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Hello there,

I came perilously close to signing with Computrain today, but the fear of parting with all that money got the better of me. I've decided to self-study for the time being, I'm quite disciplined when it comes to teaching myself things, so I think I've a good chance of saving myself a couple of grand.

As for what put me off, the salesman I was talking to made a couple of odd moves that damaged his credibility somewhat. He insisted that I was ideally suited for the MCDBA certificate, despite my not having any real experience with databases, and flat out told me that all the other certs provided by the company were either beyond my ability (how would he know?), or out of my price range (they all were.)

He called me this morning to tell me that the MCDBA commencement date is today, and I needed to put pen to paper immediately as they would not be running this course again this year! Apparently they're short on applicants for that particular course, and have told their consultants to fill the empty spaces pronto.

It seemed like the classic hard sell, so I asked a few more detailed questions about the specifics of their 'Job Guarantee'. Pinched from the wise sages on this very site, I confess.- Is there a minimum guaranteed salary, distance from home, is the job guaranteed to be relevant to the particular certificate completed? Does Computrain have the trainer certifications MSIIIT, ODLQC etc. As they don't display the 'seals' on their website. He told me he would investigate and contact me with the answers.

Now he won't answer his phone to me, and will only send template emails containing the same course info that's on the site.

I can't help but think I've dodged a bullet. Many thanks to all the previous posters for asking the right questions!

 

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Welcome to the forums, and good call on going the self study route!

 

Hello and welcome to the forums!

Another vote for self-study.

Qs

 

I'm sure most people here will agree that you made the right choice!

Welcome to CF!

 

Hi & welcome to CF

Good luck with the studies.

NB

 

Welcome, and congrats on your decision!

 

Thanks very much everyone!
Now I'm looking at getting started, does anyone have any recommendations on which cert to go for first?
I've been a tinkering bedroom hobbyist for about 10 years, and while I have A-Levels & a year or two of basic desktop support, I've been self employed for the past 18 months and could probably use a 'Starter' certification to help me head back into an entry level position.
The A+ seems a very common choice, but I wonder if it's maybe a bit too common when it comes to looking for work, I'm planning on moving into Networking / Security when it comes to focusing on a specialty, does anyone have any suggestions of which certificate will give me the best foundation for this? Any to avoid?

Thanks again for the welcome!

 

Hello and welcome to CF

A+ is a good starting place, as you said. It is common, but for good reason - its a good starting base and is vendor neutral. If you feel your ready for something a little more 'networking', the Network+ is a good start. I found it very interesting and it will help you when / if you come to do the 70-291 on the MCSA/MCSE track further down the line.

 

Welcome to the forums. I went with the self study route and too and am glad I did. I saved a good deal of money with it.

 

I would also recommend the A+, followed by Network+ and the MCDST.