Beginning with the understanding that it makes sense to choose the area of most interest first, before we're able to mull over which training course meets that requirement, how do we decide on the right direction? I mean, if you don't have any know-how of the IT industry, what chance is there for you to know what any qualified IT worker does each day? And of course decide on what certification program would be most appropriate for you to get there. To work through this, there should be a discussion of a variety of core topics:

- Personality plays a major role - what things get your juices flowing, and what tasks you really dislike.

- Are you driven to obtain training because of a particular raison d'etre - for instance, is it your goal to work based at home (maybe self-employment?)?

- Is salary further up on your priority-list than other factors.

- Because there are so many markets to choose from in Information Technology - there's a need to achieve some background information on what differentiates them.

- Taking a serious look into the effort, commitment and time that you can put aside.

For the majority of us, getting to the bottom of each of these concepts requires a good chat with someone that can investigate each area with you. And we don't just mean the accreditations - you also need to understand the commercial requirements and expectations also.

There's an increasing trend towards network based and internet-based software now, as we see the world moving closer and closer towards the concept of Cloud computing. What this means is all of your files are stored remotely, so you can access them from any place you are. Everything - right down to the basic-processing - is done out in the 'cloud' of computers. Before long the only requirement will be that you should have a really basic 'terminal' plugged into the Network (or of course wirelessly connected to it).

MS brought up to date their major certification tracks a number of years ago, with a switch from the former 'Microsoft Certified Application/Solutions Developer' ('MCAD'/'MCSD') to the present-day Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) & 'Microsoft Certified Professional Developer' ('MCPD') exams. Before you can deal with the complete MCPD exam, you need to complete 2 MCTS programs first. If you're new at all to the industry and have never programmed before, (although the first module from MS is branded a 'foundation' module,) we'd say it's smart to study a programming introductory course first. We'd also propose going for a support accreditation leading up to all of this, in order to gain a professional knowledge of software environments and support. This will likely also help with getting your first employment in the I.T. sector. You should usually calculate for your studies to take a year to a year and a half if you're starting a whole career track and doing it part time. The exact amount of study time is six to seven hundred hours on average.

We can guess that you're quite practically minded - the 'hands-on' person. If you're like us, the unfortunate chore of reading reference guides can be just about bared when essential, but it's not ideal. You should use video and multimedia based materials if books just don't do it for you. If we can study while utilising as many senses as possible, our results will often be quite spectacular.

You can now study via easy-to-use DVD or CD ROM's. By watching and listening to instructors on video tutorials you'll find things easier to remember through the demonstrations and explanations. You can then test yourself by utilising the practice lab's and modules. Every company that you look at should willingly take you through some examples of their training materials. You're looking for evidence of tutorial videos and demonstrations and many interactive sections.

Some companies only have access to training that is purely available online; and although this is okay the majority of the time, imagine the problems if you lose your internet access or you get a slow connection speed. It is usually safer to have actual CD or DVD ROMs that will solve that problem.

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