There is no way of over emphasising this: You absolutely must have proper 24x7 professional support from mentors and instructors. You'll definitely experience problems if you don't follow this rule rigidly. Beware of institutions who use call-centres 'out-of-hours' - with your call-back scheduled for standard office hours. It's not a lot of help when you've got study issues and need help now.

The very best training providers have many support offices around the globe in several time-zones. They use an online interactive interface to seamlessly link them all together, irrespective of the time you login, help is just seconds away, without any contact issues or hassle. Search out an educator that offers this level of study support. Because only live 24x7 round-the-clock support delivers what is required.

The way a programme is physically sent to you is often missed by many students. In what way are your training elements sectioned? What is the order and at what speed is it delivered? Many think it logical (with most training taking 1-3 years for a full commercial certification,) for your typical trainer to courier one module at a time, as you pass each element. Although: It's not unusual for trainees to realise that the trainer's 'standard' path of training isn't the easiest way for them. You may find that a different order of study is more expedient. And what if you don't get to the end at the pace they expect?

To avoid any potential future issues, many trainees now want to make sure that every element of their training is sent immediately, and not in a piecemeal fashion. It's then your own choice how fast or slow and in what order you'd like to take your exams.

A expert and practiced consultant (in contrast with a salesperson) will want to thoroughly discuss your current level of ability and experience. This is useful for establishing your starting level of study. If you have a strong background, or perhaps a bit of real-world experience (some industry qualifications maybe?) then it's more than likely the level you'll need to start at will be very different from someone with no background whatsoever. It's usual to start with some basic Microsoft package and Windows skills first. Beginning there can make the slope up to the higher-levels a much more gentle.

Digital (or Computer) Forensics is comparatively new on the scene - Television shows like CSI-Crime Scene Investigation could have made us aware of it. The reality of 'Digital Forensics' is very much less glamorised than described in these programmes (clearly!) Having said that, technological-forensics provides an intriguing profession for a lot of individuals today. The role entails searching for and interpreting 'digital footprints' for use in data-recovery or legal cases.

Located in a comparable field to Forensics and IT Security is 'Ethical Hacking' - which is another somewhat new discipline to control crime. These are qualifications supplied through the EC Council that teach advanced students the dark principles of 'hacking' -- but with the objective of using these competencies to safeguard and increase the security within a system, rather than harm it.

We're often asked why traditional degrees are being replaced by more commercially accredited qualifications? As demand increases for knowledge about more and more complex technology, industry has been required to move to the specialised core-skills learning that can only be obtained from the actual vendors - that is companies such as Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe. This frequently provides reductions in both cost and time. Higher education courses, for instance, can often get caught up in too much background study - with a syllabus that's far too wide. This holds a student back from getting enough core and in-depth understanding on a specific area.

Imagine if you were an employer - and you required somebody who had very specific skills. Which is the most straightforward: Trawl through a mass of different academic qualifications from graduate applicants, trying to establish what they know and what workplace skills they have, or choose a specific set of accreditations that exactly fulfil your criteria, and then select who you want to interview from that. You can then focus on how someone will fit into the team at interview - rather than establishing whether they can do a specific task.

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