Self Study Vs Training Providers??? Help

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Hi guys I need some help! I've saved up £3K and was looking to invest my money on an IT course to advance into an IT career. I have spoken to Computeach and Advent Training who advised me to go for the MSCE as i'm looking to move to OZ in the near future and they said Australia is crying out or qualified IT people (which is what i wanted to hear so were they just saying that). Advent training was £4750 and computeach is £500 more for the same course and exams. But most people seem to advise self learning! So now i'm more confused then ever :-(

how long would you say it takes to complete CompTIA A+ and the CompTIA Network+ doing it yourself?

I also read that the isn't a need for IT people as much as what the training providers say there is by a long shot would you agree?

Is there any major differance on how fast and how much i'll learn with Training providers rather than Self Study for the price or is better to save money hard earned money and do it myself?

 

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I wouldnt take what the sales people say at any training company as gospel, basically because they are sales people.

I think you need to consider what your personality is, and how that relates to your ability to motivate and organise yourself.

if you are able to study indepently and motivate yourself, then self study is a much cheaper and more viable alternative.

If you need a kick up the butt, then a training provider would be more likely to enable you to succeed as your will have your study plan etc set out for you.,

I would however wait for advise on choosing a training provider if you do decide to go down that route, as this is a huge investment, and knowing what questions to ask will save you money and heartache.

Best of luck

Kev

 

First - welcome to CF!

We have some guys here who live in Oz, who will be better placed to say whether that was just 'sales-talk' or reality.

How long to do A+ and N+? Depends on you really. If you are expert and know all there is to know about the subject then you could book the exams now and be done by the end of the week!

Most people would take anywhere between 3 months and a year.

As for the 'need for IT people' - there is a great need for *good* IT people - but poor ones are ten-a-penny.

Harry.

 

Hours of quality lecturer time and lab time are worth paying for.

Trouble is how do you know you are going to get that ?

How many hours will you get ?

Does it represent good value for money compared to college, university, professional course, bootcamp, CBT ?

Will the lecturer be any good ?

Will the lessons be canceled or rescheduled, will you miss any of them ?

Will the lessons or labs be any good ? Will the content, materials and equipment be any good ?

Will the lecturer be there to give you the support needed or will he/she prefer to do other things ?

Theres so many variables that you can't control, spending £1000's in a one off non refundable payment is crazy, even at university fees are paid per term. You also have a mix of lecturers.

When I wanted to learn guitar I used to spend £35 per hour. Celebs pay thousands for fitness trainers and stylists.

I think an expert tutor makes all the difference and if you can afford it thats nearly always the quickest way to learn, trouble is how do you know you are getting an expert tutor ? Especially if you know nothing about the subject !

Most of the distance learning providers seem to provide less than a local college at a higher price, they even compare poorly to a CBT and a book in my mind. With a good book or CBT you can have access to the best tutors in the world for a fraction of the cost.

 

Linky

 

I did online training with Skillsolve (I think) and although it was fun, I found that the course went quicker than I could prepare for the exams. I'd end up attending lessons for the next module when I hadn't finished the previous one.

I also found that working through the MCSE books to be more educational.

So I would recommend you buy one module at a time. It might cost more but it has ultimate flexibility.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

You've mentioned a few different certifications...MCSE, A+ and Network+. Since you then focused on the latter two, I'd say the apparent "first steps" goals you have are realistic. I'd have to go with Harry's assessment as far as "how long" it would take to achieve those certs. Depends on your apptitude, prior experience, and so on.

The MCSE has long been considered the "holy grail" of certifications but it actually is about 7 separate exams and IMHO, not a goal you could achieve completely without significant experience in the IT industry.

As far as Oz crying out for IT professionals, better as Bluerinse and Supag33k, since they both live and work there. As has been previously said, there's a lot of "hype" out there about who really needs what, but the reality of the situation could be different.

Not sure how it goes with moving to Australia, but if you were trying to move to the US, you'd have to demonstrate that you possess a skill set that we don't already have here, so becoming "just another MCSE" or whatever, probably wouldn't do it.

 

Thanks guys I appreciate you taking the time to reply and there is some good advice there!

After speaking to three different Training providers and doing some research on self study books and the CBT CD ROMS out there it seems like the training providers ofter the same littérateur as the books but it is the mentors etc which is where the money goes and the reviews on the mentoring doesn't same worth the money.

One of the Tec guys in PC World suggested CBTNuggets.com which seems a good way of learning at a 5th of the cost, anyone heard of them?

SO my new dilemma is now weather to study CISCO or Microsoft when it comes to Networking and I seem to hear CISCO is the way forward as they are used more widely and alot more sort after would anyone agree to this?

Tripwire45: how do I speak to Bluerinse and Supag33k?

 

Hi,

I have read with great interest these posts, I am too a new starter, after taking some advise from some guys on here I decided to go down the self study route. Computeach have been ringing me daily constantly for the past 3 weeks. I have been in the US for a large chunk of that time and they still persist. I am studying for the A+, then i hope to achieve networking and have decided CISCO is the route I hope to follow. I have been in touch with Comptia directly and they are very helpful too. In an ideal world I would like to relocate to the US, so am very interested to hear from anyone who has any pointers on this.