Generally, the kick off point for a complete novice, who simply would like to acquire a basic idea of how to get more from their computer, is the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence). Almost all home computers carry a system referred to as "Windows", and your "ECDL" teaches how you can run it's basic components. Also it teaches how to get onto the net, so you can utilise e-mail to send and receive correspondence, and search the world wide web. You will also be taught the basics of word processing and a little about what databases & spreadsheets are generally used for.

The next level is to gain a bit more formalised training to improve your Resume or get you prepared for extra functions at work. A specialist working knowledge of Microsoft 'Office' would be your next reasonable move. The most useful professional qualifications teaching 'Office' are Microsoft 'Office Specialist' and Microsoft 'Certified Application Specialist' (identified respectively as 'MOS' & 'MCAS'). Whereas the former is based around the MS Office 2003 environment under Windows 'XP', the second works with Windows 'Vista' & 'Office' 2007. 'XP' remains most common within business, but 'Vista' could be more useful in the future. Both certification paths have their own examinations across the major Microsoft Office applications: 'Word', 'Excel', PowerPoint & 'Access' - for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and databases. Both equally are well respected certifications & help to make it simple for employers to understand your advanced proficiency with the packages.

It's abundantly clear: There's pretty much no personal job security anywhere now; there's only industry or business security - as any company can drop any single member of staff when it suits the business' trade interests. Security can now only exist through a quickly increasing market, driven by a lack of trained workers. This shortage creates just the right environment for market-security - a more attractive situation all round.

The IT skills deficit in the United Kingdom currently stands at approximately 26 percent, according to a recent e-Skills investigation. Or, to put it differently, this clearly demonstrates that the country can only locate 3 certified professionals for every 4 jobs that are available today. This one truth alone underpins why the UK needs many more new trainees to join the IT industry. Quite simply, gaining new qualifications in IT over the next few years is likely the best choice of careers you could make.

Have a conversation with a skilled advisor and you'll be surprised by their many horror stories of students who've been conned by dodgy salespeople. Make sure you deal with an industry professional that asks some in-depth questions to find out what's right for you - not for their pay-packet! It's very important to locate a starting-point that will suit you. If you've got any real-world experience or base qualifications, your starting-point of learning is very different to someone completely new. It's wise to consider a user-skills course first. Starting there can make the transition to higher-level learning a a little easier.

Going one level farther again, you could look into the first level of Professional accreditation: 'User' and Systems-Support. Typically, if you are going to offer Software Support to others in a corporate environment, the MCDST ('Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician') is probably relevant. You'll typically be looking at approximately 100 hours of studying for this level.

More in depth I.T. qualifications will take you to full Professional grade. A common starting point for hardware-support, networking & security jobs would be the CompTIA A+ and Network+ certifications. In addition to covering the fundamentals of hard-ware and networks, you'll be taught about trouble-shooting, support, administration & security. A training course covering both of them ought to take about two hundred to two hundred and fifty hrs to complete. This means an individual studying part time alongside another job could be at the exam stage in 6 month's time.

Technology and IT is one of the more exciting and ground-breaking industries that you could be a part of. To be dealing with leading-edge technology means you're a part of the huge progress shaping life over the next few decades. We're barely starting to get to grips with what this change will mean to us. How we communicate and interact with everyone around us will be massively affected by computers and the internet.

Let's not forget that on average, the income of a person in IT throughout this country is significantly higher than the national average salary, so you'll probably gain much more as a trained IT professional, than you'd get in most other industries. It's no secret that there is a considerable national need for qualified IT professionals. Also, with the marketplace continuing to expand, it appears there will be for quite some time to come.

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