If there's any chance you'll be enrolling with a training academy that is still pushing workshop days as a benefit of their course, then you should know about these hassles encountered by the majority of students:

- Many centre visits - sometimes 100's of miles or more.

- Workshop availability; usually Mon-Fri and sometimes 2-3 days at a time. It's never convenient to take the required leave of absence.

- And let's not overlook the lost holiday days. Usually we're lucky to have 4 weeks annual leave. If over 50 percent is used in classes, then there's very little left over for us.

- Classes can 'sell out' fast and can be very crammed in.

- Often students hope to push through at quite a pace, but some like to take it easier and not be forced to adopt an uncomfortable speed for them. This will often generate tension and difficulty a lot of the time.

- Take into account all of all the petrol, fares, food, accommodation and parking and you could be in for a major shock. Trainees have reported extra costs of hundreds to thousands of pounds over time. Work it out - and see for yourself.

- You should never risk any chance of getting passed-over for potential advancement or wage increases because your employer knows you're retraining.

- Every one of us must, at some time, have shied away from raising a hand in the air, because we didn't want to look stupid?

- Where students have to on occasion work elsewhere in the country for several days at a time, consider the added problems of travelling to the requisite events, when time-off becomes even harder to obtain.

An altogether more elegant solution is by viewing a filmed lesson - with instructor-led learning available at a time that's convenient to you alone. Whenever an ugly problem rears its head, make use of the 24x7 support (that should come with any technical program.) Don't forget, if you've got a laptop, you could study in breaks at work. Irrespective of how regularly you feel you need to repeat something, on-screen tutors aren't ever likely to rush you! And remember, because of this, note-taking is gone forever. Everything's laid out there for you. Put simply: You avoid a bunch of hassle, save money and time, and completely avoid killing more trees.

No doubt you'll already have worked out that understanding these qualification tracks is not so very simple. Its generally sensible to explore all of your plans with an experienced industry advisor, before you spend your money & buy what might look like a bargain course. There are some superb low cost programs available, and at the same time quite a number of high priced dreadful courses. The cost by itself isn't an effective method of judging a training course. Much more relevant is the quality of the training method (for instance is it multimedia?), the standard of help & support (is it really 24/7?) & how good is the exam prep software?

Accredited exam simulation and preparation packages are crucial - and absolutely ought to be offered by your training company. Due to the fact that a lot of examining boards for IT are from the USA, it's essential to understand how exam questions will be phrased and formatted. It's not sufficient merely going through the right questions - they must be in an exam format that exactly replicates the real thing. Simulated exams can be enormously valuable in helping you build your confidence - so when it comes to taking the real deal, you won't be worried.

Most trainers will only offer office hours or extended office hours support; not many go late into the evening (after 8-9pm) or cover weekends properly. You'll be waiting ages for an answer with email based support, and telephone support is usually to a call-centre who will take the information and email an instructor - who'll call back sometime over the next 1-3 days, when it's convenient to them. This is all next to useless if you're sitting there confused over an issue and have a one hour time-slot in which to study.

Top training providers utilise an online 24x7 system combining multiple support operations over many time-zones. You will be provided with an easy to use interface that accesses the most appropriate office at any time of day or night: Support on demand. Never settle for less than you need and deserve. Online 24x7 support is the only kind that ever makes the grade for IT courses. It's possible you don't intend to study late evenings; but for most of us, we're at work during the provided support period.