A fraction of the working population in the UK today are pleased and contented with their working life. Of course, most won't do a thing. You've reached this paragraph, which at a minimum indicates that you're considering or may be ready for a change.

It's advisable to get some help before you start - talk to a knowledgeable person; someone who'll give you career advice based on what works best for you, and offer only the career tracks which will get you there:

• Is collaborating with others important to you? Would you prefer to work with a small team or with many new people? Perhaps working alone in isolation would give you pleasure?

• Building and Banking are facing difficulties at the moment, so think carefully about the sector that will answer your needs?

• Once you've qualified, are you hoping your new skills will give you the ability to take you through to retirement?

• Is it important for the course you're re-training in to be in an area where you believe you'll have a job until your pension kicks in?

We would advise you to have a good look at Information Technology - there are more roles than employees, and it's one of the few choices of career where the market sector is on the grow. Contrary to what some people believe, IT isn't all techie people looking at screens every day (though those jobs exist.) The vast majority of roles are done by average folk who like receiving larger than average salaries.

One feature that many training companies provide is a Job Placement Assistance program. This is to steer you into your first IT role. The need for this feature can be bigged up out of proportion though - it isn't unusual for companies marketing departments to make it sound harder than it is. Ultimately, the massive skills shortage in the UK is the reason you'll find a job.

Update your CV at the beginning of your training though - you should get plenty of help from your training provider on this. Don't procrastinate and leave it until you've graduated or passed any exams. Having the possibility of an interview is far better than not even being known about. A decent number of junior support roles are given to people (sometimes when they've only just got going.) The top companies to help you find a job are most often specialist locally based employment services. Because they make their money when they've found you a job, they have the necessary incentive to try that bit harder.

Do ensure you don't conscientiously work through your course materials, then call a halt and imagine someone else is miraculously going to land you a job. Take responsibility for yourself and make your own enquiries. Invest the same energy and enthusiasm into getting your new role as it took to get qualified.

The age-old way of teaching, using textbooks and whiteboards, is an up-hill struggle for the majority of us. If you're nodding as you read this, look for learning programmes that are multimedia based. If we're able to involve all our senses in the learning process, then we normally see dramatically better results.

You can now study via interactive discs. By watching and listening to instructors on video tutorials you'll take everything in by way of the expert demonstrations. Knowledge can then be tested by practicing and interacting with the software. You really need to look at some example materials from each company you're contemplating. They have to utilise video demo's and interactive elements such as practice lab's.

Go for disc based courseware (On CD or DVD) where possible. You can then avoid all the difficulties of the variability of broadband quality and service.

Speak with any skilled consultant and you'll be surprised by their many awful tales of students who've been conned by dodgy salespeople. Stick to an experienced professional that quizzes you to find out what's right for you - not for their pay-packet! It's very important to locate an ideal starting-point that fits you. Of course, if you've had any relevant accreditation or direct-experience, then you can sometimes expect to begin at a different level to someone new to the industry. Always consider starting with a user-skills course first. Starting there can make the slope up to the higher-levels a little less steep.

Make sure that all your certifications are current and commercially required - don't even consider courses which lead to some in-house certificate (which is as useless as if you'd printed it yourself). From an employer's viewpoint, only top businesses such as Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA or Adobe (to give some examples) will open the right doors. Nothing else makes the grade.