Adding in the cost of exam fees as an inclusive element of the package price and offering an 'Exam Guarantee' is popular with a good many training companies. But let's examine why they really do it:

Clearly it's not free - you are paying for it - it's just been included in your package price. For those who want to qualify first 'go', then you should avoid exam guarantees and pay when entering exams, give it the priority it deserves and apply yourself as required.

Go for the best offer you can find when you're ready, and keep hold of your own money. You'll then be able to select where you sit the exam - meaning you can choose a local testing centre. Paying in advance for exams (plus interest - if you're financing your study) is a false economy. It's not your job to boost the training company's account with extra money of yours just to give them a good cash-flow! A lot bank on the fact that you will never make it to exams - so they get to keep the extra funds. Additionally, exam guarantees often have very little value. Many training companies will not pay for re-takes until you're able to demonstrate an excellent mock pass rate.

Average exam fees were about 112 pounds in the last 12 months via local VUE or Pro-metric centres throughout the country. So why pay hundreds or thousands of pounds extra to get 'an Exam Guarantee', when it's obvious that the best guarantee is a regular, committed, study programme, with an accredited exam preparation system.

With the correct high quality of training-materials and twenty four hour support, plus authorised examination simulation software, an 'MCSA' ought to take approximately 300 to maybe 350 hrs to complete, & an MCSE around 500 - 550 hours. And so with experience you might complete all of them in roughly 8-12 months learning part time. Having said that, if you're coming to the industry with no past certification, then the standard starting-point will be 'Comptia' A+ & Network+. You will discover particulars of these training-tracks on the 'Comptia' pages of this website. Add on about 200 hours of training time, which will probably take a minimum of six months part-time.

One area often overlooked by trainees weighing up a particular programme is 'training segmentation'. This basically means the breakdown of the materials for drop-shipping to you, which can make a dramatic difference to what you end up with. Training companies will normally offer a program typically taking 1-3 years, and courier the materials in pieces as you complete each exam. This sounds reasonable until you consider the following: What happens when you don't complete every section? What if you don't find their order of learning is ideal for you? Because of nothing that's your fault, you mightn't complete everything fast enough and not get all the study materials as a result.

To be honest, the best option is to have their ideal 'order' of training laid out, but to receive all the materials up-front. Everything is then in your possession should you not complete it within their ideal time-table.

Don't get hung-up, as a lot of students can, on the training course itself. Your training isn't about getting a plaque on your wall; you're training to become commercially employable. You need to remain focused on where you want to go. It's quite usual, for example, to obtain tremendous satisfaction from a year of studying and then find yourself trapped for decades in a job you hate, as a consequence of not performing the correct level of soul-searching at the outset.

Spend some time thinking about earning potential and what level of ambition fits you. Often, this changes what particular exams will be required and how much effort you'll have to give in return. As a precursor to beginning a learning programme, you'd be well advised to talk through the exact career requirements with a professional advisor, so as to be sure the training course covers everything needed.

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