In total, there are 2 A+ examinations and study sections, and your requirement is to get certified in both of these to qualify for your A+. Once you start your A+ computer training course you'll be taught how to work in antistatic conditions and build and fix computers. Diagnostic techniques and fault finding are also on the syllabus, as is remote access. Should you fancy yourself as someone who is a member of a large organisation - fixing and supporting networks, build on A+ with Network+, or consider the Microsoft networking route (MCSA - MCSE) to give you a wider knowledge of the way networks operate.

One fatal mistake that many potential students make is to choose a career based on a course, rather than starting with the end result they want to achieve. Schools are full of unaware students that chose an 'interesting' course - instead of the program that would surely get them the job they want. It's quite usual, for instance, to obtain tremendous satisfaction from a year of studying only to end up putting 20 long years into a tiresome job role, as an upshot of not doing the correct level of soul-searching when you should've - at the outset.

Make sure you investigate your leanings around earning potential and career progression, and if you're ambitious or not. You need to know what will be expected of you, what particular qualifications are needed and how you'll gain real-world experience. Have a chat with someone who has a commercial understanding of the realities faced in the industry, and who'll explain to you an in-depth explanation of what you actually do in that role. Getting to the bottom of all this long before starting out on a retraining path makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?

Beginning with the understanding that it's necessary to choose the job we want to do first, before we can mull over which career training would meet that requirement, how do we know the correct route? Perusing a list of IT job-titles is no use whatsoever. The vast majority of us don't really appreciate what our next-door neighbours do at work each day - so what chance do we have in understanding the ins and outs of a particular IT career. The key to answering this question appropriately lies in a thorough conversation around several areas:

* Your personality type plus what interests you - what kind of working tasks you enjoy or dislike.

* Is your focus to get qualified due to a particular reason - for example, is it your goal to work at home (maybe self-employment?)?

* Does salary have a higher place on your priority-scale than other requirements.

* Learning what typical job areas and sectors are - plus how they're different to each other.

* The level of commitment and effort you will commit getting qualified.

Ultimately, the only real way of understanding everything necessary is through an in-depth discussion with an advisor that knows the industry well enough to be able to guide you.

Often, trainers provide a shelf full of reference manuals. Learning like this is dull and repetitive and not really conducive to studying effectively. If we're able to study while utilising as many senses as possible, our results will often be quite spectacular.

Interactive audio-visual materials utilising video demo's and practice lab's will beat books every time. And you'll find them fun and interesting. It's imperative to see examples of the study materials provided by any company that you may want to train through. You'll want to see that they include video demo's and interactive elements such as practice lab's.

It is generally unwise to choose training that is only available online. With highly variable reliability and quality from most broadband providers, it makes sense to have disc based courseware (On CD or DVD).

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