In first place for the biggest issue to be got round for IT students is a requirement to attend multiple workshop days. Most training companies harp on about the 'benefits' of going in to their classes, but most students end up finding them a growing difficulty due to:

- Multiple round journeys - sometimes 100's of miles.

- Weekday only access with workshops is usual, and with two or three days required at a time, this can be difficult for many working people.

- Lost holiday days - the majority of employed people get just four weeks holiday each year. If you use up half of that with study days, you haven't got a great deal of holiday time remaining for students and their families.

- 'In-Centre' days often end up overly large as well.

- Tension is often caused in the classroom as the right pace for one student is not the same as another.

- Quite a lot of students speak about the high (and unexpected) costs associated with getting transport to and from the facility while covering the cost of accommodation and food can get very expensive.

- Do you really want the possibility of getting ignored for a lift up the ladder or pay-rises because you're getting trained in a different area.

- Most of us find that, at times, it's uncomfortable to raise questions when surrounded by our fellow trainees - because none of us wants to look like we don't understand.

- There are those of us who on occasion work elsewhere in the country for several days at a time, think of the now-increased trouble of getting to the required workshops, when time-off becomes even harder to obtain.

For a far more flexible approach, employ pre-made lessons wherever you want to take them - studying at your own pace, when it suits you - not anybody else. You could study at home on your PC or out in the garden on your laptop. If you've got questions, then logon to the 24x7 support facility (that you should have insisted on for any technical study.) Note-taking is a thing of the past - all the lessons are prepared and laid out for you - ready to go. And if you want to repeat anything, just go for it. Put simply: Time and money is saved, you have reduced hassle and you avoid killing more trees.

For you to successfully earn your 'MCSA' qualification, there are four MCP ('Microsoft Certified Professional') exams you must pass. Of these, three exams are 'core' subjects and so have to be sat, but the fourth is selected from a range of so called 'electives'. An additional elective in the group is the 'Comptia' Security+ , which is increasingly picked by a lot of trainees rather than a 4th 'MCP'. With the MCSE there's now increased importance placed on security from an 'organisational' perspective, systems planning, & network design. There are actually 7 'MCP' exams in total.

Get rid of a salesperson who pushes one particular program without a decent chat to assess your abilities and also your level of experience. Make sure they can draw from a large stable of training programs from which they could give you a program that suits you.. If you have a strong background, or even a touch of real-world experience (some industry qualifications maybe?) then it's likely the point from which you begin your studies will be different from a trainee who has no experience. For those students beginning IT exams and training anew, it can be helpful to ease in gradually, starting with some basic PC skills training first. This can be built into any study program.

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