If you are looking to persue the CEH (certified Ethical Hacker) certifiication you have two options, to attend a course or do your studies part time/self study. For more information about the CEH certification have a look at the following pages:
http://www.eccouncil.org/Course-Outline/Ethical%20Hacking%20and%20Countermeasures%20Course.htmand
http://www.eccouncil.org/Exam/312-50.htmand
http://www.eccouncil.org/takeexam.htmIf you choose to persue the self study route then you need at least 2 years security experience, you will also have to contact EC Council for an eligibility voucher number and use the application form found here:
http://www.eccouncil.org/CEH%20Exam%20EC0-350%20Application%20Form.pdfEligibility Requirements
To be eligible for appearing in the CEH certification examination, you must:
1. Have attended training for the CEH course at any of the accredited training centers. Should you choose to defer taking the examination after your training, and would like to opt for another location; you can apply for the same at a later date at any ATC of your choice by submitting your certificate of attendance to EC-Council.
2. If you have opted for self-study and not attended training, you must have at least two years of information security related experience.
Please download and complete the CEH Exam (EC0-350) Application Form and fax it to EC-Council at +1-505-212-0667 for verification. Upon approval, EC-Council will send you an eligibility voucher number which you can use to register and schedule the test at any Authorized Prometric Testing Center globally. Please note that Prometric Registration will not entertain any requests without this voucher number.
The exam is multiple choice, computer based available at Prometric and VUE test centers.
You can be any age to attempt the exam (at least I don't know of any age limitations)
Costs can vary, attending a full time course will be expensive if you have to fund it yourself. Try searching in Google for CEH full time study located near you. Can you get your work to send you on the CEH course? Maybe you can convince work that the CEH certification is a vital part of your job role which will help you to understand hacking and countermeasures and secure the network and webservers sufficiently.