If you'd like an excellent career in supporting networks then the Microsoft MCSA (Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator) course would be right for you. Whether you're about to get started in the industry or already have knowledge but need a professional certificate, a number of options are available to suit your requirements. To pass at the level of MCSA there are four MCP's (Microsoft Certified Professional exams) needed to be passed. If this is your first entry into computing exams, it's likely you'll need to have some coaching before studying for the 4 MCP's. Search for a training organisation that can identify the right way to tackle your goal and can match your current skills to the right level of course.

Consider the points below in detail if you think that old marketing ploy of an 'Exam Guarantee' sounds great value:

They've allowed costings for it somehow. It's definitely not free - they've just worked it into the package price. Passing first time is everyone's goal. Taking your exams progressively when it's appropriate and paying as you go sees you much better placed to get through first time - you revise thoroughly and are conscious of what you've spent.

Do the examinations at a local pro-metric testing centre and don't pay up-front, but seek out the best deal for you when you're ready. Is there a good reason to pay interest on a bigger loan than is necessary because you've paid early for examinations when there was no need to? Huge profits are netted by organisations getting paid upfront for exams - and then cashing in when they're not all taken. Remember, with most 'Exam Guarantees' - the company decides when you are allowed to do a re-take. Subsequent exam attempts are only authorised at the company's say so.

The cost of exams was around the 112 pounds mark last year via VUE or Pro-metric centres in the UK. So don't be talked into shelling out hundreds or thousands of pounds more to get 'an Exam Guarantee', when common sense dictates that the most successful method is consistent and systematic learning, coupled with quality exam simulation software.

Does job security honestly exist anywhere now? Here in the UK, where business constantly changes its mind whenever it suits, it certainly appears not. But a fast growing sector, where there just aren't enough staff to go round (because of a growing shortfall of trained professionals), provides a market for lasting job security.

Offering the computing industry as an example, the last e-Skills survey brought to light a skills deficit around the UK of around 26 percent. Meaning that for each four job positions existing around the computer industry, there are only 3 trained people to fill that need. This one fact in itself clearly demonstrates why the country urgently requires a lot more new trainees to become part of the IT industry. While the market is evolving at such a quick pace, there really isn't any other market worth considering for a new career.

Ensure all your certifications are current and what employers are looking for - don't bother with courses which end up with a useless in-house certificate or plaque. The main industry leaders such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco or Adobe have nationally recognised skills courses. These big-hitters will ensure your employability.