A+ consists of two exams and study sections, and your requirement is to get certified in both of these for qualification purposes. CompTIA A+ in isolation will give you the ability to mend and maintain stand alone Macs, computers and laptops; ones that are most often not part of a network - which is for the most part the home market. Should you fancy yourself as someone who is a member of a large organisation - in network support, you'll need to add CompTIA Network+, or consider an MCSA or MCSE with Microsoft in order to have a deeper understanding of how networks function.

Don't accept anything less than the latest Microsoft (or relevant organisation's) authorised exam preparation packages. Sometimes people can get thrown by going through practice questions that don't come from the authorised examining boards. Often, the phraseology can be completely unlike un-authorised versions and it's important to prepare yourself for this. Simulated exams can be invaluable as a resource to you - so much so, that at the real thing, you don't get uptight.

OK, why should we consider commercially accredited qualifications and not the usual academic qualifications obtained from schools, colleges or universities? Key company training (in industry terminology) is more effective in the commercial field. Industry has acknowledged that a specialist skill-set is vital to handle a technologically complex workplace. CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA are the dominant players. Of course, a reasonable portion of associated information must be taught, but precise specialisation in the required areas gives a commercially educated person a distinct advantage.

When it comes down to the nitty-gritty: Accredited IT qualifications provide exactly what an employer needs - everything they need to know is in the title: for example, I am a 'Microsoft Certified Professional' in 'Designing Security for a Windows 2003 Network'. Therefore companies can look at their needs and which qualifications will be suitable to deal with those needs.

Of all the important things to consider, one of the most essential is always proper direct-access 24x7 support through dedicated instructors and mentors. Too many companies only provide support to you inside of office hours (typically 9am-6pm) and sometimes a little earlier or later (but not weekends usually). Avoid those companies which use 'out-of-hours' call-centres - where an advisor will call back during standard office hours. This is no use if you're stuck and need an answer now.

We recommend looking for colleges that have multiple support offices active in different time-zones. Every one of them needs to be seamlessly combined to enable simple one-stop access together with 24x7 access, when it suits you, with no fuss. Never compromise when it comes to your support. The majority of trainees that throw in the towel, are in that situation because of support (or the lack of).

Finding job security nowadays is problematic. Businesses will throw us out of the workplace with very little notice - whenever it suits. We're able though to locate market-level security, by digging for areas of high demand, tied with shortages of trained staff.

The most recent national e-Skills study demonstrated that over 26 percent of computing and IT jobs cannot be filled because of an appallingly low number of properly qualified workers. So, out of each 4 positions that are available in Information Technology (IT), businesses can only find certified professionals for three of them. Accomplishing proper commercial computing exams is therefore a fast-track to realise a continuing and worthwhile line of work. Without a doubt, this really is a fabulous time to train for the computer industry.

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