In total, there are 4 A+ examinations and study sections, but you only have to get certified in 2 to be considered A+ competent. This is why a great number of colleges simply offer two. Yet learning about all 4 will help you to build a far deeper level of understanding of your subject, something you'll appreciate as a Godsend in the working environment.

As well as learning how to build PC's and fix them, students of A+ will be shown how to operate in antistatic conditions, how to fault find, to diagnose and to remotely access problems. Perhaps you see yourself as the person who is a member of a large organisation - in network support, add Network+ to your CompTIA A+, or consider the Microsoft networking route (MCSA - MCSE) to give you a deeper understanding of the way networks work.

The world of information technology is one of the more electrifying and revolutionary industries you could be involved with. To be working on the cutting-edge of technology is to do your bit in the gigantic changes shaping life over the next few decades. We've barely started to scrape the surface of how technology will influence everything we do. The internet will massively change how we view and interrelate with the entire world over the coming decades.

Wages in the IT sector aren't to be ignored either - the typical remuneration across the UK for the usual IT worker is much better than in the rest of the economy. Chances are you'll bring in a whole lot more than you'd expect to earn doing other work. The requirement for appropriately qualified IT professionals is guaranteed for a good while yet, because of the ongoing expansion in the marketplace and the huge deficiency that remains.

You'll come across courses which guarantee examination passes - they always involve paying for the exam fees up-front, at the very beginning of your studies. Before you jump at this so-called guarantee, consider this:

You're paying for it ultimately. It certainly isn't free - they've simply charged more for the whole training package. Those who go in for their examinations when it's appropriate, funding them as they go are much more likely to pass. They are aware of what they've paid and revise more thoroughly to ensure they are ready.

Isn't it outrageous to have to pay the training course provider at the start of the course for examination fees? Find the best exam deal or offer when you take the exam, rather than pay marked up fees - and take it closer to home - instead of miles away at the college's beck and call. Buying a course that includes payments for exams (which also includes interest if you've taken out a loan) is madness. Don't line companies bank accounts with additional funds only to please their Bank Manager! Some will be pinning their hopes on the fact that you will never make it to exams - then they'll keep the extra money. Re-takes of previously unsuccessful exams through training course providers who offer an 'Exam Guarantee' are monitored with tight restrictions. They will insist that you take pre-tests first till you've proven conclusively that you can pass.

On average, exams cost around the 112 pounds mark twelve months or so ago via local VUE or Pro-metric centres throughout the country. Therefore, why splash out often many hundreds of pounds extra to get 'an Exam Guarantee', when it's no secret that the best guarantee is a commitment to studying and the use of authorised exam preparation tools.

It only makes sense to consider training paths that lead to industry acknowledged qualifications. There are loads of small companies proposing unknown 'in-house' certificates that are essentially useless in the real world. If your certification doesn't come from a company like Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA or Cisco, then you may discover it won't be commercially viable - because it won't give an employer any directly-useable skills.