The Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator course is a recognised route for anybody thinking of getting into network support. Whether you want to join the IT industry or are experienced already but need to formalise your skills with a recognised qualification, you'll find the correct training for you. For a person with no knowledge of the industry, it could be appropriate to pick up some skills prior to attempting to go for your MCP exams needed to gain MCSA certification. Identify a training company that can create a bespoke package to suit your requirements - with industry experts who can be relied on to ensure that you've selected your options carefully.

A number of people are under the impression that the school and FE college route is the right way even now. So why then is commercial certification slowly and steadily replacing it? As we require increasingly more effective technological know-how, the IT sector has of necessity moved to the specialised core-skills learning that can only be obtained from the actual vendors - in other words companies such as Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe. Frequently this is at a far reduced cost both money and time wise. Academic courses, for instance, clog up the training with a lot of loosely associated study - and a syllabus that's too generalised. This holds a student back from understanding the specific essentials in enough depth.

Imagine if you were an employer - and your company needed a person with some very particular skills. What is easier: Wade your way through loads of academic qualifications from several applicants, asking for course details and which commercial skills they've mastered, or select a specialised number of commercial certifications that specifically match what you're looking for, and draw up from that who you want to speak to. Your interviews are then about personal suitability - instead of long discussions on technical suitability.

The sometimes daunting task of landing your first IT job can be relieved because some trainers offer a Job Placement Assistance facility. But don't place too much emphasis on it - it's quite easy for eager sales people to make too much of it. Ultimately, the huge shortage of staff in Britain is the reason you'll find a job.

Help with your CV and interview techniques may be available (if it isn't, consult one of our sites). It's essential that you work on your old CV right away - not when you're ready to start work! Having the possibility of an interview is better than being rejected. A surprising amount of junior support roles are bagged by students (sometimes when they've only just got going.) You can usually expect better results from a specialised and independent local recruitment service than any training course provider's centralised service, because they'll know local industry and the area better.

A constant aggravation of some course providers is how much students are prepared to work to get top marks in their exams, but how un-prepared that student is to get the role they've acquired skills for. Don't falter at the last fence.

Look at the facts below very carefully if you believe the marketing blurb about a guarantee for your exam looks like a reason to buy:

You're paying for it somehow. You can be assured it's not a freebie - it's just been rolled into the price of the whole package. People who take exams one at a time, paying as they go are far more likely to pass first time. They're conscious of their investment and so are more inclined to make sure they're ready.

Does it really add up to pay a college in advance for examinations? Hold on to your money and pay for the exam at the appropriate time, instead of paying a premium - and do it locally - rather than possibly hours away from your area. A surprising number of current training companies net huge amounts of money because they're getting in the money for examinations upfront and hoping that you won't take them all. The majority of 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 - so an 'Exam Guarantee' comes with many clauses in reality.

The cost of exams was around the 112 pounds mark twelve months or so ago when taken at UK VUE or Prometric centres. Therefore, why splash out often many hundreds of pounds extra to get 'Exam Guarantees', when it's no secret that the most successful method is consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software.