'Exam Guarantees' are often bundled with training offers - inevitably that means paying for the exams when you pay for the rest of your course. However, prior to embracing this so-called guarantee, look at the following:

It's very clear we're still paying for it - obviously it has been inserted into the gross price invoiced by the course provider. It's certainly not free - don't think these companies are so generous with their money! It's well known in the industry that if a student pays for their own exams, one after the other, they will be much more likely to pass every time - since they'll be conscious of what they've paid and therefore will put more effort into their preparation.

Isn't it in your interests to not pay up-front, but at the appropriate time, rather than coughing up months or even a year or two in advance to a training company, and also to sit exams more locally - instead of miles away at the college's beck and call? Paying in advance for exams (which also includes interest if you've taken out a loan) is bad financial management. Resist being talked into filling the training company's account with additional funds just to give them a good cash-flow! Many will hope you won't get round to taking them - so they don't need to pay for them. The majority of companies will insist that you take mock exams first and hold you back from re-takes until you've demonstrated an excellent ability to pass - making an 'exam guarantee' just about worthless.

Spending hundreds or even thousands extra on an 'Exam Guarantee' is foolish - when hard work, commitment and the right preparation via exam simulations is actually the key to your success.

You'll be able to investigate each area more thoroughly by visiting specific web-pages on this site. We discuss all the certification tracks required to get you into I.T.. Alternatively, you could get our free Lollypedia e-book and then call to speak with one of our expert advisors.

An effective training package will also offer Microsoft (or key company) exam preparation systems. Due to the fact that a lot of examination boards in IT are from the USA, you must be prepared for the way exams are phrased. You can't practice properly by just understanding random questions - they must be in an exam format that exactly replicates the real thing. As you can imagine, it's essential to make sure you're absolutely ready for the real exam before embarking on it. Revising mock-up exams helps build your confidence and will save a lot of money on thwarted exam entries.

Moving one stage farther again, you might explore the first stage of professional certification: User and Systems-support. To support employees who use computers in the office, you will have to have a technical certification like the 'Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician'. A training course of this nature normally takes around one hundred hours of study time.

Next, we get into the area of full professional IT certification. To obtain a position working in hardware-support or network support you should consider doing A+ & Network+ qualifications from 'CompTIA'. Training will teach you about hard-ware and networking installation at a fundamental level, plus elements of security, support & administration. Training time is normally predicted to be around 200 to 250 hours for both courses, which is often reasonably done in 6 months on a part time study basis.

CompTIA Support Interactive Self-Study CBT Computer Training Courses >>