If you think Cisco training might be for you, but you've not yet worked with routers or network switches, the chances are your first course should be the CCNA training. This will provide you with the necessary skills to set up and maintain routers. Vast numbers of routers make up the internet, and large companies with several locations also need routers to keep their networks in touch.

Routers are linked to networks, therefore it's important to know how networks work, or you'll have difficulty gaining the training and not be able to do the work. Look for a course that includes basic networking skills (such as CompTIA) before you start the CCNA.

Achieving CCNA is where you need to be aiming - you're not ready for your CCNP yet. After gaining experience in the working environment, you will have a feel for if you need to train up to this level. If you decide to become more qualified, you'll have significantly improved your chances of success - as your experience will help you greatly.

Wouldn't it be great to know for sure that our jobs will remain safe and our work prospects are protected, however, the truth for the majority of jobs throughout Great Britain today seems to be that the marketplace is far from secure. Whereas a fast growing sector, with a constant demand for staff (as there is a massive shortage of fully trained professionals), creates the conditions for proper job security.

Taking a look at the Information Technology (IT) business, the 2006 e-Skills investigation brought to light a twenty six percent shortage in trained professionals. So, for each four job positions available in the computer industry, employers can only locate trained staff for three of them. Fully trained and commercially certified new staff are thus at an absolute premium, and it's estimated to remain so for a long time to come. In actuality, acquiring professional IT skills throughout the next year or two is likely the safest career choice you could ever make.

In most cases, your normal IT hopeful really has no clue where to start with a computing career, or which market to focus their retraining program on. What are the chances of us grasping the day-to-day realities of any IT job when we haven't done that before? We normally have never met anyone who is in that area at all. The key to answering this issue appropriately stems from a thorough discussion of several areas:

* The sort of individual you think yourself to be - what tasks do you find interesting, and on the other side of the coin - what don't you like doing.

* Are you driven to get qualified because of a precise raison d'etre - for instance, are you looking at working at home (self-employment?)?

* Is the money you make further up on your list of priorities than other requirements.

* There are many markets to choose from in IT - there's a need to pick up some key facts on what makes them different.

* Having a serious look at how much time and effort that you're going to put into it.

In actuality, it's obvious that the only real way to investigate these matters tends to be through a good talk with a professional who has a background in the IT industry (and more importantly the commercial requirements.)

One of the most important things to insist on has to be 24x7 round-the-clock support from expert mentors and instructors. So many companies we come across will only offer a basic 9am till 6pm support period (maybe later on certain days) with very little availability over the weekend. Avoid those companies that use call-centres 'out-of-hours' - with the call-back coming in during typical office hours. It's no use when you're stuck on a problem and could do with an answer during your scheduled study period.

World-class organisations tend to use an online access 24x7 package utilising a variety of support centres over many time-zones. You're offered a single, easy-to-use interface that accesses the most appropriate office irrespective of the time of day: Support when it's needed. Unless you insist on online 24x7 support, you'll regret it. You may not need it during the night, but what about weekends, early mornings or even late evenings at some point.

An advisor that doesn't ask many questions - the likelihood is they're just trying to sell you something. If they're pushing towards a particular product before learning about your history and whether you have any commercial experience, then you know you're being sold to. With some work-based experience or qualifications, your starting-point of learning is now at a different level to a new student. Always consider starting with a user-skills course first. It will usually make the slope up to the higher-levels a little less steep.