All of us are short of time, and most often should we have cause to advance our future prospects, getting educated in addition to a 40 hour week is our best way forward. Microsoft authorised training can fill that gap. Try to review all your options with a person who has knowledge of the commercial needs of the market, and can influence your choice of the more likely roles to suit your personality. Once you've decided on the career track for you, an appropriate course has to be picked that's goes with your current skills and aptitude. This can be personally tailored for your needs.

The area most overlooked by people mulling over a new direction is the concept of 'training segmentation'. Basically, this means the breakdown of the materials for drop-shipping to you, which can make a dramatic difference to what you end up with. Typically, you will purchase a course staged over 2 or 3 years and receive one element at a time until graduation. It seems to make sense on one level, but consider these issues: What if you find the order pushed by the company's salespeople doesn't suit all of us. What if you find it hard to complete all the elements inside their defined time-scales?

Truth be told, the perfect answer is to obtain their recommendation on the best possible order of study, but to receive all the materials up-front. It's then all yours in the event you don't complete everything at their required pace.

Incorporating examination fees as an inclusive element of the package price and offering an 'Exam Guarantee' is a common method with a number of training colleges. Consider the facts:

You'll pay for it by some means. One thing's for sure - it isn't free - they've simply charged more for the whole training package. We all want to pass first time. Going for exams when it's appropriate and paying for them just before taking them has a marked effect on pass-rates - you take it seriously and are aware of the costs involved.

Hold on to your money and pay for the exam at the appropriate time, and hang on to your cash. You also get more choice of where you do the examinations - which means you can stay local. Including money in your training package for examination fees (and if you're financing your study there'll be interest on that) is madness. Resist being talked into filling the training company's account with your money only to please their Bank Manager! Some will be pinning their hopes on the fact that you will never make it to exams - so they don't need to pay for them. Additionally, many exam guarantees are worthless. The majority of organisations won't be prepared to pay for you to re-take until you've completely satisfied them that you're ready this time.

Exam fees averaged around the 112 pounds mark last year when taken at UK VUE or Prometric centres. So why pay hundreds or thousands of pounds extra for 'Exam Guarantees', when any student knows that what's really needed is study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams.

Ignore any salesman who just tells you what course you should do without an in-depth conversation to better understand your current abilities as well as experience level. Ensure that they have a wide-enough stable of training programs so they can give you a program that suits you.. If you've got any live experience or qualifications, you may find that your starting point is not the same as someone new to the industry. Consider starting with some basic user skills first. This can help whip your basic knowledge into shape and make the slope up to the higher-levels a much easier going.

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