The market provides an excess of jobs and positions available in IT. Arriving at the correct choice for yourself often proves challenging. How can we possibly grasp what is involved in a particular job when we've never done it? We normally haven't met someone who is in that area at all. Deliberation over several points is important if you need to get to a solution that suits you:

- Personalities play a starring role - what kind of areas spark your interest, and what tasks ruin your day.

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

- Have you thought about salary vs the travel required?

- Some students don't fully understand the energy required to get fully certified.

- It makes sense to take in what is different for the myriad of training options.

At the end of the day, the only real way of understanding everything necessary is through a good talk with an advisor that has enough background to be able to guide you.

If you may be starting with a certification company that still provides 'in-centre' days as a benefit of their course, then take note of these issues experienced by many IT hopefuls:

- Multiple centre visits - usually hundreds of miles each and every time.

- Monday to Friday access for events is the norm, and trying to take several days leave in a single chunk can represent quite a problem for many working people.

- Usually, we find four weeks vacation allowance isn't enough by far. Take away over half of it for training days and see your problems doubled.

- Workshop days fill up fast and can sometimes be too big - so they're not personal enough.

- Often, tension develops inside the classroom where most students want to move at a pace comfortable for them.

- Soaring travel costs - driving to the training centre together with accommodation for the duration can start to get expensive with each visit. If we just assume 5-10 centre-days at a cost of 35 pounds for one night's accommodation, plus forty pounds for petrol and food at 15.00, we arrive at four to nine hundred pounds of hidden costs that we now have to fund.

- Not wanting employers to know about the training can be very important to most attendees. You don't want to sacrifice any possible promotions, salary hikes or achievement at work because you're getting trained in a different area. If your boss finds out that you're undertaking accreditation in another area entirely, what will they think?

- It's not unusual to feel awkward about asking questions in a room full of our fellow attendees - to avoid appearing stupid.

- Typically, days in-centre become pretty much unreachable, if you work elsewhere in the country for some part of the year.

Many students discover a more flexible approach is to employ ready-made, videoed lessons in the comfort of your own chosen environment - taking them when it's convenient to you - not someone else. Study can happen anywhere that suits. Got a laptop?... Then why not get a little sunshine outside while you learn. Any issues that arise just get onto the live 24x7 support. Irrespective of how often you have to re-cover a topic, on-screen tutors won't ever lose patience! Also, as a consequence, note-taking is a thing of the past. Everything is already there for you. The result: Less hassle and stress, saved money, and you've avoided all travel.

It's not uncommon for companies to offer inclusive exam guarantees - they always involve paying for the exam fees up-front, at the start of your training. However, prior to embracing guaranteed exams, think about this:

You'll be charged for it ultimately. It certainly isn't free - it's just been rolled into the price of the whole package. People who take each progressive exam, paying for them just before taking them are much better placed to get through first time. They are thoughtful of their spending and take the necessary steps to make sure they're ready.

Isn't it outrageous to have to pay a training college at the start of the course for exam fees? Hold on to your money and pay for the exam at the appropriate time, instead of paying any mark-up - and do it in a local testing centre - not at somewhere of their bidding. A great deal of money is made by a significant number of organisations who get money upfront for exam fees. A number of students don't take them for various reasons but the company keeps the money. Astoundingly enough, there are companies around that depend on students not taking their exams - and that's how they increase their profits. Remember, with 'Exam Guarantees' from most places - the company decides when you can re-take the exam. Subsequent exam attempts are only authorised at the company's say so.

Exams taken at local centres are around 112 pounds in the UK. Students should be very wary of forking out hundreds of pounds extra in fees for 'exam guarantees' (often covertly rolled into the cost of the course) - when the best course materials, the right level of support and commitment, effort and practice with quality exam preparation systems are the factors that really get you through.

The perhaps intimidating chore of getting your first job is often made easier because some trainers offer a Job Placement Assistance facility. Don't get overly impressed with this service - it isn't unusual for training companies to make it sound harder than it is. Ultimately, the huge shortage of staff in the UK is what will make you attractive to employers.

CV and Interview advice and support is sometimes offered (if not, see one of our sites for help). It's essential that you polish up your CV straight away - not when you're ready to start work! Quite frequently, you'll land your initial position whilst still on the course (sometimes when you've only just got going). If you haven't updated your CV to say what you're studying (and it's not being looked at by employers) then you're not even going to be known about! You'll normally experience better results from an independent and specialised local recruitment consultancy than you'll get from a course provider's national service, because they will understand the local industry and employment needs.

Many trainees, it would appear, spend evenings and weekends on their training and studies (for years sometimes), and then just stop instead of trying to get a good job. Introduce yourself... Do your best to let employers know about you. Good jobs don't just knock on your door.

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