CompTIA A+ consists of 4 training sections; you're considered A+ competent once you've passed your exams for two of the four areas. For this reason, it's usual for colleges to offer only two of the training courses. You'll find that you will need the information on each subject as many positions will demand an understanding of the entire course. It's not essential to qualify in them all, but it seems common sense that you at least have a working knowledge of every area.

In addition to learning about the ins and outs of building and maintaining computers, trainees of A+ will have instruction on how to work in antistatic conditions, along with remote access, fault finding and diagnostics. It could be a good idea to think about adding Network+ training to your A+ as you'll then be in a position to take care of computer networks, which means greater employment benefits.

Working on the leading edge of new technology really is electrifying. You're involved with defining the world to come. We're in the very early stages of beginning to see just how technology will define our world. Technology and the web will significantly revolutionise how we see and interact with the world around us over the next few years.

If money is up there on your list of priorities, then you'll be happy to know that the average salary of most men and women in IT is significantly more than with other market sectors. As the IT industry keeps emerging nationally and internationally, it's predictable that the search for appropriately qualified IT professionals will continue actively for a good while yet.

Consider the following facts in detail if you're inclined to think the marketing blurb about a guarantee for your exam looks like a reason to buy:

We all know that we're still paying for it - it's not so hard to see that it's been added into the full cost of the package supplied by the college. Certainly, it's not a freebie (although some people will believe anything the marketing companies think up these days!) The fact is that when students fund each progressive exam, one after the other, there's a much better chance they'll get through on the first attempt - as they'll think of the cost and therefore will put more effort into their preparation.

Do your exams as locally as possible and look for the very best offer you can at the time. What's the point in paying early for exam fees when there was no need to? Huge profits are secured by training companies charging upfront for all their exams - and then cashing in when they're not all taken. In addition to this, 'Exam Guarantees' often aren't worth the paper they're written on. The majority of organisations won't pay for you to re-take until you're able to demonstrate an excellent mock pass rate.

Exam fees averaged approximately 112 pounds last year when taken at local VUE or Pro-metric centres throughout the country. So what's the point of paying maybe a thousand pounds extra to get 'an Exam Guarantee', when it's no secret that what's really needed is study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams.