Because you're doing your research on Microsoft MCSE's, you'll probably be in one of two categories: Maybe you're thinking of a radical change of career to the IT sector, and all evidence points to a massive need for qualified people. Instead maybe you're an IT professional already - and you'd like to consolidate your skill-set with the MCSE accreditation.

As you try to find out more, you will notice colleges that compromise their offerings by not providing the latest Microsoft version. Steer clear of training companies like these as you will face problems at exam time. If your knowledge is of the wrong version, it is going to be hugely difficult to get qualified. Providers should be completely focused on establishing the best direction for their students. Directing study is as much about guiding people on establishing where to go, as well as helping them get there.

Several companies have a handy Job Placement Assistance facility, to help you into your first commercial role. Because of the huge skills shortage in the UK even when times are hard, it's not too important to get too caught up in this feature though. It isn't so complicated as you might think to land the right work as long as you've got the necessary skills and qualifications.

You would ideally have CV and Interview advice and support though; and we'd recommend all students to update their CV the day they start training - don't procrastinate and leave it till you've finished your exams. Various junior support jobs are offered to trainees 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 better results from a local IT focused recruitment consultant or service than you'll experience from any training company's employment division, because they'll know the local area and commercial needs better.

Please be sure that you don't put hundreds of hours of effort into your studies, and then do nothing more and imagine someone else is miraculously going to land you a job. Stop procrastinating and make your own enquiries. Invest the same time and energy into landing your new role as you did to gain the skills.

It's abundantly clear: There's no such thing as individual job security anymore; there can only be industry or business security - a company will fire a solitary member of staff when it meets the company's trade interests. Where there are escalating skills deficits and areas of high demand of course, we almost always hit upon a new kind of security in the marketplace; where, fuelled by the conditions of constant growth, companies find it hard to locate enough staff.

A recent British e-Skills investigation brought to light that 26 percent of IT jobs remain unfilled due to a huge deficit of trained staff. Alternatively, you could say, this clearly demonstrates that the country can only locate 3 trained people for each four job positions in existence today. Acquiring the appropriate commercial Information Technology accreditation is thus a quick route to realise a long-term and gratifying living. Because the IT sector is increasing at such a speed, there really isn't any other area of industry worth looking at for a new future.

Traditional teaching in classrooms, using textbooks and whiteboards, is often a huge slog for most of us. If you're nodding as you read this, check out study materials which have a majority of interactive, multimedia parts. Studies in learning psychology have shown that long term memory is improved when we receive multi-sensorial input, and we get practically involved in what we're studying.

You can now study via self-contained CD or DVD materials. Through instructor-led video classes you'll find things easier to remember through their teaching and demonstrations. You can then test yourself by using practice-lab's. All companies should willingly take you through some examples of the materials provided for study. You should hope for instructor-led videos and many interactive sections.

Opt for physical media such as CD or DVD ROM's every time. This then avoids all the potential pitfalls with broadband outages, failure and signal quality issues etc.