There are two specialist areas of training in a full CompTIA A+ program; you're thought of as an achiever in A+ when you've passed the test for both of these areas. Training courses in A+ are about fault finding and diagnosing - both through hands-on and remote access, as well as building and fixing and understanding antistatic conditions. If you would like to be someone who works in a multi-faceted environment - supporting, fixing and maintaining networks, you'll need to add CompTIA Network+, or alternatively look at doing an MCSA or MCSE with Microsoft in order to have a deeper understanding of the way networks operate.

We can all agree: There really is absolutely no individual job security available anymore; there's only industry and business security - any company is likely to let anyone go when it fits the business' business requirements. Security only exists now through a quickly growing market, pushed forward by a shortfall of trained staff. It's this alone that creates the right setting for a secure marketplace - a far better situation.

The 2006 British e-Skills analysis highlighted that twenty six percent of all IT positions available remain unfilled because of a huge deficit of properly qualified workers. Accordingly, for each 4 job positions in existence in the computer industry, employers can only find trained staff for 3 of the 4. This glaring truth highlights the validity and need for more appropriately qualified Information Technology professionals around the United Kingdom. Without a doubt, this really is a critical time to consider retraining into the computing industry.

The somewhat scary thought of landing your first role in IT can be eased by some companies, via a Job Placement Assistance service. However sometimes there is more emphasis than is necessary on this service, because it is genuinely quite straightforward for any focused and well taught person to secure a job in the IT industry - because there's a great need for trained staff.

Having said that, it's important to have help with your CV and interview techniques though; additionally, we would recommend everybody to update their CV the day they start training - don't wait until you've graduated or passed any exams. It's not unusual to find that you'll secure your first position while you're still a student (even in the early stages). If your course details aren't on your CV (and it isn't in the hands of someone with jobs to offer) then you aren't even in the running! Generally, you'll receive quicker service from a specialist independent regional employment service than you will through a training course provider's employment division, as they will be more familiar with the area and local employers.

A constant frustration for a number of course providers is how hard students are prepared to study to get top marks in their exams, but how little effort that student will then put into getting the role they're acquired skills for. Have confidence - the IT industry needs YOU.

Make sure you don't get caught-up, like so many people do, on the certification itself. Training for training's sake is generally pointless; you're training to become commercially employable. Focus on the end-goal. It's common, in many cases, to get a great deal of enjoyment from a year of study and then spend 20 miserable years in a job you hate, as an upshot of not doing some quality research when it was needed - at the start.

You need to keep your eye on where you want to go, and formulate your training based on that - don't do it the other way round. Stay on target and begin studying for an end-result that'll reward you for many long and fruitful years. Prior to embarking on a particular study program, it's good advice to discuss the exact market requirements with an experienced industry advisor, so as to be sure the retraining path covers all the necessary elements.

Commercially accredited qualifications are now, most definitely, taking over from the traditional routes into the IT industry - so why has this come about? With fees and living expenses for university students climbing ever higher, along with the industry's increasing awareness that accreditation-based training is closer to the mark commercially, there has been a big surge in CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA accredited training programmes that create knowledgeable employees at a much reduced cost in terms of money and time. The training is effectively done by concentrating on the particular skills that are needed (alongside a relevant amount of related knowledge,) as opposed to going into the heightened depths of background detail and 'fluff' that academic courses can often find themselves doing (because the syllabus is so wide).

It's rather like the advert: 'It does what it says on the tin'. The company just needs to know what they're looking for, and then match up the appropriate exam numbers as a requirement. They'll know then that all applicants can do what they need.

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