Boot camp .v. brain dump

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Chaps, forgive my ignorance but I've been under the impression for a long time that a boot camp was synonymous with a brain dump. That is, the two weeks or so you do in a boot camp was nothing more than a rapid fly-by of the minimum tasks necessary to pass a group of exams. In other words you fill your brain with facts and dump them at the exam while they are still fresh.

However, reading around these forums I get the impression that brain dumps are something like "illegal" sites that either give you actual exam questions or worse still, will sit the exams for you once you've paid a "retainer" upfront. Is that correct? I want to avoid the scum sh1te that's out there but being new to the certification game I'm not sure if I could always tell the legit sites and setups from those which are questionable. After all, you're only fooled by counterfeit goods if they actually look like the real thing.

 

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Unless you have a good few years' experience under your belt, a boot camp for anything more than one (or maybe two) exams pretty much is a brain dump because, by definition, you can't learn enough in two weeks to pass the exams at the end of it legitimately.

The two things are completely different though - a braindump is a collection of questions and answers stolen from an exam, allowing cheats to memorise just a set of answers and pass without really knowing the subject.

A boot camp is an 'immersive training experience' (to paraphrase boot camp vendors' marketing babble) - which basically amounts to you going off on a residential course somewhere and doing nothing but studying, with the aim of passing a number of exams during that period. I've seen plenty of '14 day MCSE' bootcamps advertised which, quite frankly, is laughable.

 

And of course, the easiest way for a boot camp to get people through the MCSE in two weeks is to provide them with braindumps...

So it can be pretty much the same thing.

 

Use certguard.com to see if any sites are illegal or not. Some are actual exam questions, some breach copyright on other peoples study material and practice exams. Both can get you decertified.
Getting someone to do the exam for you is called a hired gunman I think.

 

All the previous posters are absolutely correct... particularly Jonny. Braindumps are tolerated far too much in training courses. Usually, the teachers hand them out because they want to look good to their supervisors when all their students pass.

One thing to consider... if you don't have experience, you shouldn't attend a boot camp... and if you DO have experience, you probably don't need a boot camp. Just my opinion.

 

Thanks guys, that's much clearer to me now. I'm aiming to do the certs I want to take over a few months. I've just been made redundant here in the UK as our jobs were outsourced to, shhhh, you know where. I've got many years of IT behind me and I've been using C# since early 2004 so I'm mostly familiar with the main cornerstones of the exams. I'm not expecting an easy ride but I'd like to believe I'm well prepared to handle what the exams might entail. Of course, it's easy to say that in advance.

 

Bootcamps aren't braindumps to be fair. If you pass the exam legitimately then regardless of how you do it is still passing. The question should be are bootcamps good to do and the answer to that is probably no for 90% of people as you simply can't take in a retain what is being taught in 2 weeks or so. Possibly where bootcamps are good are for people who work in the industry and have a previous MCSE or CCNA and don't have the time to study for the updated exams over months.

It's one thing have the cert and another knowing how to use the knowledge it teaches you.

 

That sounds exactly like someone who posts here regularly, Obina or something like that.

 

What?
My mate Obie?

How dare you Sir?

 

Every individual is entitled to their opinion.

Anyways, you wouldn't want to fence with me because am going to beat you on it.

 

Cheating is not 'an opinion'

 

What, did you braindump fencing as well?

Something tells me that practical experience with fencing will beat memorization of fencing techniques. :hhhmmm

 

hahahahah

 

lol Jonny.

I gracefully withdraw to your greater fencing skills.

 

Too right!

 

Removed.

 

This is not the place for a continued assault on Obinna, since it is not the topic at hand. Take it somewhere else please (Perhaps try that button on the forums, whats it called again? ah yes: "New Topic")

 

I've removed my post Fergal, but to be honest, I think it is a valid question in context of this thread.

It was a valid question, not posed in any way aggressive, attacking or insulting way (unless you misread the honestly), but as it obviously offends, I have removed it.

 

It wasnt just directed at you mate. And whatever my opinions on the subject, the fact is bringing up the habits of a member of the forums at every opportunity, and any thread even remotely connected to the offence at hand just isnt on. What the target does or does not do is not relevant in the context of this thread, where the OP has asked for a clarification on the difference between a boot camp and a BD.

I'm not condoning his actions. Infact in a different context I may well side with the majority, but the fact is, this isnt a thread about that posters actions/ethos in terms of obtaining certifications.

Its no different, in my mind, to a certain ex-poster Linux Fanboi who used every possible thread even remotely associated with MS to bash MS and declare how we are all imcompetent morons because we support the MS environment. It wasnt on then, and its not on now.

 

Going back to the original post, I can see how it may be seen as an obscure question, but I felt that someones particular experience with certain things, may a) shed light on things BD and b) possibly be detremental to the anyone already asking questions about BD. etc.