Just ten percent of adults in this country are happy with what they do for a living. The vast majority of course won't do a thing. The fact that you've got this far at least indicates that you've realised change must come.

On the subject of training, it's essential that you first make a list of your requirements from the career you'd like to train for. Ensure that you would be more satisfied before much time and effort is spent re-directing your life. So much better to look at the end goal first, to make the right judgements:

• Would you like to work with others? If so, do you want a team or are you hoping to meet new people? Maybe you'd rather be left alone to get on with things?

• Have you given much thought to which area you maybe could work in? (With the economic downturn, it's even more crucial to choose well.)

• Is this the final time you envisage re-training, and if it is, do you believe this career choice will service that need?

• Do you think being qualified will make it easier to get a good job, and stay employable until your retirement plans kick in?

It's important that your number one choice is Information Technology - it's common knowledge that it's getting bigger. IT isn't all techie people staring at computers the whole time - it's true those roles do exist, but most jobs are done by people like you and me who are earning rather well.

Finding job security nowadays is very unusual. Companies often throw us out of the workplace at a moment's notice - whenever it suits. Security can now only exist through a rapidly growing marketplace, fuelled by a shortfall of trained staff. It's this shortage that creates the correct background for a secure market - a far better situation.

The 2006 United Kingdom e-Skills survey demonstrated that over 26 percent of all IT positions available haven't been filled mainly due to an appallingly low number of appropriately certified professionals. Basically, we can't properly place more than just three out of each four job positions in Information Technology (IT). This single reality alone clearly demonstrates why the country desperately needs so many more people to enter the IT industry. In reality, gaining new qualifications in IT over the years to come is very likely the safest career move you'll ever make.

Commercial qualifications are now, very visibly, taking over from the traditional routes into IT - so why is this the case? Vendor-based training (to use industry-speak) is more effective in the commercial field. Industry has acknowledged that specialisation is necessary to handle a technologically complex world. Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA are the dominant players. Vendor training works by focusing on the skills that are really needed (alongside a proportionate degree of related knowledge,) instead of spending months and years on the background detail and 'fluff' that degrees in computing often do (to fill up a syllabus or course).

Just like the advert used to say: 'It does what it says on the tin'. Employers simply need to know what areas need to be serviced, and then request applicants with the correct exam numbers. Then they know that anyone who applies can do the necessary work.

One feature offered by some training providers is job placement assistance. It's intention is to assist your search for your first position. Don't get caught up in this feature - it's quite easy for training companies to overplay it. Ultimately, the huge shortage of staff in the United Kingdom is the reason you'll find a job.

Having said that, it's important to have help with your CV and interview techniques though; and we'd recommend everyone to work on polishing up their CV the day they start training - don't delay until you've qualified. You may not have got to the stage where you've passed your first exam when you will get your initial junior support role; although this won't be the case if your CV isn't in front of employers. The most efficient companies to help you find a job are most often specialist independent regional recruitment consultancies. As they will get paid by the employer when they've placed you, they have the necessary incentive to try that bit harder.

A common grievance of some training companies is how much trainees are focused on studying to become certified, but how un-prepared they are to work on getting the job they're qualified for. Have confidence - the IT industry needs YOU.

Considering how a program is 'delivered' to you can often be overlooked. How is the courseware broken down? And in what sequence and at what speed is it delivered? Trainees may consider it sensible (with training often lasting 2 or 3 years to pass all the required exams,) that a training provider will issue a single section at a time, as you achieve each exam pass. Although: Students often discover that their training company's usual training route isn't ideal for them. You may find that a different order of study is more expedient. And what if you don't get to the end within their exact timetable?

In a perfect world, you'd get ALL the training materials right at the beginning - enabling you to have them all for the future to come back to - irrespective of any schedule. This also allows you to vary the order in which you attack each section where a more intuitive path can be found.

There are a myriad of work available in the IT industry. Deciding which one could be right for yourself is generally problematic. After all, if you don't have any background in the IT market, what chance is there for you to know what some particular IT person actually does day-to-day? How can you possibly choose which accreditation path is the most likely for ultimate success. The key to answering this quandary properly comes from a deep discussion of several areas:

• Which type of person you think yourself to be - the tasks that you get enjoyment from, plus of course - what you definitely don't enjoy.

• Are you hoping to get qualified for a precise raison d'etre - i.e. is it your goal to work based at home (self-employment possibly?)?

• Is your income higher on your wish list than other requirements.

• Learning what typical career roles and sectors are - including what sets them apart.

• The time and energy you're prepared to spend on your training.

In these situations, the only way to seek advice on these matters tends to be through a good talk with an advisor or professional who understands the IT industry (and more importantly the commercial needs.)