A lot of certification companies are still offering one of the most out-dated training concepts - classroom lessons. Usually touted as a major benefit, if you track down someone who's been through a few, you'll hear a common theme of many or all of the following problems:

- Frequent visits to the centre - 100's of miles in more cases than not.

- Requesting time off work - typical trainers provide availability during weekdays and typically group 2-3 days together. This is generally difficult for those of us who work for a living, and this is made worse if travelling time is added into the mix.

- At only 20 days holiday per year, using half of that on study days means we'll be hard-pushed to get a holiday with our families.

- Workshop days can 'sell out' fast and can be very crammed in.

- Many students are trying to maintain a quick pace, but some need a more gentle learning curve and not be forced to adopt an uncomfortable speed for them. This will often generate difficulty and tension in most workshops.

- Count the cost of all the fares or petrol, food, parking and accommodation and you'll be in for a big surprise. Trainees report costs ranging from hundreds to over a thousand pounds. Take some time to add it all up - and see for yourself.

- Don't risk the chance of being ignored for a lift up the ladder or pay-rises just because you're retraining.

- Who amongst us hasn't avoided posing that question we were dying to ask, just because we wanted to look smarter?

- There are those of us who occasionally live away for part of the week, imagine the trouble involved in reaching the required workshops, when time-off becomes even harder to obtain.

It obviously makes much more sense to be trained when it suits you -- not the training company - and exploit videos of instructors with interactive virtual-lab's. You can study at home on your desktop computer or if you have laptop, why not get outside if the weather's nice. If you have any questions, then make use of the 24x7 support (that we hope you'll insist on with any technical courses.) Lessons and modules can be repeated whenever it's convenient - repetition aids memory. And you can forget taking notes - it's already ready to go. Could it be simpler: You avoid travelling and wasting time and money; plus you have a far more relaxed training atmosphere.

For the most part, a typical student doesn't know where to start with IT, or which area to focus their retraining program on. Consequently, if you've got no know-how of the IT sector, what chance is there for you to know what someone in a particular field actually does day-to-day? Let alone decide on what accreditation path will be most suitable for your success. Contemplation on many areas is required when you need to uncover the right answers:

- Personality factors plus what interests you - what work-oriented areas please or frustrate you.

- What time-frame are you looking at for your training?

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

- Many students don't properly consider the energy expected to achieve their goals.

- You have to appreciate the differences between each individual training area.

For the average person, considering so much data needs a long talk with an experienced pro who has direct industry experience. Not only the certifications - you also need to understand the commercial needs and expectations of the market as well.

If you would like to be an exceptional user to help you as part of your work, or train for a professional job in a supporting position, there are lots of training courses to get you there. For in-depth training on how to professionally use 'Office' yourself, look at the 'Microsoft Office Specialist' (MOS) or the 'Microsoft Certified Application Specialist' ('MCAS'). For a certification that allows you to support other users, research the 'Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician', or 'MCDST' for short.

There are several rather more specialist & higher qualification routes if you are aiming to become a senior I.T. professional level. The exam structure at MS has fairly recently experienced a significant change. A lot of career training routes still lead to 'MCP' accreditations, however the trend is steadily moving towards 'MCITP' & 'MCTS' programs (Microsoft Certified IT Professional and Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist respectively). Usually, the MCTS qualifications are studied on the way to a full MCITP program.

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