Currently in the UK, commercial institutions could not function efficiently without assistance from support workers mending networks and computers, while recommending solutions to users each and every day. The need for better qualified personnel multiplies, as we turn out to be vastly more reliant on computers in the twenty first century.

How are we supposed to make a good choice then? With so many opportunities, we'll need to know where to be looking - and what it is we should be investigating.

An all too common mistake that many potential students make is to concentrate on the course itself, and not focus on where they want to get to. Schools are stacked to the hilt with unaware students who chose a course based on what sounded good - instead of what would yield the job they want. It's possible, in some situations, to thoroughly enjoy one year of training but end up spending 10 or 20 years in a career that does nothing for you, as a consequence of not performing some quality research when it was needed - at the start.

You'll want to understand what expectations industry may have of you. Which precise accreditations you'll be required to have and how to gain experience. It's also worth spending time considering how far you wish to progress your career as it will often affect your choice of certifications. Our recommendation would be to seek guidance and advice from a skilled advisor before embarking on some particular training programme, so you can be sure that the specific package will give the appropriate skill-set.

You have to make sure that all your exams are current and commercially required - don't even consider programmes which lead to some in-house certificate (which is as useless as if you'd printed it yourself). You'll discover that only industry recognised examinations from companies such as Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA and Cisco will be useful to a future employer.

Many trainers provide a bunch of books and manuals. Learning like this is dull and repetitive and isn't the best way to go about achieving retention. Where possible, if we can utilise all of our senses into our learning, then we often see hugely increased memory retention as a result.

Find a course where you're provided with an array of CD and DVD ROM's - you'll begin by watching videos of instructors demonstrating the skills, and be able to hone your abilities through virtual lab's. Don't take any chances and look at some examples of the kind of training materials you'll be using before you hand over your cheque. The minimum you should expect would be instructor-led video demonstrations and a variety of audio-visual and interactive sections.

You'll find that many companies will only provide purely on-line training; and although this is okay the majority of the time, imagine the problems if you lose your internet access or you get intermittent problems and speed issues. A safer solution is the provision of actual CD or DVD ROMs that will solve that problem.

Student support is absolutely essential - locate a good company that includes 24x7 access, as anything less will not satisfy and will also impede your ability to learn. Always avoid certification programs which can only support students with a message system when it's outside of usual working hours. Colleges will try to talk you round from this line of reasoning. The simple fact of the matter is - you want to be supported when you need the help - not at times when they find it cheaper to provide it.

We recommend looking for training programs that utilise many support facilities active in different time-zones. All of them should be combined to offer a simple interface together with 24x7 access, when you need it, with no fuss. Never compromise where support is concerned. The majority of students who throw in the towel, would have had a different experience if they'd got the right support package in the first place.

One crafty way that course providers make extra profits is by adding exam fees upfront to the cost of a course and then including an 'Exam Guarantee'. It looks impressive, until you think it through:

Everybody's aware that they're still footing the bill for it - obviously it has been inserted into the gross price invoiced by the training company. Certainly, it's not a freebie (it's just marketing companies think we'll fall for anything they say!) It's well known in the industry that if a student pays for each examination, at the time of taking them, there's a much better chance they'll pass first time - because they'll think of their investment in themselves and their application will be greater.

Don't you think it's more sensible to not pay up-front, but at the appropriate time, rather than coughing up months or even a year or two in advance to the training company, and to do it in a local testing office - instead of miles away at the college's beck and call? Many questionable training colleges secure a great deal of profit because they're getting paid for all the exam fees up-front then hoping you won't see them all through. Remember, with most 'Exam Guarantees' - they control when and how often you can re-take the exam. Subsequent exam attempts are only authorised at the company's say so.

Paying maybe a thousand pounds extra on 'Exam Guarantees' is foolish - when study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will get you through.

So, why ought we to be looking at commercially accredited qualifications as opposed to traditional academic qualifications gained through the state educational establishments? Vendor-based training (as it's known in the industry) is more effective in the commercial field. Industry has realised that specialisation is what's needed to meet the requirements of a technologically complex marketplace. Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA are the dominant players. In essence, the learning just focuses on what's actually required. It's slightly more broad than that, but the principle objective is to master the precisely demanded skill-sets (alongside some required background) - without overdoing the detail in every other area (as universities often do).

The bottom line is: Authorised IT qualifications tell an employer precisely what skills you have - the title is a complete giveaway: for example, I am a 'Microsoft Certified Professional' in 'Planning and Maintaining a Windows 2003 Infrastructure'. Therefore companies can look at the particular needs they have and what certifications will be suitable to deal with those needs.

At times individuals don't catch on to what information technology is doing for all of us. It is electrifying, revolutionary, and means you're working on technology that will affect us all over the next generation. We are really only just starting to understand how this will truly impact our way of life. How we communicate and interact with everyone around us will be profoundly affected by technology and the internet.

A average IT technician over this country as a whole can demonstrate that they earn significantly more money than equivalent professionals in other market sectors. Typical wages are hard to beat nationally. It's no secret that there is a significant national requirement for professionally qualified IT workers. In addition, as the industry constantly develops, it appears this will be the case for a good while yet.