Many certification companies are still maintaining the slightly musty old method of classroom attendance. Quite often pushed as a positive point, after discussion with someone who has first-hand experience, you'll hear a common theme of many or all of the following problems:

- Loads of travelling to and from the workshops - often quite a distance away.

- Weekday accessibility for classes is typically the case, and with 2-3 days to book off work, this can be difficult for the majority of students who work.

- Let us not overlook the lost holiday days. Usually we're lucky to have four weeks vacation allowance. If half of that is used up on workshops, then we haven't got much left for ourselves.

- With the high costs involved, most training providers make the classes quite large - certainly not ideal (and much less personal).

- The pace of the class - workshops can contain students of varied abilities, therefore there is often tension between those that want to go quickly as opposed to those who want to go a little slower.

- Rising travel prices - arranging transport to the training facility plus bed and breakfast can mount up every time you have to go. If we just assume 5-10 classes costing around 35 pounds for an over-night room, plus 40 pounds for petrol and food at 15 pounds, that becomes a minimum of 450-900 pounds of extra costs to cover.

- The majority of students would like to keep their training completely private so as to avoid any come-back at work.

- Asking questions around our class-mates will often make us a little nervous. Ever avoided asking a question just because you honestly thought you might seem thick?

- Living away for part of your working week - a lot of attendees find they're living or working away for certain parts of their study. Workshops become very difficult then, unfortunately the monies have already been handed over in your initial payment.

To find a more flexible route, employ pre-made workshops wherever you want to take them - studying at your own pace, when it suits you - not some other person. Study can happen anywhere that suits. If you own a laptop, you could get a little fresh air in your garden as you study. Any issues that arise just use the provided 24x7 live support. All the lessons can be repeated whenever it's convenient - memory is aided by repetition. And you can say goodbye to note-taking - it's all prepared ready. Could it be simpler: No travelling, wasted time or money; and you've got a much more stress-free study environment.

Sometimes people think that the traditional school, college or university track is the right way even now. So why then is commercial certification becoming more in demand? With university education costs climbing ever higher, and the IT sector's general opinion that corporate based study most often has much more commercial relevance, we've seen a dramatic increase in Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA authorised training paths that supply key solutions to a student at a fraction of the cost and time involved. Vendor training works by focusing on the actual skills required (alongside an appropriate level of related knowledge,) as opposed to trawling through all the background non-specific minutiae that degree courses are prone to get tied up in (because the syllabus is so wide).

When it comes down to the nitty-gritty: Commercial IT certifications provide exactly what an employer needs - the title is a complete giveaway: i.e. I am a 'Microsoft Certified Professional' in 'Managing and Maintaining Windows Server 2003'. Consequently companies can look at the particular needs they have and which qualifications are needed for the job.

A useful feature that many training companies provide is job placement assistance. It's intention is to assist your search for your first position. In reality it isn't a complex operation to get employment - once you're trained and certified; employers in this country need your skills.

CV and Interview advice and support is sometimes offered (if it isn't, consult one of our sites). Make sure you bring your CV right up to date immediately - not after you've qualified! Being considered a 'maybe' is more than not being known. Often junior support jobs are got by people in the early stages of their course. You can usually expect quicker service from a specialised and independent local recruitment service than you'll experience from any training provider's centralised service, because they will understand the local industry and employment needs.

To bottom line it, if you put the same amount of effort into landing a job as into studying, you're not going to hit many challenges. A number of people curiously conscientiously work through their training and studies and just give up once they've got certified and appear to be under the impression that jobs will come to them.

A sneaky way that course providers make more money is by adding exam fees upfront to the cost of a course and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams. It looks impressive, but is it really:

In this day and age, we have to be a bit more aware of hype - and usually we realise that of course we are actually being charged for it - it's not because they're so generous they want to give something away! Trainees who go in for their examinations when it's appropriate, funding them one at a time are much more likely to pass. They're conscious of what they've paid and so are more inclined to be up to the task.

Why pay the training college in advance for exams? Go for the best offer at the time, rather than pay marked up fees - and do it locally - rather than in some remote place. Big margins are secured by a number of companies that get money for exam fees in advance. For quite legitimate reasons, a number of students don't get to do their exams and so they pocket the rest. Amazingly, there are providers that actually bank on it - as that's where a lot of their profit comes from. Also, 'Exam Guarantees' often aren't worth the paper they're written on. Most companies won't pay for you to re-take until you have demonstrated conclusively that you won't fail again.

Spending hundreds or even thousands extra on 'Exam Guarantees' is naive - when a commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools is what will really guarantee success.

Many students come unstuck over a single training area usually not even thought about: How the training is broken down and couriered to your address. Trainees may consider it sensible (when study may take one to three years to gain full certified status,) that a training provider will issue a single section at a time, as you complete each part. But: What happens when you don't complete each and every exam? What if you don't find their order of learning is ideal for you? Because of nothing that's your fault, you may not meet the required timescales and consequently not get all your materials.

For maximum flexibility and safety, many trainees now want to insist that all study materials are delivered immediately, and not in stages. It's then up to you how fast or slow and in what order you'd like to take your exams.

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