Review the points below and pay great regard to them if you believe that old marketing ploy of a guarantee for your exam looks like a reason to buy:

In this day and age, we are a tad more knowledgeable about sales gimmicks - and the majority of us ought to grasp that we are actually being charged for it (it isn't free or out of the goodness of their hearts!) Students who go in for their examinations when it's appropriate, paying for them just before taking them are far more likely to pass first time. They are mindful of their investment and take the necessary steps to be up to the task.

Isn't it in your interests to not pay up-front, but at the time, rather than coughing up months or even a year or two in advance to a college, and to take it closer to home - rather than possibly hours away from your area? A surprising number of unscrupulous training companies make big margins by getting in the money for exams at the start of the course then banking on the fact that many won't be taken. You should fully understand that re-takes with organisations who offer an 'Exam Guarantee' are tightly controlled. You will be required to do mock exams so you can prove to them you have a good chance of passing.

On average, exams cost 112 pounds or thereabouts twelve months or so ago through local VUE or Pro-metric centres throughout the country. So don't be talked into shelling out hundreds or thousands of pounds more for 'Exam Guarantees', when it's obvious that the most successful method is consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software.

A major candidate for the biggest single let-down in the IT training sector is often the 'in-centre' workshop requirement. Most training academies harp on about the 'benefits' of going in to their classes, however, they quickly become a major problem because of:

- Masses of journeys to the training centre - normally 100's of miles.

- Weekday only access to events is the norm, and trying to take several days leave in a single chunk can be difficult for most working students.

- Most of us find 4 weeks holiday each year isn't enough by far. Spend a good 50 percent of that for educational events and watch how much harder things become.

- 'In-Centre' workshop days usually become over subscribed.

- Often attendees want to progress quickly, others want a more steady pace and be allowed to set their own speed. This breeds tension in most workshops.

- Many attendees speak about the high (and unexpected) costs associated with getting transport to and from the facility and paying for food and accommodation becomes prohibitively expensive.

- The majority of students want training privacy to avoid any kind of repercussions whilst in their current job.

- Raising questions in front of other class-mates often makes us feel nervous. Would you admit that you've occasionally avoided posing a question as you didn't want to appear stupid?

- When your work takes you away from home, it's apparent that events are now very hard to attend - but unfortunately, they've been paid for in advance.

Infinitely more flexible is to utilise pre-filmed workshops at the location of your choice - taking them when it's convenient to you - not anyone else. You can study anywhere you want. Got a laptop?... Then why not take in some sunshine in your garden as you study. If any problem raises its head then utilise the 24x7 Support. It doesn't matter how many times you have to re-cover a topic, on-screen teachers are never going to run out of patience! Also, because of this, you'll never have to write notes again. It's all there for you when you need it. Whilst this doesn't suddenly stop each and every issue, it undeniably reduces stress and eases things. Plus you've got less costs, travel and hassle.

Only consider training paths which progress to industry approved qualifications. There's an endless list of small colleges offering their own 'in-house' certificates which aren't worth the paper they're printed on when you start your job-search. The top IT companies like Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco or Adobe have widely acknowledged proficiency courses. Major-league companies like these will make sure you're employable.

Those that are drawn to this type of work are usually quite practically-minded, and don't really enjoy classrooms, and poring through books and manuals. If this is putting you off studying, use multimedia, interactive learning, with on-screen demonstrations and labs. Where we can get all of our senses involved in our learning, then we often see hugely increased memory retention as a result.

You can now study via interactive CD and DVD ROM's. Through instructor-led video classes you'll absorb the modules, one by one, via the expert demonstrations. Then you test your knowledge by practicing and interacting with the software. It would be silly not to view some of the typical study materials provided before you sign the purchase order. Always insist on video tutorials, instructor demo's and interactive modules with audio-visual elements.

Pick disc based courseware (On CD or DVD) every time. Thus avoiding all the issues associated with broadband outages, failure and signal quality issues etc.

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