What can a student looking for training tracks certified by Microsoft expect to discover? Obviously, training providers should give access to a number of different options that cover the range of training tracks certified by Microsoft. You'll want to review all your options with somebody who is on familiar terms with the commercial demands for IT staff, and can influence your choice of the best kind of work to suit your abilities and character. Courses must be tailored to meet your needs. Therefore, after working out the best kind of work for you, your next focus is the relevant route to get you there.

Usually, trainers will provide piles of reference manuals and workbooks. Learning like this is dull and repetitive and isn't the best way to go about remembering. Research has repeatedly shown that getting into our studies physically, is far more likely to produce long-lasting memories.

Locate a program where you're provided with an array of DVD-ROM's - you'll start with videos of instructor demonstrations, with the facility to practice your skills in interactive lab's. Don't take any chances and look at some examples of the kind of training materials you'll be using before you hand over your cheque. You should expect instructor-led video demonstrations and a variety of audio-visual and interactive sections.

Select CD and DVD ROM based physical training media every time. This then avoids all the potential pitfalls with broadband 'downtime' or slow-speeds.

We're often asked why qualifications from colleges and universities are less in demand than the more commercially accredited qualifications? With 3 and 4 year academic degree costs climbing ever higher, plus the IT sector's growing opinion that corporate based study often has more relevance in the commercial field, we have seen a big surge in Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA certified training programmes that provide key skills to an employee for considerably less. Higher education courses, for instance, become confusing because of too much background study - with much too broad a syllabus. This holds a student back from getting enough core and in-depth understanding on a specific area.

The crux of the matter is this: Commercial IT certifications tell an employer precisely what skills you have - it says what you do in the title: as an example - I am a 'Microsoft Certified Professional' in 'Planning and Maintaining a Windows 2003 Infrastructure'. So an employer can look at their needs and what certifications will be suitable to deal with those needs.

There is no way of over emphasising this: You absolutely must have proper 24x7 instructor support. You'll definitely experience problems if you don't follow this rule rigidly. Beware of institutions who use 'out-of-hours' messaging systems - with your call-back scheduled for standard office hours. It's no use when you're stuck on a problem and need help now.

We recommend looking for study programmes that utilise many support facilities from around the world. Every one of them needs to be seamlessly combined to enable simple one-stop access and also 24x7 access, when you need it, with no fuss. Don't under any circumstances take anything less. 24x7 support is really your only option with technical study. It's possible you don't intend to study late evenings; often though, we're at work while the support is live.

Most people don't even think to ask about a painfully important area - the way the company breaks up the training materials, and into how many parts. Training companies will normally offer a program typically taking 1-3 years, and send out each piece as you pass each exam. If you think this sound logical, then consider this: It's not unusual for trainees to realise that their providers 'standard' path of training isn't as suitable as another. You may find that a slightly different order suits them better. And what if you don't get to the end within their exact timetable?

To avoid any potential future issues, it's not unusual for students to make sure that every element of their training is posted to them in one go, with nothing held back. That means it's down to you in what order and how fast or slow you want to finish things.

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