Workshops can be portrayed as a great feature by some training schools. When you talk to many computer industry trainees who have partaken in a couple, you'll likely realise that they've now become a major problem mainly due to the following:

- Loads of travelling to and from the training centre - often very long trips.

- Weekday only accessibility for classes is usual, and getting two to three days out of work is usually problematic for a lot of trainees who are working.

- I think you'd agree that we usually end up feeling 4 weeks holiday each year is not really enough. Use up at least half of this for training classes and watch how much harder things become.

- Taking into account the costs associated with delivering a workshop, many schools have to put on larger classes - which isn't ideal (and far less personal).

- Maybe you like to work at a different pace to others in the class. Often this can bring about a classic case of 'classroom tension'.

- Most trainees speak about the high (and unexpected) costs associated with getting transport to and from the training school while forking out for food and accommodation can get very high.

- Study privacy can be very important to many trainees. There's no need to sacrifice potential advancement, salary hikes or accomplishment at your current job because you're getting trained in a different area. If your employer knows you've committed to qualification in another sector, what are they going to be thinking?

- It's very common for students to hide the fact that they want to raise a question - purely due to the reason that they're surrounded by fellow attendees.

- Working and living away - some trainees need to live or work somewhere else for part of the program. Days in-centre become problematic to attend, but the money has already changed hands with your initial fees.

The most impressive solution is by viewing a filmed workshop - enabling you to learn at any time of day. Whenever an ugly problem rears its head, make use of the 24x7 support (that you should have insisted on for any technical study.) You should remember, if your PC is a laptop, study isn't restricted to the home or office. Modules and lessons can be repeated whenever you feel you need to - repetition aids memory. And you don't have to worry about any note-taking - everything is prepared ready. The final upshot: Much less stress and hassle, more money in the bank, and travelling is removed.

Microsoft own 'Visual Studio', - the fore-most 'Windows' software development environment. They provide several languages, with C#.Net & 'VB.Net' ('Visual Basic') currently being the most widely used. Advice on both 'languages' is covered within the Programming and Development sector of this site. The main accreditations are the MCTS & MCPD (as they have replaced the older MCAD & MCSD.)

Of course: the training itself or an accreditation isn't what this is about; a job you're training for is. Many trainers unfortunately place too much importance on just the training course. 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, simply because you did it without some decent due-diligence when it was needed - at the start.

Be honest with yourself about the income level you aspire to and whether you're an ambitious person or not. Sometimes, this affects what particular qualifications you'll need to attain and what'll be expected of you in your new role. We advise all students to speak to a professional advisor before deciding on their learning path. This is essential to ensure it contains the relevant skills for the chosen career path.

One crafty way that course providers make extra profits is by adding exam fees upfront to the cost of a course and then including an 'Exam Guarantee'. It looks impressive, but is it really:

Everybody's aware that they're still footing the bill for it - it's quite obvious to see that it's already been included in the overall price charged by the training provider. It's definitely not free (although some people will believe anything the marketing companies think up these days!) If you want to pass in one, evidence suggests you must avoid exam guarantees and pay when entering exams, prioritise it appropriately and apply yourself as required.

Don't you think it's more sensible to go for the best offer at the appropriate time, not to pay any mark-up to the training course provider, and to do it locally - instead of miles away at the college's beck and call? Including money in your training package for exam fees (and interest charges if you're borrowing money) is bad financial management. Don't line companies bank accounts with your money just to give them a good cash-flow! A lot bank on the fact that you won't get to do them all - then they'll keep the extra money. It's worth noting, with the majority of Exam Guarantees - you are not in control of when you can re-take the exam. Subsequent exam attempts are only authorised at the company's say so.

VUE and Prometric examinations are in the region of 112 pounds in Great Britain. What's the point of paying huge charges for 'Exam Guarantees' (most often hidden in the package) - when the best course materials, the right level of support and study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will really guarantee success.

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