Trainees looking at this market are often very practical, and won't enjoy sitting at a desk in class, and endless reading of dry academic textbooks. If this is putting you off studying, try the newer style of interactive study, where learning is video-based. Research over recent years has always demonstrated that getting into our studies physically, is far more likely to produce long-lasting memories.

Interactive audio-visual materials featuring instructor demo's and practice lab's beat books hands-down. And they're far more fun. You'll definitely want a look at some courseware examples from the school that you're considering. You'll want to see demo's from instructors, slideshows and interactive labs where you get to practice.

It's folly to select online only courseware. Connection quality and reliability varies hugely across all internet service providers, make sure you get CD or DVD ROM based materials.

Of course, Digital or Computer Forensics is a newer expression that has been popularised through Television shows such as "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation". The actual reality of Digital forensics is very much less glamorised than pictured in these programmes (obviously!) However for many, it offers a very interesting and satisfying career in technology based analysis. The work involves searching for & interpreting 'digital footprints' for use in data recovery or legal enquiries.

Along with Security and Computer Forensics the to some extent new role of 'Ethical Hacking' is emerging. These are accreditations provided through the EC Council which teach advanced candidates the darker principles of hacking - but with the intention of employing these competencies to protect & raise the security of a system, rather than damage it.

If you happen to be especially interested in 'Messaging' or Security, then MS have speciality MCSEs on offer to address these options. It might be that CompTIA Security+ would be best for you, in order to move on to the 'CISSP' - Certified Information Systems Security Professional. There are strict 'experience' requirements for the CISSP, and these need discussing & getting to grips with before you decide to go along this track. Discussing your needs with our industry advisors will shed more light on everything for you.

If you are aiming to progress a career in I.T., start by gaining a certain amount of networking expertise. You need to understand the way PC's operate & connect with one another before you consider anything else. Presuming a rudimentary level of IT user skills, (read the general I.T. Training sections if not,) the recommended starting place is nearly always 'CompTIA' A+ and 'Network+' . They're included within the CompTIA pages of this web site.

Moving on from this level you can look at the Microsoft 'MCSA'/'MCSE' or the Cisco 'CCNA'/'CCNP', according to whether you're pursuing the hardware or software end of things. That said, MS boasts a high penetration within the majority of network environments, therefore an in-depth understanding of their software is extremely relevant whatever your specialisation. As before, you will find details about each qualification on the actual 'Cisco' and Microsoft sections of the web site.

On the other hand, you may choose to carry on down the vendor neutral route with more 'CompTIA' certification (for example Linux+ , Server+ & Security+ ) or even have a go at the wireless ('Wi-Fi') side of things by taking the CWNP/CWNA.

CompTIA Networking Support Self-Paced Multimedia Commercial PC Certification Training >>