Proper support is incredibly important - find a program that provides 24x7 direct access, as anything less will not satisfy and will also hamper your progress. Locate training schools with proper support available at any time of day or night (even 1am on Sunday morning!) You'll need access directly to professional tutors, and not a call-centre that will take messages so you're waiting for tutors to call you back during office hours.

Be on the lookout for providers that have multiple support offices across multiple time-zones. These should be integrated to enable simple one-stop access and also round-the-clock access, when you want it, without any problems. Find an educator that cares. Only true round-the-clock 24x7 support gives you the confidence to make it.

Does job security really exist anymore? In the UK for example, where industry can change its mind on a whim, we'd question whether it does. We could however discover market-level security, by looking for areas that have high demand, tied with shortages of trained staff.

Looking at the computing industry, the most recent e-Skills investigation highlighted a 26 percent skills deficit. Put simply, we can't properly place more than just three out of each 4 job positions in IT. This alarming notion underpins the urgent need for more properly qualified IT professionals throughout the UK. In reality, gaining new qualifications in IT over the years to come is likely the finest choice of careers you could make.

Considering the amount of options that are available, is it any wonder that most potential career changers get stuck choosing the job they will follow. What is our likelihood of grasping what is involved in a particular job when we've never done it? Maybe we have never met anyone who does that actual job anyway. Often, the key to unlocking this question properly lies in a deep discussion of some important points:

- Your individual personality and interests - which work-centred jobs you like and dislike.

- Is it your desire to reach an important aspiration - for example, working from home as quickly as possible?

- Where is the salary on a scale of importance - is an increase your main motivator, or does job satisfaction rate a lot higher on the scale of your priorities?

- Getting to grips with what the main career areas and markets are - plus how they're different to each other.

- How much effort you're prepared to put into getting qualified.

For the majority of us, sifting through each of these concepts requires a good chat with an experienced pro that can explain things properly. And we're not only talking about the certifications - but the commercial requirements and expectations of industry too.

Accredited simulation materials and exam preparation packages are essential - and really must be obtained from your training company. Students regularly can get confused by going through practice questions that aren't recognised by official boards. Sometimes, the phraseology can be quite different and you need to be ready for this. 'Mock' or practice exams can be invaluable for confidence building - so that when you come to take the real deal, you will be much more relaxed.

If you happen to be particularly interested in 'Messaging' or 'Security', then MS have speciality MCSEs available to target these options. In some cases, the CompTIA Security+ , advancing on to the CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) may be appropriate. Before you choose this path though you need to be aware of the exact level of work experience necessary for the CISSP. Our professional advice is always to take part in an educated discussion before starting any new career-training.

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