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Should you be wanting to study to get an MCSE, it’s probable that you fall into one of the following categories. You’re either just starting to enter the world of IT, and you’ve found the IT industry has many opportunities for people with the right qualifications. Alternatively you may be someone with a certain amount of knowledge attempting to gain accreditation with the Microsoft qualification.

When researching MCSE’s, you’ll hit upon companies that short-change you by not providing the latest version from Microsoft. Avoid this type of college as it will create challenges for you at exam time. If you are studying an old version, it will be hard to pass. Be on your guard for training companies who are only trying to make a sale. You should know that buying training to get an MCSE is the same in a way as buying a car. They’re not all the same; some will serve you very well, whilst some will be completely unreliable. A worthy company will give you a thorough consultation to be sure the course will work for you. If they’re confident of their product, you will be able to look at examples of training materials prior to the sale.

Make sure you don’t get caught-up, like so many people do, on the training course itself. Training is not an end in itself; this is about gaining commercial employment. Begin and continue with the end in mind. Students often train for a single year but end up doing a job for a lifetime. Ensure you avoid the fatal error of choosing what sounds like an ‘interesting’ training program only to waste your life away with something you don’t even enjoy!

It’s well worth a long chat to see the exact expectations industry will have. What particular exams you’ll need and how you’ll go about getting some commercial experience. It’s definitely worth spending time assessing how far you think you’ll want to go as it may control your selection of certifications. Seek guidance and advice from an industry professional, even if you have to pay – it’s considerably cheaper and safer to find out at the beginning whether you’ve chosen correctly, rather than find out after several years of study that you’ve picked the wrong track and have to return to the start of another program.

One interesting way that colleges make a lot more is through up-front charges for exams and then including an ‘Exam Guarantee’. This looks like a great idea for the student, until you think it through:

Of course it’s not free – you’re still being charged for it – the price has simply been included in the whole thing. It’s everybody’s ambition to qualify on the first attempt. Taking your exams progressively when it’s appropriate and paying as you go has a marked effect on pass-rates – you put the effort in and are aware of the costs involved.

Isn’t it outrageous to have to pay your training company at the start of the course for examinations? Find the best exam deal or offer when you take the exam, instead of paying a premium – and sit exams more locally – instead of miles away at the college’s beck and call. Paying upfront for exams (and interest charges if you’re borrowing money) is bad financial management. It’s not your job to boost the training company’s account with extra money of yours just to give them more interest! A lot bank on the fact that you won’t get round to taking them – but they won’t refund the cash. Remember, with ‘Exam Guarantees’ from most places – the company decides when you can do your re-takes. They’ll only allow a re-take once completely satisfied.

Paying maybe a thousand pounds extra on ‘Exam Guarantees’ is foolish – when study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will really see you through.

Often, students don’t think to check on something of absolutely vital importance – the way their training provider segments the training materials, and into how many bits. Delivery by courier of each element one piece at a time, according to your exam schedule is the normal way of receiving your courseware. While sounding logical, you might like to consider this: What if you don’t finish every single section? And what if the order provided doesn’t meet your requirements? Because of nothing that’s your fault, you might take a little longer and consequently not get all your materials.

To avoid any potential future issues, most students now choose to have all their training materials (which they’ve now paid for) sent immediately, and not in a piecemeal fashion. You can then decide how fast or slow and in what order you want to work.

In most cases, your typical IT hopeful really has no clue how they should get into a computing career, or what sector they should be considering getting trained in. Because in the absence of any solid background in computing, how could any of us be expected to know what someone in a particular job does? Reflection on these different factors is important if you want to dig down the right answer for you:

* Your personal interests and hobbies – often these highlight what possibilities will give you the most reward.

* Is it your desire to achieve a specific dream – like being your own boss as quickly as possible?

* Where is the salary on a scale of importance – is it very important, or is job satisfaction further up on your list of priorities?

* Considering all that Information Technology encapsulates, you’ll need to be able to see the differences.

* It’s wise to spend some time thinking about the level of commitment you’ll put into gaining your certifications.

For most people, considering these areas tends to require the help of an experienced pro that knows what they’re talking about. And not just the qualifications – but the commercial requirements of industry too.

A number of students think that the state educational path is still the most effective. So why are qualifications from the commercial sector becoming more in demand? As demand increases for knowledge about more and more complex technology, the IT sector has moved to the specialised core-skills learning that the vendors themselves supply – in other words companies such as Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA. This usually turns out to involve less time and financial outlay. Essentially, only that which is required is learned. It’s not quite as straightforward as that, but the principle remains that students need to master the precisely demanded skill-sets (with some necessary background) – without overdoing the detail in all sorts of other things (as universities often do).

It’s rather like the advert: ‘It does what it says on the tin’. Companies need only to know where they have gaps, and then match up the appropriate exam numbers as a requirement. Then they know that anyone who applies can do the necessary work.

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