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Network and PC support technicians are constantly in demand in the UK, as companies have come to depend upon their knowledge and ability to fix and repair. Because of the multifaceted levels of technological advances, greater numbers of competent professionals are required to specialise in the various different areas we’ve come to rely on.

‘In-Centre workshop days’ get pushed as an important element by some training schools. When you chat with the majority of IT students who’ve attended a few, you’ll find they generally end up being seen as a waste of time due to many reasons:

* The amount of travel required – many journeys and sometimes hundreds of miles a time.

* Accessibility to workshops; frequently Monday to Friday and sometimes two to three days together. You then have the difficulty of the work-leave.

* Most of us find four weeks vacation allowance is not really enough. Take away over half of it for study workshops and watch how much harder things become.

* Training workshops typically get over subscribed.

* The pace of the class – workshops invariably consist of trainees of varied aptitude, therefore tension can be created between those that want to go quickly as opposed to those with less experience.

* You shouldn’t overlook the increased financial outlay of arranging transport or bed and breakfast for the night either. This may well run to hundreds and even thousands of pounds extra. Take some time to add it all up – you’ll get a shock.

* We all enjoy our privacy. We should never risk giving up any lift up the ladder due to us while we’re training.

* Most of us find it difficult to ask questions in a room full of other trainees – who wants to look like they’re the only one who doesn’t get it?

* If your work takes you away from home, it’s a fact of life that workshops are now difficult to get to – and yet, they’ve been paid for in advance.

It really does make so much more sense to study when it suits you — not the training company – and make use of interactive videos of instructors teaching a class. Study can happen anywhere that suits. If you’ve got a laptop, you could catch some sun outside while you learn. If you have any problems then get onto the live 24×7 support. You don’t have to worry about any note-taking – every lesson is laid out for you already. Anything you want to do over, you’ve got it all. What could be simpler: You avoid travelling and wasting time and money; and of course you get a much more stress-free study environment.

A expert and specialised consultant (in direct contrast to a salesman) will talk through your current experience level and abilities. There is no other way of establishing your starting level of study. If you have a strong background, or even a touch of real-world experience (maybe some existing accreditation?) then it could be that the level you’ll need to start at will be quite dissimilar from someone with no background whatsoever. Consider starting with some basic Microsoft package and Windows skills first. This can set the scene for your on-going studies and make the learning curve a bit more manageable.

Potential trainees hoping to begin an IT career usually aren’t sure which route they should take, or even which area to get qualified in. Since without any solid background in IT, how can most of us be expected to understand what anyone doing a particular job actually does? To work through this, a discussion is necessary, covering a number of different aspects:

* Your personality type and interests – what working tasks you like and dislike.

* What sort of time-frame do you want for your training?

* What are your thoughts on salary vs the travel required?

* Considering the huge variation that computing covers, it’s obvious you’ll need to be able to see how they differ.

* Our advice is to think deeply about the amount of time and effort you’re going to give to your training.

In all honesty, it’s obvious that the only real way to seek advice on these issues tends to be through a good talk with an experienced advisor that has a background in computing (and chiefly the commercial requirements.)

(C) Jason Kendall. Pop to LearningLolly.com for excellent career advice on IT Course and Comptia Network+ Course.

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