You should feel pleased that you've already got this far! Only one in ten folks claim contentment with their job, but most of us just bitch about it and take no action. The fact that you're here means it's likely that you're at least considering retraining, so well done to you. The next step is to discover where you want to go and get going.

On the subject of training, it's important that you have in mind your requirements from the career you're hoping to qualify for. You need to know that things would be a lot better before you put a lot of energy into taking a new turn. Prudence suggests looking at the end goal first, to avoid disappointment:

* Do you hope for interaction with others? If so, do you want a team or are you hoping to meet new people? Maybe you'd rather be left alone to get on with things?

* Do you have a preference which industry you maybe could work in? (With the economic downturn, it's vital to choose well.)

* Is this the final time you plan to retrain, and if it is, will this new career offer that choice?

* Do you want your training course to be in an industry where you're comfortable you will be able to work up to the time you want to stop?

We ask you to find out more about the IT industry - there are a larger number of roles than employees, because it's one of the few choices of career where the industry is expanding. Contrary to the beliefs of some, it isn't just geeks lost in their PC's the whole day (some jobs are like that of course.) Most positions are taken by ordinary men and women who like receiving larger than average salaries.

Watch out that all qualifications you're considering doing are commercially relevant and are up-to-date. The 'in-house' certifications provided by many companies are usually worthless. The main industry leaders like Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco or Adobe all have widely acknowledged skills courses. Major-league companies like these will give some sparkle to your CV.

The perhaps intimidating chore of getting your first role in IT can be made easier by training colleges, through a Job Placement Assistance programme. Often, this feature is bigged up too much, as it's really not that difficult for a well trained and motivated person to land work in IT - as employers are keen to find appropriately trained staff.

Ideally you should have advice and support about your CV and interviews though; and we'd recommend all students to work on polishing up their CV as soon as training commences - don't delay until you've graduated or passed any exams. Many junior support roles are offered to students who are in the process of training and have still to get qualified. This will at the very least get you into the 'maybe' pile of CV's - rather than the 'No' pile. You can usually expect quicker results from a specialist independent regional employment service than you'll get from a training provider's centralised service, because they will understand the local industry and employment needs.

Please ensure you don't spend hundreds of hours on your training and studies, and then just stop and expect somebody else to sort out your employment. Stand up for yourself and start looking for yourself. Invest as much energy and enthusiasm into securing a good job as you did to get trained.

CBT Home-Based Interactive Certification Training In CompTIA Network Plus >>