If it weren't for a continuous flood of qualified network and PC support personnel, commercial enterprise throughout the country (as elsewhere) would be likely to be brought to its knees. Consequently, there's an on-going demand for people to support systems and users alike. Whereupon we're all becoming massively more beholden to advanced technology, we simultaneously emerge as increasingly dependent on the technically knowledgeable IT professionals, who maintain those systems.

A study programme must provide a widely recognised accreditation at the finale - and not some unimportant 'in-house' diploma - fit only for filing away and forgetting. All the major IT organisations like Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco or CompTIA all have widely acknowledged skills programs. These heavyweights will give some sparkle to your CV.

The 'A+' program & the Network+ program are 'CompTIA's' most widely recognised certifications. Jointly they constitute the basis of many career paths in IT, and as such are leaders in their industry. Trainees learn many essential PC concepts with A+ , including support, repair, maintenance security, installation & fault finding. So that you can become established in the I.T. marketplace, the 'A+' also covers various communication & personal abilities. The 'CompTIA' 'Network+' accreditation extends this knowledge to a more thorough grasp of networks, servers and routers, and just how they connect together. 'Security' is of course vital, and wireless-technology is covered to some extent. The two certifications go with each other nicely, & together provide a very good starting platform for additional exam programs, or a good career in I.T. support.

Both of the exams have fairly recently gone through a 2009 update in line with CompTIA's move towards ISO standardisation. 'A+' exams that began using the prefix '600' (i.e. the 2006/2007 version) are now being phased out internationally. In the United Kingdom, they discontinue on 31st August 2010. As '2009' exams (700) are already available at test-centres up and down the country, the newer study programs would be a more practical solution anybody just about to start. CompTIA A+ Essentials & CompTIA A+ Practical Application are the new exam titles (220/701 & 220/702 respectively). Together with some more subject matter on newer technology, there are now two exams that cover aspects of all four of the preceding examinations. Initially, the A+ was broken into 4 exams: 1 essential and 3 'elective' specialisations. But as the industry has moved on, the expertise from all four exams is currently deemed necessary, & consequently has been fine-tuned into two essential assessments. A bridging exam has been created by CompTIA for any person who have the previous qualification. 'BR-003' is the exam number. This would probably involve further study, although less so if you covered information on all four of the older examinations, and not just the minimum two. Clearly however the new technology content will have to be studied.

The 'Network+' 2009 exam is now known as N10-004, updating the previous 'N10-003'. A bigger importance is focused upon security in the 2009 N+ examination, alongside network-design and wireless networking. This obviously is in addition to the foremost elements of network-management & infrastructure.

Coming across job security nowadays is incredibly rare. Companies will remove us out of the workforce at a moment's notice - as and when it suits them. It's possible though to find market-level security, by searching for areas that have high demand, tied with shortages of trained staff.

The most recent national e-Skills analysis demonstrated that twenty six percent of all available IT positions haven't been filled as an upshot of a lack of properly qualified workers. Therefore, for every four jobs that exist in IT, companies are only able to find properly accredited workers for three of the four. This one notion on its own is the backbone of why Great Britain urgently requires so many more new trainees to join the IT sector. Quite simply, retraining in Information Technology during the next year or two is very likely the best career choice you could ever make.