If you're thinking of a web design career, find a course in Adobe Dreamweaver. For commercial applications you'll be expected to have a full understanding of the entire Adobe Web Creative Suite. This will include (but isn't limited to) Action Script and Flash. Should you have ambitions to become an Adobe Certified Professional (ACP) or an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) then such knowledge is non-negotiable.

Having knowledge of how to make the website just gets you started. Driving traffic, content maintenance and some programming skills are the next things. Aim for training with bolt-ons to cover these skills maybe PHP, HTML, and MySQL, as well as E-Commerce and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).

We need to make this very clear: You have to get round-the-clock 24x7 instructor support. You'll severely regret it if you don't heed this. Beware of institutions which use 'out-of-hours' call-centres - where you'll get called back during standard office hours. It's not a lot of help when you've got study issues and want support there and then.

World-class organisations utilise an online 24x7 system utilising a variety of support centres across the globe. You get an interface which switches seamlessly to the best choice of centres irrespective of the time of day: Support when it's needed. Never make the mistake of compromise with the quality of your support. The majority of would-be IT professionals who can't get going properly, are in that situation because they didn't get the support necessary for them.

It's likely that you've always enjoyed practical work - a 'hands-on' individual. Typically, the trial of reading reference books and manuals is something you'll force on yourself if you absolutely have to, but it doesn't suit your way of doing things. So look for on-screen interactive learning packages if learning from books is not your thing. We see a huge improvement in memory retention when we use multiple senses - this has been an accepted fact in expert circles for as long as we can remember.

Fully interactive motion videos involving demonstration and virtual lab's beat books hands-down. And you'll actually enjoy doing them. Each company you're contemplating should willingly take you through some examples of the type of training materials they provide. You're looking for evidence of tutorial videos and demonstrations and interactive areas to practice in.

It's folly to select online only courseware. Because of the variable quality and reliability of most broadband providers, ensure that you have access to disc based courseware (On CD or DVD).

Considering the amount of options that are available, there's no surprise that most potential trainees have no idea which career they will enjoy. How can we possibly grasp the tasks faced daily in an IT career when we've never done it? Often we don't know someone who does that actual job anyway. Arriving at any kind of right choice will only come through a detailed study covering many unique key points:

* Our personalities play a significant role - what things get your juices flowing, and what are the things that get you down.

* What length of time can you allocate for the training process?

* What are your thoughts on job satisfaction vs salary?

* Learning what typical job types and markets are - including what sets them apart.

* How much time you're prepared to put into getting qualified.

In actuality, you'll find the only real way to investigate these matters tends to be through a good talk with an advisor who has a background in computing (and specifically it's commercial needs.)

Review the following points in detail if you're inclined to think that over-used sales technique about a guarantee for your exam looks like a reason to buy:

Certainly it's not free - you're still coughing up for it - it's just been included in your package price. For those who want to pass in one, you must pay for one exam at a time, give it the priority it deserves and give the task sufficient application.

Why pay a training course provider in advance for examinations? Find the best deal you can at the appropriate time, instead of paying any mark-up - and do it in a local testing centre - not at somewhere of their bidding. Why tie up your cash (or borrow more than you need) for examinations when you didn't need to? Big margins are netted by organisations getting paid upfront for exams - and hoping either that you won't take them, or it will be a long time before you do. Many training companies will require you to do mock exams and with-hold subsequent exam entries from you until you have proved to them you have a good chance of passing - which actually leaves you with no guarantee at all.

Exam fees averaged 112 pounds or thereabouts last year through local VUE or Pro-metric centres throughout the country. Therefore, why splash out often many hundreds of pounds extra to have 'Exam Guarantees', when any student knows that the responsible approach is a regular, committed, study programme, with an accredited exam preparation system.

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