Anyone looking to get into the IT industry will quickly become aware of the huge amount of choices in existence. Before embarking on a course, look for a training organisation with industry experts, so you can get information on the job roles your new knowledge will help you to get. It's possible you'll learn about employment opportunities you weren't aware of.

There are so many directions you can go in. Some re-trainers need Microsoft user skills, some want training for careers in Web Design, Databases, Programming or Networking - and these are all possible. However, you don't have to decide alone. Why not share your ideas with an advisor who has knowledge of the IT industry, and can help you arrive at the right destination.

These days, there are many user-friendly and competitively priced courses to be had that provide you with everything you need.

With so much choice, does it really shock us that a large majority of trainees don't really understand the best career path they should even pursue.

How can we possibly grasp the day-to-day realities of any IT job when we haven't done that before? Often we have never met anyone who works in that sector anyway.

Consideration of the following factors is vital when you want to get to a solution that suits you:

* Your personal interests and hobbies - as they can define what things will provide a happy working life.

* Are you hoping to obtain training for a precise motive - for example, are you looking at working from home (self-employment possibly?)?

* Where do you stand on salary vs the travel required?

* With many, many different sectors to gain certifications for in computing - you'll need to pick up a solid grounding on what sets them apart.

* Taking a proper look into the effort, commitment and time that you're going to put into it.

In actuality, your only option to investigate these areas is via a conversation with someone that has a background in computing (and more importantly the commercial needs and requirements.)

Most of us would love to think that our careers are secure and our work prospects are protected, however, the truth for the majority of jobs in Great Britain right now seems to be that security may be a thing of the past.

However, a sector experiencing fast growth, with huge staffing demands (through a massive shortfall of properly qualified staff), enables the possibility of proper job security.

Taking a look at the computing market, the recent e-Skills survey highlighted a more than 26 percent skills deficit. Or, to put it differently, this highlights that Great Britain can only locate three qualified staff for each 4 job positions that exist today.

Properly qualified and commercially certified new professionals are consequently at an absolute premium, and it seems it will continue to be so for much longer.

In reality, retraining in Information Technology during the years to come is probably the finest career move you'll ever make.

'In-Centre' days can be portrayed as a great facet by some trainers. When you chat with many IT hopefuls who have partaken in a couple, you'll discover that they're really a waste of time as they hadn't properly considered the following:

* Loads of travelling - frequent visits and usually over 100 miles a pop.

* If you work for a living, then Mon-Fri classes cause problems at work. More than likely you will be having to deal with two or three days together to make it worse.

* The majority of us end up feeling 4 weeks off each year is barely enough. Take away a good 50 percent of that for educational classes and see your problems doubled.

* 'In-Centre' days fill up fast and can sometimes be too big - so they're not personal enough.

* Tension can be created in the classroom where students want to progress at their own pace.

* A lot of attendees talk of the high costs involved with all the travelling back and forth to the centre and paying for food and accommodation can get very high.

* Is it worth the possibility of letting yourself be passed-over for potential advancement or salary hikes because of your studies.

* Most of us find it difficult to ask questions in a class full of our fellow trainees - to avoid appearing stupid.

* Where students have to at times work or live away part of the time, think of the now-increased trouble of travelling to the requisite classes, as time becomes even more scarce.

Wouldn't it be better to watch on-screen and study with teachers one-on-one via ready-made lessons, doing them at a time that's convenient for you and you alone.

You can study at home on your PC or why not in the garden on a laptop. Any questions that pop up, just use the provided 24x7 live support (that should've been packaged with any technical type of training.)

Irrespective of how regularly you have to re-cover a topic, on-screen instructors are never going to run out of patience! Also, because of this, note-taking is gone forever. It's all there for you.

Could it be simpler: A lot of money is saved and you avoid all the travelling; plus you've got a much more peaceful study setting.