If you're thinking about studying for the MCSE certificate, it's likely you'll come into one of two categories. You may want to enter the computer sector, and your research tells you the industry has many opportunities for those with appropriate certifications. Or you could be a knowledgeable person looking to formalise your skills with the Microsoft qualification.

When researching training providers, don't use those that short-change you by failing to use the latest Microsoft version. Over time, this will frustrate and cost the student a great deal more because they've been educated in an old version of MCSE which will need updating to suit the working environment. Providers should be dedicated to establishing the best direction for prospective students. Directing learning is as much concerned with helping people to work out which way to go, as it is helping to help them get there.

Finding your first job in the industry sometimes feels easier to handle if you're offered a Job Placement Assistance service. The fact of the matter is it isn't a complex operation to find a job - as long as you've got the necessary skills and qualifications; because there's still a great need for IT skills in the UK today.

Help with your CV and interview techniques may be available (alternatively, check out one of our sites for help). Ensure you polish up your CV straight away - not after you've qualified! Various junior support jobs have been offered to students who are still studying and haven't even passed a single exam yet. At least this will get you on your way. You can usually expect better results from a local IT focused recruitment consultant or service than you'll experience from any course provider's recruitment division, because they'll know local industry and the area better.

Certainly ensure you don't invest a great deal of time on your training course, only to stop and leave it in the hands of the gods to land you a job. Stand up for yourself and get out there. Channel the same time and energy into landing a good job as it took to get qualified.

There is no way of over emphasising this: It's essential to obtain proper 24x7 round-the-clock instructor support. We can tell you that you'll strongly regret it if you let this one slide. Always avoid training courses that only support you via a call-centre messaging system after 6-9pm in the evening and during weekends. Trainers will try to talk you round from this line of reasoning. The bottom line is - you want support at the appropriate time - not as-and-when it's suitable for their staff.

Top training companies have many support offices around the globe in several time-zones. Online access provides the interactive interface to seamlessly link them all together, no matter what time you login, help is at hand, without any problems or delays. Never make do with less than this. Online 24x7 support is the only kind that ever makes the grade when it comes to IT learning. Maybe burning the midnight-oil is not your thing; but for most of us, we're working at the time when most support is available.

It's essential to have the most up to date Microsoft (or any other key organisation's) accredited exam simulation and preparation packages. Don't go for training programs depending on non-accredited exam papers and questions. The type of questions asked can be quite different - and often this creates real issues when it comes to taking the real exam. Simulations and practice exams are enormously valuable as a resource to you - so that when you come to take the real thing, you won't be worried.

One interesting way that course providers make extra profits is through up-front charges for exams and offering an exam guarantee. It looks like a good deal, but let's just examine it more closely:

Everybody's aware that they're still being charged for it - it's not so hard to see that it's already been included in the overall price charged by the course provider. Certainly, it's not a freebie (although some people will believe anything the marketing companies think up these days!) Should you seriously need to qualify first 'go', evidence suggests you must pay for each exam as you go, focus on it intently and be ready for the task.

Don't you think it's more sensible to hold on to your money and pay for the exam when you're ready, rather than coughing up months or even a year or two in advance to the training company, and also to sit exams more locally - rather than in some remote centre? Big margins are made by many companies who incorporate exam fees into the cost of the course. For quite legitimate reasons, a number of students don't get to do their exams and so the company is quids-in. Surprising as it sounds, there are companies around that rely on that fact - as that's very profitable for them. Additionally, 'Exam Guarantees' often aren't worth the paper they're written on. The majority of organisations won't be prepared to pay for you to re-take until you have demonstrated conclusively that you won't fail again.

Exam fees averaged approximately 112 pounds twelve months or so ago when taken at VUE or Pro-metric centres in the UK. Therefore, why splash out often many hundreds of pounds extra to have 'an Exam Guarantee', when it's no secret that what's really needed is a commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools.

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