As you're considering studying for an MCSE, you'll fall into one of two camps. You could be about to come into the computer world, and your research tells you this commercial sector has many opportunities for qualified people. On the other hand you may be already a professional ready to consolidate your skill-set with the MCSE qualification.

Always make sure you prove conclusively that the training company you use is educating you on the latest version from Microsoft. Many students become very demoralised when they discover they've been educated in an old version of MCSE which will need updating. Training providers should be dedicated to establishing the best direction for their clients. Educational direction is equally concerned with helping people to work out where to go, as it is giving them help to reach their destination.

A expert and specialised consultant (in direct contrast to a salesman) will ask questions and seek to comprehend your abilities and experience. There is no other way of calculating your study start-point. An important point to note is that, if you've had any relevant work-experience or certification, then you may be able to begin at a different level to someone new to the industry. If you're a student beginning IT exams and training anew, it can be helpful to start out slowly, by working on some basic Microsoft package and Windows skills first. This can be built into most accreditation programs.

Make sure that all your certifications are current and also valid commercially - you're wasting your time with programs which end up with a useless in-house certificate or plaque. The top IT companies like Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA or Cisco have globally acknowledged proficiency programs. Huge conglomerates such as these can make sure you stand out at interview.

In most cases, your normal person really has no clue in what direction to head in the IT industry, let alone which area they should look at getting trained in. What are the chances of us grasping the many facets of a particular career when we haven't done that before? Most likely we don't even know anybody who is in that area at all. Arriving at the right conclusion will only come from a detailed study across many varying areas:

* Your personal interests and hobbies - often these highlight what possibilities you'll get the most enjoyment out of.

* Are you aiming to reach a key aim - for example, becoming self-employed as quickly as possible?

* How important is salary to you - is it of prime importance, or is job satisfaction further up on the priority-scale?

* Some students don't fully understand the energy demanded to attain their desired level.

* You need to appreciate the differences between each individual training area.

To be honest, it's obvious that the only real way to research these areas will be via a meeting with someone who understands the IT industry (and more importantly it's commercial requirements.)

A question; why ought we to be looking at commercial certification and not more traditional academic qualifications obtained from schools, colleges or universities? Industry now acknowledges that to cover the necessary commercial skill-sets, proper accreditation from such organisations as Microsoft, CISCO, Adobe and CompTIA often is more effective in the commercial field - for considerably less. University courses, for instance, become confusing because of a great deal of background study - and much too wide a syllabus. This prevents a student from getting enough core and in-depth understanding on a specific area.

What if you were an employer - and you needed to take on someone with a very particular skill-set. What's the simplest way to find the right person: Trawl through a mass of different academic qualifications from several applicants, asking for course details and what commercial skills they have, or select a specialised number of commercial certifications that perfectly fit your needs, and then choose your interviewees based around that. You can then focus on how someone will fit into the team at interview - rather than establishing whether they can do a specific task.

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