Congratulations! Discovering this piece proves you must be contemplating your career, and if training for a new career’s in your mind then you’ve already got further than most others. Can you believe that a small minority of us are satisfied and happy at work – but the majority won’t do a thing about it. We implore you to break free and make a start – don’t you think you deserve it.

When considering retraining, it’s important that you first make a list of what you want and don’t want from the position you would like to get. Ensure that a new career would suit you better before you put a lot of energy into changing the direction of your life. We recommend looking at the big picture first, to avoid disappointment:

* Do you see yourself dealing with people? Would that be with a small ‘tightly-knit’ team or with a lot of new people? Maybe working on your own with your own methodology may be your preference?

* Building and Banking are not coping well at the moment, so think carefully about the sector that would suit you best?

* Once you’ve qualified, are you hoping your new skills will give you the ability to see you to retirement age?

* Would you like your training course to be in an area where you believe you’ll remain employable until your pension kicks in?

It’s important that one of your key sectors is Information Technology – it’s common knowledge that it’s developing all the time. It’s not all nerdy people looking at computer screens constantly – it’s true some IT jobs demand that, but the majority of roles are filled with Joe averages who do very well out of it.

Many certification companies are still maintaining the slightly musty old method of in-centre classes. Usually touted as a major benefit, after discussion with someone who has first-hand experience, you’ll find them listing some or all of the following problems:

* Lots of round journeys – often hundreds of miles each and every time.

* For those of us that work, then Mon-Fri events represent a difficulty in getting time off. You’re usually having to deal with 2-3 days at a time as well.

* If we get 20 days holiday per year, sacrificing half of them for training events means we’ll be hard-pushed to get a holiday with our families.

* Because of the cost involved, a lot of schools really push the size of the class – certainly not ideal (and much less personal).

* Some trainees lean towards a pace that is different to the other class members. Often this can bring about tension in the class.

* Most attendees talk of the high costs involved with all the travelling back and forth to the training school whilst paying for accommodation and food gets very high.

* We all enjoy our privacy. We don’t want to risk throwing away any potential advancement that we’re owed while we retrain.

* Posing questions in front of other class-mates will often make any one of us feel nervous. Have you ever left a question un-asked just because you didn’t want to look foolish?

* If you on occasion work elsewhere in the country for several days at a time, imagine the increased difficulty in reaching the necessary events, when time is at a premium.

It would be better to simply watch and study with industry specialists one-to-one through pre-made modules, studying them when it suits you – not somebody else.

Training can take place wherever it suits you. If your PC is a laptop, take in some sun outside while you learn. If you have any problems then make use of the 24×7 support.

It really doesn’t matter how often you would like to re-take a quiz or test, on-screen teachers can never get frustrated with you! And don’t forget, with this method, note-taking is gone forever. Everything is already there for you.

Could it get any simpler: No wasted time or money, travelling is avoided; and you end up with a more comfortable study setting.

Considering the amount of options that are available, is it any wonder that the majority of trainees don’t really understand the best career path they will follow.

How can we possibly grasp the tasks faced daily in an IT career when we’ve never done it? Maybe we don’t know someone who works in that sector anyway.

To attack this, we need to discuss a number of unique issues:

* Which type of person you consider yourself to be – what kind of jobs you really enjoy, plus of course – what you definitely don’t enjoy.

* Are you aiming to pull off a specific aim – for instance, working from home as quickly as possible?

* Your earning needs you may have?

* There are many markets to choose from in IT – it’s wise to get some key facts on what separates them.

* It’s wise to spend some time thinking about what kind of effort and commitment you’ll put into your training.

When all is said and done, the best way of investigating all this is via a meeting with an advisor or professional who has enough background to provide solid advice.

(C) 2009. Pop over to LearningLolly.com for smart ideas on Making Humour Work and IT Career Outlines.