Thinking of taking an MCSE? If so, it's probable that you're probably in 1 of 2 situations: You could already be in IT and you need to formalise your skill set with the MCSE qualification. Instead this might be your initial foray into the computer world, and your research tells you there's lots of demand for qualified people.

When researching MCSE's, you'll come across companies that compromise their offerings by not upgrading their courses to the latest version from Microsoft. Avoid this type of college as you'll have problems in the exam. If your knowledge is of the wrong syllabus, it will be hard to pass. Training colleges must be completely focused on offering the correct route for prospective students. Directing study is as much concerned with guiding people on establishing where to go, as well as helping them get there.

Each programme of learning has to build towards a widely recognised accreditation at the finale - and not some unimportant 'in-house' printed certificate to hang in your hallway. You'll discover that only industry recognised accreditation from the major players like Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco and CompTIA will be useful to a future employer.

With so much choice, there's no surprise that a large percentage of students balk at what job they will follow. What are the chances of us grasping the tasks faced daily in an IT career when we haven't done that before? We normally haven't met someone who works in that sector anyway. Usually, the way to come at this dilemma appropriately lies in a full talk over a number of areas:

* Your personality can play an important part - what things get your juices flowing, and what tasks really turn you off.

* Is it your desire to accomplish an important aspiration - like becoming self-employed as quickly as possible?

* How highly do you rate salary - is it of prime importance, or is day-to-day enjoyment a little higher on the priority-scale?

* There are many areas to train for in IT - you'll need to gain some background information on what makes them different.

* Taking a serious look into the effort, commitment and time that you can put aside.

For the majority of us, considering each of these concepts needs a long talk with an experienced pro that knows what they're talking about. Not only the certifications - but the commercial expectations and needs also.

Many trainers have a handy Job Placement Assistance program, designed to steer you into your first job. Having said that, occasionally there is more emphasis than is necessary on this service, as it is actually not that hard for well qualified and focused men and women to land work in IT - because there's a great need for well trained people.

Help and assistance with preparing a CV and getting interviews may be available (alternatively, check out one of our sites for help). Make sure you work on your old CV immediately - not when you're ready to start work! Many junior support roles are offered to people who are in the process of training and haven't got any qualifications yet. This will at least get you on your way. You'll normally experience quicker service from an independent and specialised local recruitment consultancy than any training provider's national service, because they'll know the area better.

Certainly make sure you don't invest a great deal of time on your training course, then call a halt and imagine someone else is miraculously going to sort out your employment. Stand up for yourself and start looking for yourself. Put the same energy and enthusiasm into securing the right position as it took to pass the exams.