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If Cisco training is your aspiration, but you haven’t worked with routers or switches, you most probably should start with a CCNA course. This will provide you with the necessary skills to set up and maintain routers. The internet is constructed from huge numbers of routers, and national or international corporations with multiple departments and sites also rely on them to allow their networks to keep in touch.

You must have a good understanding of the operation and function of computer networks, because networks are linked to routers. If not, it’s likely you’ll run into difficulties. We’d recommend you first take a course in the basics (for example Network+, perhaps with A+) prior to starting your CCNA. You may find training companies will put such a package together for you.

Start with a bespoke training program that covers everything you need to know before starting your training in Cisco skills.

Always expect accredited simulation materials and an exam preparation system included in your course. Steer clear of relying on non-official preparation materials for exams. Their phraseology can be completely unlike authorised versions - and this leads to huge confusion when the proper exam time arrives. As you can imagine, it’s very crucial to make sure you’re absolutely ready for your commercial exam before embarking on it. Revising simulated exams helps build your confidence and helps to avoid failed exams.

Make sure that all your certifications are what employers want - don’t even consider courses which end up with a useless in-house certificate or plaque. You’ll find that only recognised accreditation from the top companies like Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco and Adobe will open the doors to employers.

There is a tidal wave of change about to hit technology over the next generation - and this means greater innovations all the time. We’re only just beginning to understand what this change will mean to us. The way we interrelate with the rest of the world will be inordinately affected by technology and the web.

If money is high on your wish list, then you will welcome the news that the average salary for IT employees in general is significantly higher than with much of the rest of industry. Because the IT market sector is still developing at an unprecedented rate, it’s likely that demand for certified IT professionals will flourish for quite some time to come.

Those that are drawn to this type of work can be very practical by nature, and aren’t really suited to the classroom environment, and endless reading of dry academic textbooks. If you identify with this, use multimedia, interactive learning, where you can learn everything on-screen. Many years of research has constantly verified that getting into our studies physically, is much more conducive to long-term memory.

Learning is now available in the form of CD and DVD ROM’s, where everything is taught on your PC. Using video-streaming, you can sit back and watch the teachers showing you precisely how something is done, followed by your chance to practice - via the interactive virtual lab’s. It’s imperative to see the type of training provided by any company that you may want to train through. Be sure that they contain full motion videos of instructors demonstrating the topic with lab’s to practice the skills in.

Avoiding training that is delivered purely online is generally a good idea. Physical CD or DVD ROM materials are preferable where possible, as you need to be able to use them whenever it’s convenient for you - and not be totally reliant on a good broadband connection all the time.

For the most part, the typical person doesn’t have a clue how they should get into a computing career, or which market they should be considering getting trained in. What is our likelihood of grasping the day-to-day realities of any IT job when it’s an alien environment to us? We normally don’t even know anybody who is in that area at all. Getting to a well-informed choice only comes via a methodical analysis across many different criteria:

* Our personalities play an important role - what gives you a ‘kick’, and what tasks put a frown on your face.

* Are you driven to get qualified due to a certain reason - for example, is it your goal to work based from home (maybe self-employment?)?

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

* Learning what the normal Information technology types and sectors are - and what differentiates them.

* Taking a good look into the effort, commitment and time that you can put aside.

The bottom line is, your only chance of covering these is via an in-depth discussion with someone who through years of experience will give you the information required.