By Jason Kendall

Should you be interested in training in Cisco, a CCNA is in all probability what you'll need. Training in Cisco is intended for individuals who want to learn about routers and network switches. Routers are what connect computer networks to different computer networks over the internet or dedicated lines.

Because routers are linked to networks, look for a course that includes basic networking skills - perhaps Network+ and A+, before you start a CCNA. It's essential to have a basic grasp of networks before you commence any Cisco training or the chances are you'll fall behind. Once qualified and looking for work, employers will be looking for networking skills in addition to the CCNA.

Getting your Cisco CCNA is the right level to aim for; at this stage avoid being tempted to do the CCNP. After gaining experience in the working environment, you'll know whether CCNP is something you want to do. If you decide to become more qualified, you'll have the knowledge you need to tackle the CCNP - which is quite a hard qualification to acquire - and shouldn't be looked upon as otherwise.

A fatal Faux-Pas that we encounter all too often is to concentrate on the course itself, and take their eye off the end result they want to achieve. Training academies are stacked to the hilt with direction-less students who chose a course based on what sounded good - in place of something that could gain them an enjoyable career or job.

It's a testament to the marketing skills of the big companies, but a great many students begin programs that seem great in the sales literature, but which provides the end-result of a job that doesn't satisfy. Talk to many university students for examples.

Stay focused on where you want to go, and then build your training requirements around that - don't do it the other way round. Keep on track and begin studying for something that'll reward you for many long and fruitful years.

It's good advice for all students to talk with highly experienced advisors before they embark on a learning course. This helps to ensure it features what is required for the chosen career.

Have you recently questioned how safe your job is? For most of us, this issue only becomes a talking point when something dramatic happens to shake us. Unfortunately, the lesson often learned too late is that true job security doesn't really exist anymore, for nearly everyone now.

We're able though to find security at the market sector level, by probing for areas in high demand, tied with a shortage of skilled staff.

Recently, a national e-Skills study showed that more than 26 percent of all IT positions available remain unfilled because of an appallingly low number of trained staff. Meaning that for each four job positions available in Information Technology (IT), we've only got three properly trained pro's to fulfil that role.

This one notion alone highlights why the UK urgently requires many more new trainees to become part of the IT industry.

Quite simply, seeking in-depth commercial IT training as you progress through the years to come is likely the best career choice you could ever make.

The way in which your courseware is broken down for you is often missed by many students. How many parts is the training broken down into? What is the order and how fast does each element come?

Training companies will normally offer some sort of program spread over 1-3 years, and deliver each piece one-by-one as you finish each section. If you think this sound logical, then consider this:

What if you don't finish every section? And what if you find the order of the modules counter-intuitive? Through no fault of your own, you mightn't complete everything fast enough and not get all the study materials as a result.

Ideally, you'd get ALL the training materials right at the beginning - meaning you'll have all of them to come back to in the future - irrespective of any schedule. Variations can then be made to the order that you attack each section if another more intuitive route presents itself.

Have a conversation with almost any expert consultant and we'd be amazed if they couldn't provide you with many awful tales of salespeople ripping-off unsuspecting students. Ensure you only ever work with a skilled professional who quizzes you to uncover the best thing for you - not for their pay-packet! You need to find the right starting point of study for you.

An important point to note is that, if you have some relevant work-experience or certification, then you can sometimes expect to pick-up at a different starting-point to a student who's starting from scratch.

For those students embarking on IT studies anew, it can be useful to avoid jumping in at the deep-end, by working on a user-skills course first. This is often offered with most accreditation programs.

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