CompTIA A + has a total of four exams and sections to study, but your only requirement is to get certified in 2 to be considered A+ competent. For this reason, a great number of colleges restrict their course to just 2 areas. Yet learning about all 4 will help you to build a much wider knowledge and understanding of it all, which you'll come to realise is essential in professional employment.

Training courses in A+ cover diagnostics and fault finding - remotely as well as hands on, as well as building and fixing and operating in antistatic conditions. Should you want to work towards maintaining networks, add the excellent Network+ to your A+ course. Including Network+ will mean you can assist you greatly in the job market. You may also want to consider the route to networking via Microsoft, in the form of MCP's, MCSA or the full MCSE.

Adding in the cost of examinations as an inclusive element of the package price then giving it 'Exam Guarantee' status is common for a number of training colleges. However, let's consider what's really going on:

It's very clear we're still footing the bill for it - it's obviously already been included in the overall price charged by the training provider. Certainly, it's not a freebie - and it's insulting that we're supposed to think it is! It's everybody's ambition to qualify on the first attempt. Going for exams one by one and paying as you go sees you much better placed to get through first time - you take it seriously and are conscious of what you've spent.

Isn't it in your interests to hold on to your money and pay for the exam at the appropriate time, not to pay the fees marked up by the training course provider, and to do it in a local testing office - instead of the remote centre that's convenient only to the trainer? A surprising number of so-called credible training course providers net huge amounts of money because they're getting paid for exams at the start of the course then banking on the fact that many won't be taken. Remember, with 'Exam Guarantees' from most places - the company decides when you can do your re-takes. You will have to demonstrate an excellent pass-rate before they'll approve a re-take.

Exam fees averaged approximately 112 pounds last year through VUE or Pro-metric centres in the UK. So what's the point of paying maybe a thousand pounds extra for 'an Exam Guarantee', when it's obvious that what's really needed is study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams.

OK, why should we consider commercially accredited qualifications as opposed to familiar academic qualifications gained through the state educational establishments? With the costs of academic degree's becoming a tall order for many, and the industry's growing opinion that corporate based study is closer to the mark commercially, there has been a big surge in Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe authorised training programmes that supply key solutions to a student for much less time and money. Clearly, a certain quantity of background knowledge needs to be taught, but core specialised knowledge in the particular job function gives a vendor educated person a real head start.

In simple terms: Accredited IT qualifications provide exactly what an employer needs - everything they need to know is in the title: for example, I am a 'Microsoft Certified Professional' in 'Planning and Maintaining a Windows 2003 Infrastructure'. Consequently employers can identify just what their needs are and what certifications are required to perform the job.

It's usual for students to get confused with a single courseware aspect which is often not even considered: How the training is broken down and couriered to your address. Often, you'll enrol on a course that takes between and 1 and 3 years and get sent one module each time you pass an exam. This may seem sensible until you think about these factors: What if you find the order offered by the provider doesn't suit. You may find it a stretch to finalise all the modules at the speed required?

To provide the maximum security and flexibility, it's not unusual for students to have all their training materials (which they've now paid for) posted to them in one go, with nothing held back. You can then decide how fast or slow and in what order you want to work.