Well done! Hitting upon this feature indicates you're probably pondering over your options, and if it's new career training you're deliberating over then you've already got further than most. It's a frightening thought that a small minority of us would say we are fulfilled in our working life - but most will take no corrective action. We encourage you to be different and do something - those who do hardly ever regret it.

When looking at training, it's crucial that you first make a list of what you want and don't want from the position you're looking to get into. Ensure that things would be a lot better before you put a lot of energy into altering your life's plans. It's good sense to regard the big picture first, to steer clear of regrets:

* Do you operate better working alone or do you find company is an important option?

* Are you considering which market sector you would be suited to? (Post credit crunch, it's vital to choose carefully.)

* Is this the final time you envisage re-training, and if so, do you suppose your new career will give you scope to do that?

* Will the information you learn allow you to find new work easily, and keep working until your retirement plans kick in?

We would advise that you don't overlook the IT sector - it's no secret that it is one of the few growth sectors. IT isn't all techie people gazing at their PC's the whole time - naturally some IT jobs demand that, but most jobs are done by ordinary men and women who are earning rather well.

You have to be sure that all your certifications are commercially valid and current - you're wasting your time with studies that only give in-house certificates. Only fully recognised qualifications from companies such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Adobe and Cisco will mean anything to employers.

We can't make a big enough deal out of this point: Always get full 24x7 instructor and mentor support. Later, you'll kick yourself if you don't adhere to this. Don't buy certification programs which can only support trainees with a message system after 6-9pm in the evening and during weekends. Training companies will try to talk you round from this line of reasoning. The simple fact of the matter is - you need support when you need support - not as-and-when it's suitable for their staff.

Top training companies use multiple support centres across multiple time-zones. Online access provides the interactive interface to seamlessly link them all, at any time you choose, help is at hand, with no hassle or contact issues. Unless you insist on direct-access 24x7 support, you'll regret it. It may be that you don't use it throughout the night, but you're bound to use weekends, early mornings or even late evenings at some point.

Often, people don't really get what IT can do for us. It's electrifying, revolutionary, and means you're working on technology affecting everyones lives in the 21st century. Technology, computers and communication through the internet will radically change our lives in the near future; remarkably so.

Wages in the IT sector aren't to be ignored also - the usual income over this country as a whole for the usual person working in IT is considerably better than in other market sectors. It's likely you'll bring in a whole lot more than you would in most other jobs. Excitingly, there is no easing up for IT increases throughout this country. The industry continues to develop quickly, and as we have a skills gap that means we only typically have three IT workers for every four jobs it's highly unlikely that this will change significantly for a good while yet.

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