Computer and network support workers are ever more sought after in Great Britain, as businesses become progressively more dependent on their technical advice and fixing and repairing abilities. Due to the progressively multifaceted levels of technological advances, growing numbers of trained staff are required to specialise in the many areas we need to be sure will work effectively.

Potential trainees looking to begin a career in computers and technology often have no idea of what route to follow, or even what market to obtain accreditation for.

How likely is it for us to understand the many facets of a particular career when we've never done it? We normally don't know someone who works in that sector anyway.

To attack this, a discussion is necessary, covering many different aspects:

* Our personalities play a starring role - what gives you a 'kick', and what are the areas that you really dislike.

* Are you aiming to realise a closely held aspiration - for instance, working from home sometime soon?

* Where do you stand on salary vs job satisfaction?

* Often, trainees don't consider the work expected to achieve their goals.

* The level of commitment and effort you'll have available to spend on obtaining your certification.

The bottom line is, the only real way of covering these is through an in-depth discussion with an experienced advisor who through years of experience will give you the information required.

Don't accept anything less than the current Microsoft (or relevant organisation's) authorised exam preparation packages.

Some students can get thrown by practicing questions for their exams that don't come from official sources. It's not uncommon that the phraseology is unfamiliar and you need to be ready for this.

Ensure that you ask for testing modules in order to test your comprehension whenever you need to. Mock exams help to build your confidence - then you're much more at ease with the real thing.

Get rid of a salesperson who just tells you what course you should do without a thorough investigation to assess your abilities as well as level of experience. Make sure they can draw from a expansive product range so they're able to give you a program that suits you..

Where you have a strong background, or even a touch of work-based experience (maybe some existing accreditation?) then obviously the level you'll need to start at will be very different from a trainee who has no experience.

For students starting IT studies and exams as a new venture, it's often a good idea to avoid jumping in at the deep-end, beginning with some basic user skills first. This can be built into most training packages.

A sneaky way that training companies make more money is through up-front charges for exams and offering an exam guarantee. It looks impressive, until you think it through:

Patently it's not free - you're still coughing up for it - the cost has just been rolled into the whole training package.

The honest truth is that when trainees fund each examination, one after the other, there's a much better chance they'll pass first time - as they'll be conscious of their investment in themselves and so will prepare more thoroughly.

Go for the best offer you can find at the appropriate time, and avoid college mark-up fees. You'll then be able to select where you do your exams - which means you can stay local.

Paying upfront for exams (and interest charges if you're borrowing money) is a false economy. Resist being talked into filling the training company's account with your hard-earned cash simply to help their cash-flow! A lot bank on the fact that you won't get to do them all - then they'll keep the extra money.

It's also worth noting that 'Exam Guarantees' often aren't worth the paper they're written on. Most companies won't pay for re-takes until you have demonstrated conclusively that you won't fail again.

Paying maybe a thousand pounds extra on an 'Exam Guarantee' is naive - when consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software is what will really guarantee success.

We're often asked why traditional academic studies are now falling behind more commercially accredited qualifications?

The IT sector now recognises that to learn the appropriate commercial skills, the right accreditation from such organisations as Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe most often has much more specialised relevance - for much less time and money.

Clearly, an appropriate degree of associated information has to be learned, but core specialisation in the areas needed gives a commercially trained person a distinct advantage.

The crux of the matter is this: Recognised IT certifications tell an employer precisely what skills you have - it says what you do in the title: for example, I am a 'Microsoft Certified Professional' in 'Designing Security for a Windows 2003 Network'. Consequently companies can identify exactly what they need and what certifications are required to fulfil that.