Network and PC support staff are increasingly in demand in this country, as companies rely heavily on their technical advice and fixing and repairing abilities. Industry's need for larger numbers of technically qualified people is enhanced, as we become ever more dependent on PC's in the modern world.

Many people think that the traditional school, college or university system is the way they should go. So why then is commercial certification slowly and steadily replacing it? With 3 and 4 year academic degree costs increasing year on year, along with the IT sector's increasing awareness that key company training is closer to the mark commercially, we've seen a large rise in Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA authorised training paths that provide key skills to an employee for considerably less. University courses, for example, can often get caught up in vast amounts of loosely associated study - with a syllabus that's far too wide. Students are then prevented from understanding the specific essentials in enough depth.

It's rather like the advert: 'It does what it says on the label'. Employers simply need to know what they need doing, and then advertise for someone with the specific certification. Then they know that anyone who applies can do the necessary work.

It's important to understand: a course itself or an accreditation isn't the end-goal; the job or career that you want is. Many trainers unfortunately place too much importance on just the training course. It's a testament to the marketing skills of the big companies, but a large percentage of students begin programs that seem great from the sales literature, but which provides the end-result of a job that is of no interest at all. Just ask several college leavers and you'll see where we're coming from.

Take time to understand how you feel about career development, earning potential, and whether you intend to be quite ambitious. You need to know what will be expected of you, which exams they want you to have and how you'll gain real-world experience. Seek guidance and advice from an experienced industry professional, even if there's a fee involved - it's considerably cheaper and safer to find out at the beginning whether your choices are appropriate, instead of discovering after two full years that you've picked the wrong track and have to return to the start of another program.

Frequently, a typical student has no idea how they should get into a computing career, let alone what market they should look at getting trained in. How can most of us possibly understand the day-to-day realities of any IT job when we've never done it? Often we have never met anyone who works in that sector anyway. Often, the key to unlocking this issue appropriately comes from a deep conversation around a number of areas:

* The type of personality you have plus what interests you - which work-centred jobs you like and dislike.

* Is it your desire to realise a closely held aspiration - for example, working for yourself sometime soon?

* How highly do you rate salary - is it of prime importance, or is job satisfaction a lot higher on your list of priorities?

* Understanding what the main IT types and sectors are - including what sets them apart.

* How much time you will set aside for the training program.

When all is said and done, the only real way of covering these is via an in-depth discussion with someone that has enough background to lead you to the correct decision.

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