Well Done! As you’re looking at this it’s likely you’re thinking about retraining for a new career – that means you’ve already taken one more step than the majority. Less of us than you’d think are content with our jobs, but most just moan and do nothing about it. You could be a member of the few who decide to make the change.

Prior to considering any career courses, look for an advisor who can talk you through which area will be right for you. Someone who can get to know your personality, and find out the best career for you to work towards:

* Would you like to work with others? If the answer’s yes, would you enjoy being part of a team or are you hoping to meet new people? Alternatively, do you like to deal with your responsibilities alone?

* What do you need from the market sector you work in? (Things do change – look at the building trade, or banks for example.)

* Having completed your retraining, would you like this skill to serve you till you retire?

* Are you worried about the possibility of getting new work, and being in demand in the employment market right up to retirement?

We ask you to find out more about the computer industry – there are more jobs than employees, and it’s one of the few choices of career where the sector is expanding. In contrast to what some people believe, it isn’t just geeks gazing at their computer screens the whole day (if you like the sound of that though, they do exist.) The vast majority of roles are done by ordinary men and women who want to earn a very good living.

One useful service that several companies offer is a Job Placement Assistance program. The service is put in place to steer you into your first IT role. The fact of the matter is it’s not as difficult as you may be led to believe to secure a job – as long as you’ve got the necessary skills and qualifications; the shortage of IT personnel in Britain looks after that.

Help and assistance with preparing a CV and getting interviews is sometimes offered (if not, see one of our sites for help). Make sure you update that dusty old CV today – not when you’re ready to start work!

Getting onto the ‘maybe’ pile of CV’s is better than being rejected. A surprising amount of junior support jobs are got by people who are still at an early stage in their studies.

If you’d like to get employment in your home town, then you may well find that an independent and specialised local employment service may work much better for you than the trainer’s recruitment division, due to the fact that they are much more inclined to have insider knowledge of what’s available near you.

Certainly ensure you don’t put hundreds of hours of effort into your studies, only to stop and imagine someone else is miraculously going to find you a job. Stand up for yourself and get out there. Channel the same focus into finding your first job as it took to get qualified.

IT has become one of the most electrifying and revolutionary industries you could be involved with. To be working on the cutting-edge of technology puts you at the fore-front of developments that will impact the whole world for generations to come.

We’re only just beginning to comprehend how this will truly impact our way of life. The way we interact with the world will be inordinately affected by computers and the web.

And it’s worth remembering that the average salary in the world of IT throughout this country is much higher than the national average salary, so you’ll probably receive much more in the IT sector, than you would in most typical jobs.

Experts agree that there’s a substantial national demand for trained and qualified IT technicians. It follows that with the constant growth in the marketplace, it appears this will be the case for a good while yet.

Students looking to build an IT career often don’t know what path is best, or even which market to get certified in.

As with no commercial background in the IT industry, how could any of us know what anyone doing a particular job actually does?

To come through this, we need to discuss a variety of definitive areas:

* Our personalities play a significant role – what kind of areas spark your interest, and what are the areas that get you down.

* What sort of time-frame do you want for your training?

* Is the money you make further up on your wish list than some other areas.

* When taking into account all that Information Technology encapsulates, it’s obvious you’ll need to be able to absorb what is different.

* What effort, commitment and time you’re prepared to spend on the training program.

To be honest, your only option to seek advice on these areas will be via a meeting with an advisor who has years of experience in Information Technology (and more importantly it’s commercial needs.)

Make sure that all your certifications are what employers want – forget programs that lead to in-house certificates.

From an employer’s perspective, only the major heavyweights such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Adobe or Cisco (for instance) will make the right impression. Anything less won’t make the grade.

Copyright 2009 Scott Edwards. Try Comptia Certification or MCSE Courses.