Many companies only concern themselves with gaining a certificate, and completely miss what it's all actually about - which will always be getting the job or career you want. Always begin with the end goal - don't get hung-up on the training vehicle. You could be training for only a year and end up performing the job-role for decades. Ensure you avoid the fatal error of choosing what sounds like an 'interesting' training program and then put 10-20 years into an unrewarding career!

Stay focused on what it is you're trying to achieve, and create a learning-plan from that - avoid getting them back-to-front. Keep your eyes on your goals and study for an end-result you'll enjoy for years to come. Seek guidance and advice from an experienced advisor, even if there's a fee involved - it's considerably cheaper and safer to discover early on if a chosen track will suit, instead of finding out after 2 years that you aren't going to enjoy the job you've chosen and have to return to the start of another program.

The 'Network+' 2009 exam is now coded N10-004, replacing the previous N10-003. Along with maintaining its attention on network management & infrastructure, the up-graded '2009' exam places a wider emphasis on security, wireless networking abilities and network-design standards.

A big contender for the biggest single let-down in the IT training sector is often the 'in-centre' workshop requirement. A lot of certification companies extol the virtues of the positive points of taking part in these events, but most students end up finding them a major problem because of:

- Masses of journeys to the workshops - sometimes 100's of miles.

- Weekday only accessibility for workshops can be usual, and with 2-3 days to book off work, this causes a lot of problems for a lot of trainees who are working.

- Holiday days lost - many trainees get just four weeks holiday each year. If over half of it is swallowed up by educational classes, vacation time is going to be quite short for students and their families.

- Classes often reach their maximum intake very quickly, so we end up having to take a slot that doesn't really suit.

- Often attendees want to work as quickly as possible, while others are looking to take a more 'steady' pace and be allowed to set their own speed. This brings tension and bad atmosphere in most workshops.

- Calculate the increasing cost of all the fares or petrol, accommodation, parking and food and you could find yourself astounded. Students talk of increased costs ranging from hundreds to over a thousand pounds. Sit down and add it up - and you'll see how.

- Training privacy will be of paramount importance to quite a lot of attendees. You don't want to throw away potential advancement, wage increases or achievement at work just because you're retraining. When your boss discovers you're taking steps towards accreditation in a different industry, how will they regard you?

- It's common to find that, at times, it's uncomfortable to raise questions in a class full of other trainees - as we don't want to look silly.

- There are those of us who at times work or live away part of the time, think of the now-increased trouble of reaching the requisite days in-centre, as time becomes even more scarce.

Surely it makes much more sense to take classes when it suits you -- not the training company - and use instructor-led videos with interactive lab's. Ponder this... Utilising a laptop then you're free to learn absolutely anywhere you want (within reason!) And live 24 hr-a-day support is just a web-browser away in case of difficulty. Forget taking notes - all the lessons and background info are laid out on a plate. If you need to cover something again, just go for it. What could be simpler: You avoid travelling and wasting time and money; plus you end up with a more stress-free study environment.

Not surprisingly these job opportunities can often lead onto more senior assignments if the appropriate certifications are in place. That is why it is imperative to look at your long term plans prior to selecting your career-training route. This means talking to a skilled IT training advisor to make sure that the course you choose is suitable and cost effective. Training companies may offer to develop a bespoke training path by combining a number of training programs to get the student from wherever they're starting from to wherever they would like to end up.

Microsoft IT Skills Online Certification Courses >>