Currently in the UK, industry would be severely hampered were it not for support workers solving problems with networks and computers, while advising users on a constant basis. As we're all becoming more and more reliant on computers and networks, we also inevitably become more reliant on the commercially qualified network engineers, who keep the systems going.

Review the points below very carefully if you're inclined to think the marketing blurb about examination guarantees seems like a good idea:

You'll be charged for it ultimately. One thing's for sure - it isn't free - it's just been rolled into the price of the whole package. It's well known in the industry that if students pay for each progressive exam, at the time of taking them, there's a much better chance they'll get through on the first attempt - since they are conscious of their payment and so will prepare more thoroughly.

Doesn't it make more sense to find the best exam deal or offer when you're ready, rather than coughing up months or even a year or two in advance to the college, and to take it closer to home - rather than in some remote centre? Including money in your training package for examinations (which also includes interest if you've taken out a loan) is insane. Resist being talked into filling the training company's account with extra money of yours only to please their Bank Manager! Some will be pinning their hopes on the fact that you won't get to do them all - then they'll keep the extra money. Re-takes of any failed exams through training companies who offer an 'Exam Guarantee' inevitably are heavily regulated. You'll be required to sit pre-tests so you can prove to them you have a good chance of passing.

Due to typical VUE and Prometric examinations costing in the region of 112 pounds in this country, the most cost-effective way to cover the cost is by paying when you need them. Why splash out often many hundreds of pounds extra at the beginning of your training? A commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools are actually the key to your success.

Qualifications from the commercial sector are now, undoubtedly, beginning to replace the more academic tracks into the industry - why then should this be? Corporate based study (as it's known in the industry) is most often much more specialised. Industry has acknowledged that specialisation is essential to meet the requirements of an increasingly more technical commercial environment. Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA are the dominant players. In a nutshell, the learning just focuses on what's actually required. It's slightly more broad than that, but principally the objective has to be to master the precisely demanded skill-sets (along with a certain amount of crucial background) - without attempting to cover a bit about everything else - in the way that academic establishments often do.

Think about if you were the employer - and your company needed a person with some very particular skills. What should you do: Pore through a mass of different academic qualifications from graduate applicants, trying to establish what they know and what trade skills they've mastered, or choose a specific set of accreditations that specifically match what you're looking for, and then choose your interviewees based around that. Your interviews are then about personal suitability - rather than establishing whether they can do a specific task.

If you're like many of the students we talk to then you're quite practically minded - the 'hands-on' personality type. If you're anything like us, the painful task of reading endless manuals is something you'll make yourself do if you have to, but you'd hate it. You should use video and multimedia based materials if book-based learning really isn't your style. Our ability to remember is increased when we use multiple senses - this has been an accepted fact in expert circles for decades now.

Interactive full motion video featuring instructor demo's and practice lab's will beat books every time. And they're far more fun. Any company that you're considering should willingly take you through samples of the materials provided for study. You're looking for evidence of tutorial videos and demonstrations and many interactive sections.

Many companies provide purely on-line training; sometimes you can get away with this - but, consider what happens if you lose your internet access or you only get very a very slow connection sometimes. A safer solution is the provision of actual CD or DVD ROMs that don't suffer from these broadband issues.

Throw out the typical salesperson who recommends a training program without a decent chat so as to understand your abilities as well as level of experience. Ensure that they have a generous range of products from which they could give you a program that suits you.. Where you have a strong background, or sometimes a little work-based experience (some industry qualifications maybe?) then it could be that the point from which you begin your studies will be very different from a trainee who has no experience. It's usual to start with user-skills and software training first. This can set the scene for your on-going studies and make the learning curve a much more gentle.