CompTIA A+ consists of 4 training sections; you're considered an achiever in A+ when you've gained exams for half of them. For this reason, most colleges only have two of the courses on their syllabus. The truth is you're advised to have the training for all four areas as a lot of employment will be looking for the skills and knowledge of the entire course. It's not essential to take all four exams, but we would recommend you study for all four areas.

Qualifying in CompTIA A+ without additional courses will allow you to fix and maintain stand-alone PC's and MAC's; principally ones that aren't joined to a network - essentially the domestic or small business sector.

It could be a good idea to think about supplementing the A+ with Network + as it will enable you to look after networks of computers, which means greater employment benefits.

Many training companies will provide a useful Job Placement Assistance program, to assist your search for your first position. With the growing demand for appropriately skilled people in Great Britain right now, it's not too important to make too much of this option though. It's not as difficult as you may be led to believe to find the right work once you're properly qualified.

Get your CV updated straight-away though (advice can be sought on this via your provider). Don't put it off until you've graduated or passed any exams.

Quite often, you'll secure your initial job while you're still a student (even when you've just left first base). If your CV doesn't say what you're learning (and it isn't in the hands of someone with jobs to offer) then you won't even be considered!

The most efficient companies to help get you placed are usually specialised and independent recruitment consultants. As they will get paid by the employer when they've placed you, they have the necessary incentive to try that bit harder.

Various men and women, it would appear, spend evenings and weekends on their training and studies (sometimes for years), only to do nothing special when finding a good job. Sell yourself... Do your best to put yourself out there. Don't expect a job to just fall into your lap.

Qualifications from the commercial sector are now, very visibly, already replacing the more academic tracks into IT - so why is this happening?

With university education costs spiralling out of control, alongside the IT sector's recognition that corporate based study most often has much more commercial relevance, we've seen a big surge in CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA accredited training courses that create knowledgeable employees at a fraction of the cost and time involved.

Many degrees, as a example, often get bogged down in vast amounts of loosely associated study - and much too wide a syllabus. This prevents a student from understanding the specific essentials in enough depth.

Think about if you were the employer - and your company needed a person with some very particular skills. What should you do: Pore through reams of different degrees and college qualifications from graduate applicants, trying to establish what they know and which vocational skills they have, or select a specialised number of commercial certifications that precisely match your needs, and then select who you want to interview from that. You'll then be able to concentrate on getting a feel for the person at interview - rather than establishing whether they can do a specific task.

With all the options available, there's no surprise that the majority of newcomers to the industry don't really understand the best career path they should even pursue.

How likely is it for us to understand the tasks faced daily in an IT career when we've never done it? Maybe we don't know someone who is in that area at all.

The key to answering this dilemma in the best manner stems from a thorough talk over several areas:

* What hobbies you're involved with in your spare-time - often these point towards what areas will give you the most reward.

* What is the time-frame for retraining?

* Is your income higher on your list of priorities than other requirements.

* Considering all that computing encapsulates, it's obvious you'll need to be able to take in what's different.

* Having a good look at what commitment and time that you're going to put into it.

To be honest, your only option to investigate these matters is through a chat with an advisor or professional that understands Information Technology (as well as it's commercial needs.)

Proper support is incredibly important - find a program offering 24x7 direct access to instructors, as anything else will annoy you and definitely put a damper on the speed you move through things.

Don't accept training courses that only support you with an out-sourced call-centre message system after 6-9pm in the evening and during weekends. Companies will defend this with all kinds of excuses. Essentially - you want to be supported when you need the help - not when it's convenient for them.

Top training providers opt for an internet-based 24x7 service utilising a variety of support centres over many time-zones. You'll have a single, easy-to-use interface which seamlessly selects the best facility available any time of the day or night: Support available as-and-when you want it.

If you fail to get yourself online 24x7 support, you'll quickly find yourself regretting it. It may be that you don't use it during late nights, but consider weekends, early mornings or late evenings.