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Good for you! By landing here you’ve doubtless been pondering on retraining for a new career - so already you’ve made a start. Only one in ten of us are happy and fulfilled in our work, but most complain but just stay there. You could join a select group who take responsibility for their future.

Prior to considering individual training courses, seek out someone who will be able to guide you on what to look for. An advisor who will take time to get a feel for your personality, and discover what job role you’ll be most comfortable with:

* Do you like to be around others at work? Are you better with new people or those you know well? Perhaps you prefer not to be disturbed and enjoy responsibilities that you can get on with on your own?

* Which criteria’s are fundamentally important when considering the market sector you’ll work in?

* Do you want this to be the only time re-training is necessary?

* Do you have niggles about the chance of getting new work, and being in demand in the employment market to the end of your working life?

When listing your options, it’s relevant that one of your key sectors is the IT sector - it’s common knowledge that it is one of the few growth sectors. It’s not full of geeky individuals staring at computers all day - it’s true some IT jobs demand that, but most jobs are filled with people like you and me who get on very well.

Student support is absolutely essential - look for a package that includes 24×7 access, as anything less will frustrate you and could put a damper on the speed you move through things.

Don’t buy training courses that only support students via a message system when it’s outside of usual working hours. Training companies will defend this with all kinds of excuses. The bottom line is - you want support at the appropriate time - not when it suits them.

Be on the lookout for training programs that incorporate three or four individual support centres from around the world. Every one of them needs to be seamlessly combined to offer a simple interface together with 24 hours-a-day access, when it suits you, with the minimum of hassle.

You can’t afford to accept less than this. Direct-access 24×7 support is the only way to go when it comes to computer-based study. Perhaps you don’t intend to study during the evenings; often though, we’re out at work during the provided support period.

Looking around, we find a myriad of professional positions up for grabs in the IT industry. Finding the particular one out of this complexity is a mammoth decision.

As having no commercial background in the IT industry, in what way could we be expected to know what any job actually involves?

Often, the key to unlocking this problem appropriately stems from an in-depth chat, covering several different topics:

* What hobbies you have and enjoy - these often reveal the areas will provide a happy working life.

* What time-frame are you looking at for retraining?

* The income needs that guide you?

* With everything that IT encapsulates, it’s obvious you’ll need to be able to absorb how they differ.

* You will need to understand what differentiates each area of training.

To bypass the barrage of jargon, and reveal what’ll really work for you, have an informal chat with an industry-experienced advisor; an individual who appreciates and can explain the commercial realities as well as each qualification.

Validated exam preparation packages are vital - and absolutely ought to be sought from your training company.

Don’t fall foul of relying on unauthorised exam papers and questions. The terminology of their questions is often somewhat different - and this could lead to potential problems when the proper exam time arrives.

Practice exams can be very useful as a resource to you - so that when you come to take your actual exams, you don’t get uptight.

Adding in the cost of examination fees up-front then including an exam guarantee is a common method with many companies. However, let’s consider what’s really going on:

These days, we tend to be a tad more knowledgeable about sales gimmicks - and most of us know that for sure it is something we’re paying for - it’s not because they’re so generous they want to give something away!

Qualifying on the first ‘go’ is what everyone wants to do. Taking your exams progressively in order and paying for them just before taking them sees you much better placed to get through first time - you prepare appropriately and think carefully about the costs.

Take your exams somewhere local and go for the best offer you can find when you’re ready.

Is there a good reason to pay interest on a bigger loan than is necessary because you’ve paid early for examination fees when there was no need to? Big margins are netted by organisations charging all their exam fees up-front - and hoping either that you won’t take them, or it will be a long time before you do.

Additionally, exam guarantees often have very little value. Many training companies won’t pay for re-takes until you have demonstrated conclusively that you won’t fail again.

Exams taken at local centres are in the region of 112 pounds in this country. What’s the point of paying huge charges for ‘Exam Guarantees’ (usually wrapped up in the course package price) - when a quality course, support and consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software is what will really see you through.

(C) S. Edwards 2009. Navigate to CLICK HERE or Learn Programming.