Well done! Hitting upon this feature proves you must be pondering over your options, and if you're considering retraining that means you've taken it further than the majority of people will. Are you aware that surprisingly few of us describe ourselves as satisfied and happy at work - yet most will take no corrective action. We encourage you to be different and move forward - you have the rest of your life to enjoy it.

We'd politely request that in advance of taking any individual training program, you have a conversation with someone who knows the industry and can give you advice. Such a person will go through personality profiling with you and give you guidance on the right role for you:

* Do you hope for interaction with others? If so, do you want a team or do you want to meet lots of new people? Maybe you'd rather be left alone to get on with things?

* Have you given much thought to which area you choose to work in? (These days, it's even more crucial to choose carefully.)

* Is this the final time you imagine you'll re-train, and based on that, will this new career service that need?

* Do you expect your new knowledge base to make it easier to find new work easily, and remain in employment until you choose to stop?

Think about the IT industry, that will be time well spent - it's one of the only market sectors still on the grow in this country and overseas. Salaries are also more generous than most.

Several companies offer a Job Placement Assistance program, designed to steer you into your first job. Often, too much is made of this feature, for it is genuinely quite straightforward for a well trained and motivated person to secure work in the IT industry - as employers are keen to find appropriately trained staff.

However, don't leave it until you have completed your exams before polishing up your CV. As soon as your training commences, mark down what you're doing and get promoting! Quite frequently, you'll secure your initial job whilst you're still studying (even when you've just left first base). If your course details aren't on your CV (and it isn't in the hands of someone with jobs to offer) then you aren't even in the running! If you'd like to keep travelling time and costs to a minimum, then you'll often find that a local (but specialised) recruitment consultancy can generally be of more use than a national service, due to the fact that they're far more likely to have insider knowledge of local employment needs.

Many trainees, apparently, invest a great deal of time on their training course (for years sometimes), and just give up when it comes to trying to get their first job. Market yourself... Do everything you can to put yourself out there. Don't think a job's just going to jump out in front of you.

Consider the facts below in detail if you believe the sales ploy of a guarantee for your exam looks like a reason to buy:

We all know that we're still being charged for it - obviously it has been added into the overall price charged by the course provider. It's absolutely not free (it's just marketing companies think we'll fall for anything they say!) Qualifying on the first 'go' is what everyone wants to do. Taking your exams progressively one at a time and funding them one at a time puts you in a much stronger position to qualify at the first attempt - you prepare appropriately and think carefully about the costs.

Isn't it in your interests to not pay up-front, but at the time, not to pay the fees marked up by a college, and also to sit exams more locally - instead of the remote centre that's convenient only to the trainer? Buying a course that includes payments for examinations (plus interest - if you're financing your study) is insane. It's not your job to boost the training company's account with additional funds just to give them more interest! Some will be pinning their hopes on the fact that you won't get to do them all - then they'll keep the extra money. Many training companies will insist on pre-tests and not allow you to re-take an exam until you've completely proven that you're likely to pass - which actually leaves you with no guarantee at all.

VUE and Prometric examinations are around 112 pounds in this country. Students should be very wary of forking out hundreds of pounds extra in 'Exam Guarantee' costs (often hidden in the cost) - when the best course materials, the right level of support and exam preparation systems and a dose of commitment and effort are what's required.

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