Including exam fees up-front then giving it 'Exam Guarantee' status is a common method with a good many training companies. However, let's consider what's really going on:

Everybody's aware that they're ultimately paying for it - it's quite obvious to see that it's already been included in the full cost of the package supplied by the college. It's absolutely not free (it's just marketing companies think we'll fall for anything they say!) It's well known in the industry that when students fund each progressive exam, one by one, there's a much better chance they'll get through on the first attempt - because they'll think of what they've paid and will therefore apply themselves appropriately.

Why should you pay a training company at the start of the course for exams? Find the best exam deal or offer at the appropriate time, don't pay mark-ups - and do it in a local testing centre - rather than possibly hours away from your area. Buying a course that includes payments for exam fees (and interest charges if you're borrowing money) is madness. Don't line companies bank accounts with additional funds just to give them more interest! Some will be pinning their hopes on the fact that you won't get to do them all - so they don't need to pay for them. Many training companies will require you to sit pre-tests and with-hold subsequent exam entries from you until you have proved to them you have a good chance of passing - which actually leaves you with no guarantee at all.

Exams taken at VUE and Prometric centres are in the region of 112 pounds in the United Kingdom today. Students should be very wary of forking out hundreds of pounds extra in charges for 'Exam Guarantees' (most often hidden in the package) - when the best course materials, the right level of support and study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will really guarantee success.

If you are looking to progress a career in IT, start by developing some networking knowledge. Practically nothing else will make any sense until you have an understanding of the way PCs operate and communicate with each other. Presuming a rudimentary level of IT user-skills, (refer to our more general I.T. Training web-pages if not,) the starting place is nearly always the CompTIA A+ and CompTIA Network+ . Details of these accreditations are available in the CompTIA pages of this site.

Moving on you can either go down the Microsoft MCSE or MCSA path if you are focused on software, or the Cisco 'CCNA' or 'CCNP' track if you're considering hardware. Nevertheless, an in-depth knowledge of Microsoft's operating-systems is extremely advantageous as they're such a vital element of most networking environments. Again, each of these accreditations are written about in depth on the relevant pages on this website.

A further alternative would be to continue with CompTIA accreditations for example Linux+, Security+ or Server+ and continue being vendor neutral, or look at the CWNA or CWNP and specialise in 'wireless' technologies.

The somewhat scary thought of securing your first computer related job is often relieved because some trainers offer a Job Placement Assistance programme. The need for this feature can be bigged up out of proportion though - it isn't unusual for training companies to make too much of it. Ultimately, the still growing need for IT personnel in the United Kingdom is the reason you'll find a job.

One important thing though, don't procrastinate and wait until you've completed your exams before polishing up your CV. Right at the beginning of your training, list what you're working on and get promoting! Quite frequently, you'll land your initial job whilst still on the course (occasionally right at the beginning). If your CV doesn't show your latest training profile (and it isn't in the hands of someone with jobs to offer) then you're not even going to be known about! In many cases, an independent and specialised local employment agency (who will get paid by the employer when they've placed you) should get better results than any recruitment division from a training organisation. In addition, they will no doubt be familiar with local industry and the area better.

Do ensure you don't put hundreds of hours of effort into your studies, and then just stop and leave it up to everyone else to find you a job. Stand up for yourself and get out there. Invest the same time and energy into getting your first job as it took to pass the exams.

Discovering job security these days is incredibly rare. Businesses often remove us out of the workplace with very little notice - as and when it suits them. Of course, a sector experiencing fast growth, with huge staffing demands (as there is an enormous shortage of trained professionals), creates the conditions for lasting job security.

A rather worrying national e-Skills analysis showed that 26 percent of all available IT positions remain unfilled as an upshot of a lack of trained staff. To explain it in a different way, this highlights that Great Britain can only locate three qualified staff for every four jobs that exist at the moment. This one notion on its own shows why the country requires considerably more new trainees to get into the IT sector. Quite simply, retraining in Information Technology during the years to come is probably the greatest choice of careers you could make.

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