.::.Easy Mind Reading.::.

If you're going through this material there's a good chance that either you're considering a career change into IT and you've heard good things about MCSE's, or you're already a professional and it's apparent that your career is blocked until your get the MCSE accreditation.

During your research, you'll come across companies that compromise their offerings by failing to provide the latest Microsoft version. Steer clear of this type of college as it will create challenges for you at exam time. If your knowledge is of an old version, it could be impossible to pass. Avoid the companies that are simply out to sell something. Ask for comprehensive, personal guidance to ensure you are on the right course for you. Don't allow yourself to be sold some generic product by a second-rate college.

A lot of men and women think that the tech college or university route is still the most effective. Why then are commercial certificates beginning to overtake it? With university education costs spiralling out of control, together with the IT sector's general opinion that key company training often has more relevance in the commercial field, we have seen a dramatic increase in Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA based training paths that educate students for considerably less. Many degrees, as a example, can often get caught up in a great deal of loosely associated study - and a syllabus that's too generalised. This holds a student back from understanding the specific essentials in enough depth.

It's a bit like the TV advert: 'It does what it says on the tin'. Employers simply need to know what they're looking for, and then request applicants with the correct exam numbers. That way they can be sure they're interviewing applicants who can do the job.

Of course: the actual training or the accreditation is not the ultimate goal; the particular job that you want to end up in is. Too many training companies put too much weight in the actual accreditation. It's quite usual, in many cases, to obtain tremendous satisfaction from a year of studying but end up spending 10 or 20 years in a career that does nothing for you, as an upshot of not doing some decent due-diligence at the beginning.

Stay focused on where you want to go, and create a learning-plan from that - avoid getting them back-to-front. Stay focused on the end-goal - making sure you're training for something you'll enjoy for years to come. Look for advice and guidance from an experienced advisor, even if you have to pay a small fee - as it's a lot cheaper and safer to find out at the start whether you've chosen correctly, rather than realise after 2 years that you're doing entirely the wrong thing and now need to go back to square one.

With all the options available, is it any wonder that nearly all students get stuck choosing the job they could be successful with. How can most of us possibly understand what is involved in a particular job when we've never done it? Most likely we haven't met someone who works in that sector anyway. To work through this, we need to discuss several different aspects:

* What hobbies you're involved with in your spare-time - often these define what areas will provide a happy working life.

* Do you hope to accomplish a key aspiration - for instance, working from home sometime soon?

* The income needs you may have?

* Many students don't properly consider the level of commitment required to achieve their goals.

* Our advice is to think deeply about the level of commitment you're going to give to your training.

The best way to avoid the confusing industry jargon, and discover the most viable option for your success, have an in-depth discussion with an industry expert and advisor; an individual who appreciates and can explain the commercial realities whilst covering each accreditation.

Of all the important things to consider, one of the most essential is always full 24x7 support from expert mentors and instructors. Far too often we see trainers who only provide office hours (or extended office hours) support. Many only provide email support (too slow), and phone support is usually just a call-centre which will chat nicely with you for 5 minutes to ask what the issue is and then simply send an email to an instructor - who'll call back sometime over the next 1-3 days, at a suitable time to them. This is not a lot of use if you're stuck with a particular problem and have a one hour time-slot in which to study.

It's possible to find professional companies who offer online support all the time - no matter what time of day it is. Always choose an educator that cares. As only live 24x7 round-the-clock support gives you the confidence to make it.

The area most overlooked by new students weighing up a particular programme is that of 'training segmentation'. This basically means how the program is broken down into parts for drop-shipping to you, which can make a dramatic difference to the point you end up at. Most companies will sell you a program typically taking 1-3 years, and drop-ship the materials to you piecemeal as you get to the end of each exam. This sounds reasonable until you consider the following: With thought, many trainees understand that the company's usual training route isn't ideal for them. You may find that varying the order of study will be far more suitable. And what happens if they don't finish in the allotted time?

In a perfect world, you want everything at the start - giving you them all to return to any point - as and when you want. This allows a variation in the order that you complete each objective where a more intuitive path can be found.