In the modern world, support workers who are qualified to mend computers and networks, plus give ongoing assistance to users, are hugely valuable in every sector of the economy. Our hunger for those people is growing at an impressive rate, as industry becomes progressively more computer dependent.

Getting into your first IT role is often made easier if you're offered a Job Placement Assistance service. The honest truth is that it's not as difficult as you may be led to believe to land your first job - once you're trained and certified; the shortage of IT personnel in Britain looks after that.

Bring your CV up to date as soon as possible however (advice and support for this should come from your course provider). Don't delay for when you're ready to start work. Various junior support roles are offered to students who are still learning and haven't even passed a single exam yet. This will at least get you into the 'maybe' pile of CV's - rather than the 'No' pile. You can usually expect quicker results from a specialist independent regional employment service than you will through a training company's employment division, because they will understand the local industry and employment needs.

A big frustration for a number of training course providers is how much men and women are prepared to work to get qualified, but how un-prepared they are to work on getting the position they've qualified for. Don't falter at the last fence.

A sneaky way that training providers make a lot more is through up-front charges for exams then giving it 'Exam Guarantee' status. It looks like a good deal, but is it really:

It's become essential these days that we're a tad more knowledgeable about sales gimmicks - and most of us cotton on to the fact that it is actually an additional cost to us (it isn't free or out of the goodness of their hearts!) It's everybody's ambition to qualify on the first attempt. Entering examinations one at a time and funding them one at a time has a marked effect on pass-rates - you revise thoroughly and are aware of the costs involved.

Sit the exam as locally as possible and go for the best offer you can find when you're ready. Many so-called credible training colleges secure big margins through getting in the money for examinations upfront and hoping you won't see them all through. Re-takes of any failed exams via organisations with an 'Exam Guarantee' inevitably are heavily regulated. They'll insist that you take mock exams first until you've proven that you're likely to pass.

Splashing out often many hundreds of pounds extra on an 'Exam Guarantee' is naive - when consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software is what will really guarantee success.

Chat with any skilled consultant and you'll be surprised by their many awful tales of students who've been sold completely the wrong course for them. Stick to a skilled professional that quizzes you to uncover the best thing for you - not for their paycheque! You must establish the very best place to start for you. Quite often, the starting point of study for a student with a little experience is hugely dissimilar to someone without. Opening with a user skills course first will sometimes be the most effective way to start into your computer studies, depending on your current skill level.

It's likely that you probably enjoy fairly practical work - the 'hands-on' personality type. If you're anything like us, the trial of reading reference books and manuals would be considered as a last resort, but you really wouldn't enjoy it. So look for on-screen interactive learning packages if learning from books is not your thing. Research over recent years has consistently demonstrated that getting into our studies physically, is proven to produce longer-lasting and deeper memory retention.

You can now study via easy-to-use DVD or CD ROM's. Real-world classes from the instructors will mean you'll learn your subject by way of the expert demonstrations. Then you test your knowledge by interacting with the software and practicing yourself. It's wise to view a small selection of training examples before you sign on the dotted line. The minimum you should expect would be instructor-led video demonstrations and interactive modules with audio-visual elements.

Opt for actual CD or DVD ROM's whenever you can. This then avoids all the potential pitfalls with broadband outages, failure and signal quality issues etc.

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