The Cisco training is intended for individuals who wish to work with routers and switches. Routers hook up computer networks over the internet or dedicated lines. We’d recommend that you should start with the CCNA. It’s not advisable to launch directly into your CCNP for it’s full of complexities – and you need to work up to it to have a go at this.

You might end up joining an internet service provider or a big organisation which is located on multiple sites but needs regular secure data communications. This career path is very well paid and quite specialised.

Achieving CCNA is the right level to aim for; at this stage avoid being tempted to do the CCNP. With experience, you’ll know if it’s relevant for you to have this next level up. If you decide to become more qualified, your experience will serve as the background you need to tackle the CCNP – as it’s a very complex course – and shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Make sure that all your certifications are current and also valid commercially – don’t bother with programs that only give in-house certificates.

Unless the accreditation comes from a company like Microsoft, CompTIA, Adobe or Cisco, then chances are it will be commercially useless – because no-one will recognise it.

Considering the amount of options that are available, does it really shock us that a large majority of trainees get stuck choosing the job they will enjoy.

Working through long lists of different and confusing job titles is a complete waste of time. The majority of us don’t even know what our own family members do for a living – so we’re in the dark as to the ins and outs of a specific IT job.

Achieving an informed answer will only come through a meticulous investigation covering many varying factors:

* The sort of individual you are – which things you enjoy doing, and don’t forget – what you definitely don’t enjoy.

* Are you aiming to reach a specific dream – like being your own boss sometime soon?

* The income requirements that guide you?

* There are many ways to train in IT – it’s wise to achieve a basic understanding of what makes them different.

* You have to understand what differentiates each individual training area.

To bypass the barrage of jargon, and reveal the most viable option for your success, have an informal chat with an industry-experienced advisor; someone who understands the commercial reality and of course each qualification.

If your advisor doesn’t ask many questions – it’s likely they’re just trying to sell you something. If they push a particular product before learning about your history and current experience level, then you know it’s true.

With some real-world experience or qualifications, you could discover that your appropriate starting-point is not the same as someone new to the industry.

Consider starting with user-skills and software training first. It will usually make the slope up to the higher-levels a less steep.

A sneaky way that training providers make more money is by adding exam fees upfront to the cost of a course and presenting it as a guarantee for your exams. This sounds impressive, but is it really:

You’re paying for it somehow. One thing’s for sure – it isn’t free – it’s simply been shoe-horned into the price as a whole.

The honest truth is that if students pay for each progressive exam, one at a time, the chances are they’re going to pass every time – as they are conscious of what they’ve paid and their application will be greater.

Sit the exam as locally as possible and don’t pay up-front, but seek out the best deal for you when you’re ready.

A lot of so-called credible training companies make huge profits because they’re getting in the money for exams at the start of the course and cashing in if they’re not all taken.

It’s worth noting that exam re-takes via training course providers with an ‘Exam Guarantee’ are tightly controlled. You’ll be required to sit pre-tests to make sure they think you’re going to pass.

Exams taken at local centres are in the region of 112 pounds in Britain at the time of writing. Why pay exorbitant ‘Exam Guarantee’ fees (most often hidden in the package) – when the best course materials, the right level of support and study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will really guarantee success.

(C) 2009 Scott Edwards. Go to Adult Retraining Courses or New Career Options.