Be careful that the qualifications you're studying for are recognised by industry and are bang up to date. Training companies own certificates are usually worthless. To an employer, only the top companies such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco or Adobe (to give some examples) provide enough commercial weight. Nothing else makes the grade.

If you're like many of the students we talk to then you probably enjoy fairly practical work - the 'hands-on' type. Typically, the world of book-reading and classrooms is something you'll force on yourself if you absolutely have to, but it's not really your thing. Check out video-based multimedia instruction if you'd really rather not use books. If we're able to involve all our senses in the learning process, then we often see hugely increased memory retention as a result.

Locate a program where you're provided with an array of DVD-ROM's - you'll begin by watching videos of instructors demonstrating the skills, followed by the chance to fine-tune your skills in fully interactive practice sessions. Each company you're contemplating should willingly take you through samples of their training materials. Expect video tutorials, instructor led classes and interactive areas to practice in.

It's usually bad advice to choose training that is only available online. Due to the variable nature of connection quality from the ISP (internet service provider) market, it makes sense to have CD or DVD ROM based materials.

The world of information technology is one of the more electrifying and revolutionary industries to be involved in today. To be working on the cutting-edge of technology is to be a part of the massive changes that will affect us all over the next generation. Technology, computers and communication on the internet is going to dramatically shape the way we live our lives in the near future; remarkably so.

If making decent money is around the top on your goal sheet, then you'll be happy to know that the usual remuneration of the majority of IT staff is much more than with most other jobs or industries. Excitingly, there's not a hint of a downturn for IT sector expansion in the United Kingdom. The industry continues to develop enormously, and we don't have anywhere near enough qualified skilled IT professionals to fill current job vacancies, so it's highly unlikely that this will change significantly for the significant future.

Beware of putting too much emphasis, like so many people do, on the certification itself. Training for training's sake is generally pointless; you should be geared towards the actual job at the end of it. You need to remain focused on where you want to go. It's common, for example, to find immense satisfaction in a year of study only to end up putting 20 long years into a tiresome job role, simply because you did it without the correct level of soul-searching when you should've - at the outset.

You also need to know how you feel about career development, earning potential, and if you're ambitious or not. You need to know what (if any) sacrifices you'll need to make for a particular role, which particular certifications are required and in what way you can develop commercial experience. Have a chat with a professional advisor that understands the work you're contemplating, and who can give you a detailed run-down of what you actually do in that role. Researching these areas before commencement of any retraining programme will prevent a lot of wasted time and effort.

Nowadays, there are actually hardly any 'Windows' NT server installations still left, yet there are still quite a number remaining at server 2000. The most abundant is server '2003', with server 08 still in it's early days. This being so, the key 'Microsoft' certifications continue to be largely based on Windows Server '2003'. The 'Microsoft' MCSE and Microsoft MCSA training programs have developed as time has passed in accordance with the Servers. At this time, both 'MCSE' 2003 and 'MCSA' '2003' are Microsoft's major Network accreditations. Since up-grade instruction for Server 08 is also available though, it is a good idea to cover this also.

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