a further one or two more MCP examinations. It makes sense to think about this from the start if you might be interested in one or both of these subjects, simply because a little forward planning will mean you have a maximum of eight MCP's to sit. Up-date exams have also been brought out by MS, (exam 70-648 for the MCSA and exam 70/649 for the 'MCSE') for Server-2008 MCTS (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist). It would be wise to consider including one of these (or maybe their equivalent) asap. This won't only future proof you to a certain extent, but will offer more job possibilities.

You have 4 Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) examinations to sit in order to qualify at the MCSA level. Of these, three exams are compulsory subjects and so must be sat, but the fourth is selected from a range of 'electives'. A progressively more practical & completely accepted elective is the CompTIA-Security+ , which for understandable reasons is starting to become a lot more favoured by trainees. With the MCSE there is currently higher importance placed upon security from an 'organisational' perspective, the planning of systems, and design of networks. There are actually seven MCP examinations in total.

Students looking to start an Information Technology career usually haven't a clue what route they should take, or even which sector to achieve their certification in. After all, if you don't have any experience in the IT market, how can you expect to know what a particular IT employee does each day? And of course decide on what training route would be most appropriate for your success. To get to the bottom of this, a discussion is necessary, covering a variety of different aspects:

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

- Why it seems right moving into Information Technology - maybe you'd like to achieve a particular goal like being your own boss maybe.

- The income needs you have?

- Getting to grips with what typical IT types and sectors are - and what makes them different.

- How much effort you'll have available to spend on your training.

In these situations, it's obvious that the only real way to research these areas will be via a meeting with someone that understands computing (and specifically it's commercial needs.)

Validated exam preparation and simulation materials are a must - and absolutely ought to be supplied by your training company. Sometimes people can get thrown by going through practice questions that are not from authorised sources. Sometimes, the terminology in the real exams is startlingly different and it's vital that you know this. Obviously, it is vital to ensure that you are completely prepared for the real exam prior to doing it. Going over simulated tests helps build your confidence and saves you time and money on failed exams.

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