In the fast-paced world we live in, support workers who are able to fix PC's and networks, plus give regular help to users, are essential in all areas of the economy. Industry's need for more skilled and qualified individuals multiplies, as we become consistently more dependent upon PC's in these modern times.

Ensure all your accreditations are current and commercially required - don't even consider programs which end up with a useless in-house certificate or plaque. Unless your qualification is issued by a conglomerate such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Adobe or Cisco, then chances are it will have been a waste of time - as no-one will have heard of it.

Some trainers will only provide support to you inside of office hours (typically 9am-6pm) and sometimes a little earlier or later; most won't answer after 8-9pm at the latest and frequently never at the weekends. Be wary of any training providers that use messaging services 'out-of-hours' - where an advisor will call back during normal office hours. It's no use when you're stuck on a problem and need an answer now.

As long as you look hard, you will find professional training packages that offer online support all the time - including evenings, nights and weekends. Look for a training school that offers this level of study support. As only 24x7 round-the-clock live support provides the necessary backup.

Doing your bit in the cutting-edge of new technology really is electrifying. Your actions are instrumental in defining the world to come. We're in the very early stages of beginning to get a feel for how technology will influence everything we do. The internet will significantly alter the way we see and interact with the world around us over the coming years.

Should lifestyle be way up on your wish list, you will be pleasantly surprised to hear that the usual remuneration for a typical IT worker is considerably greater than salaries in most other jobs or industries. It would appear there's not a hint of a downturn for IT expansion in Great Britain as a whole. The industry is continuing to expand enormously, and with the skills shortage of over 26 percent that we're experiencing, it's not showing any signs that it will even slow down for a good while yet.

Make sure you don't get caught-up, as many people do, on the accreditation program. You're not training for the sake of training; you're training to become commercially employable. Stay focused on what it is you want to achieve. It's possible, in some situations, to thoroughly enjoy one year of training only to end up putting 20 long years into a tiresome job role, as an upshot of not doing the correct research at the beginning.

It's well worth a long chat to see the exact expectations industry will have. What qualifications you'll be required to have and how to gain experience. It's also worth spending time setting guidelines as to how far you reckon you're going to want to go as often it can force you to choose a particular set of accreditations. Look for help from an experienced industry professional who has commercial knowledge of your chosen market-place, and will be able to provide 'A day in the life of' understanding of what you'll actually be doing day-to-day. It's sensible to know if this change is right for you well before you embark on your training program. After all, what is the reason in starting your training and then discover you're on the wrong course.

Students hoping to get a career in computers and technology normally don't know which direction they should take, let alone what area to obtain accreditation for. Since without any commercial background in IT, in what way could we know what a particular job actually consists of? Ultimately, the right conclusion will only come via a detailed examination across many altering criteria:

* Your personality type and interests - which working tasks please or frustrate you.

* What sort of time-frame do you want for the training process?

* What are your thoughts on salary vs the travel required?

* Understanding what the main Information technology areas and markets are - and what makes them different.

* How much effort you'll spend on the training program.

In these situations, the only way to research these issues is through a chat with someone that has a background in IT (as well as the commercial needs.)