Review the following facts very carefully if you're inclined to think the marketing blurb about examination guarantees seems like a good idea:

You'll be charged for it by some means. It's definitely not free - it's just been rolled into the price of the whole package. Passing first time is everyone's goal. Progressively working through your exams in order and paying for them just before taking them has a marked effect on pass-rates - you prepare appropriately and are mindful of the investment you've made.

Find the best exam deal or offer available when you're ready, and hang on to your cash. You'll also be able to choose where to sit the exam - so you can choose somewhere closer to home. Is there a good reason to pay interest on a bigger loan than is necessary because you've paid early for exam fees when you didn't need to? A great deal of money is made by companies getting paid upfront for exams - and then hoping that you won't take them all. Remember, with 'Exam Guarantees' from most places - the company controls how often and when you can do your re-takes. You will have to demonstrate an excellent pass-rate before they'll approve a re-take.

Paying maybe a thousand pounds extra on 'Exam Guarantees' is remiss - when study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams is what will really see you through.

It's essential to have the latest Microsoft (or Cisco, CompTIA etc.) authorised exam preparation packages. Some students can get thrown by going through practice questions that are not from authorised sources. Quite often, the phraseology is startlingly different and it's important to prepare yourself for this. A way to build self-confidence is if you test whether you're learning enough by doing tests and practice in simulated exam environments to prepare you for taking the proper exam.

Ensure all your exams are current and commercially required - forget programs which end up with a useless in-house certificate or plaque. From the perspective of an employer, only top businesses such as Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco or CompTIA (as an example) provide enough commercial weight. Anything less just won't hit the right spot.

The primary 'Windows' software program development 'environment' is called Microsoft 'Visual Studio'. They supply a number of languages, with 'C#.Net' and VB.Net ('Visual Basic') being the most frequently used. They're featured on the Programming and Development pages on this website. The main accreditations are currently the MCTS and MCPD (as they have superseded the earlier 'MCAD' & 'MCSD'.)

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