What should i do?

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Hi there,

I need a little advice, and this place seems the place to get it

Basically, this is my story; I’m 29 now and after leaving school I got a BTEC National Diploma in computing. I then went to Leeds and got a HND in computing, which I flew though with flying colours. After my HND I was offered a place on the second year of the degree. However, due to family issues I had to ditch that and move back to Shropshire.
On return to Shropshire I had problems finding a job in IT and ended up doing social work because I needed work quickly. I became a team leader and ended up being there for 4 long years. Eventually, through a random set of circumstances, I bought a business franchisee repairing windscreens. I made good money last year, but this year is much slower and I am dying to get back in IT and I know I would be very good at it.

Although I have not worked in IT for the last 6 years, I am very IT minded and have kept a keen interest. That’s where my heart is. And this week I found out that I am to be a dad soon so I really need to get my act together.

Today I was chatting to a customer who turned out to be the wife of one of the Cerco Training directors. He popped down in his jag and talked me through things a bit and it all sound rather excellent, in fact almost too good to be true for just 4 weeks training. So I did a bit of googling, found this place, and after a bit of reading think that Cerco could be a big mistake. £5000 does seem a lot of money for a non-industry standard cert.

Soooo….. my question to you guys is, if you were me what would you do? Where should I start?

Thanks for taking the time to read this,

Dom

 

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Hi and welcome to CF Dom.

I have studied by myself and in a classroom. Both have pro's and con's and will require determination and a lot of work - sounds like you have them both.

Everyone is different. When i started out on the A+ i wasn't looking for a job at the time, but wanted to learn the technologies that the course covered. It sounds like you want to get in the field and start learning sooner rather than later.

Keep looking, but it would appear IT jobs (and the positions ) depend on where about you plan on working. According to their website they have some contacts in the field, which could help you acheive your "quick fix", although nothing is guaranteed.

Perhaps the location you might be offered a position via them could be gained off your own back after a fair bit of self study?

Good luck with whichever route you choose

Boyce

 

Hi Dom

Your education and career path almost exactly mirror mine (apart from the bit about the windscreen repair business!)

I am self studying for the A+, after completing that I will go for Network+.

If I do not have a job in IT by the time I have finished Network+ (I am applying for jobs whilst studying), I will try to see if I can do some voluntary IT work so I have something on my CV.

Studying and working full-time is difficult sometimes. I do have to make sacrifices but I am enjoying learning and I know that the rewards will out-weigh the rough times.

Hope this helps you in someway!

David.

 

Hi Dom

You've certainly found the right place here for advice! Many people here started out in situations not unlike yourself. My background is slightly different, but I'll give the same advice that probably everyone on here will give you:

The Cerco cert is next to useless.

It gives you a certification that is recognised only by the companies that Cerco 'partners' with (I won't go into the murkiness of that arrangement here), costs a ridiculous amount of money (you can find plenty of other places that will provide you with a full MCSE course for less than five grand) and makes no sense (why would you want to pay the same amount of money for something which isn't a proper recognised qualification when you can get an industry standard one for the same price?)

If (and, as you'll no doubt find out when you read through some previous posts on the subject, it's a BIG 'if') you decide you need classroom based training, then there are many 'schools' out there that provide this service. Of course, most of them seem to be intent only on signing you up and taking your hard-earned - promising you the Earth beforehand (the average salary in IT is £37k, we'll support you every step of the way, we have a 99.9999% pass rate etc etc etc) then reneging completely on all of these promises once you've parted with the cash - usually in the form of a government-sanctioned CDL.

There ARE good training providers out there - I studied at one. I make it a habit not to provide the name of the training provider on the forum as its too close to advertising to make me feel comfortable - PM me if you are interested and I'll tell you who they are. That said, if it were'nt for me being in the unenviable position of having a large redundancy payout to tide me over for a year whilst i studied, and for my previous employer to have been generous enough to pay for my course with them (about £2600 - five years ago) then there is no WAY I would have bothered with classroom training.

IMHO it is pointless going to a training provider if you cannot commit yourself to studying regularly (every day) for extended periods (2 hours at a time or more). The CBT courses simply don't provide you with anything like the level or breadth of knowledge required to pass most courses.

My advice would be - save the five grand and invest it in a good technical bookshelf, two reasonably well-specced machines, a KVM switch and the Microsoft Action Pack subscription. That should set you back about two grand and you will be well on the road to success. Of course, if you're not planning on studying for M$ certs and plan to go down the Cisco route (or any other route, for that matter) the same advice holds.

Self-study is the way to go!

HTH, and good luck

 

Hi, I completed a Cerco course in March of this year and so far have not even had an interview. The 4 week course is ok training wise but pretty basic, I completed an HND in computing prior to starting, I also passed the A+ exam. Cerco state that their employment placement rate is better than 94%, this is a complete lie: http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/non_broadcast/Adjudication+Details.htm?Adjudication_id=42062
Most of the people on the same course and previous courses still haven't found work, I wasted £6,000 on this course including accommodation! Save your money and study for A+ and N+ at home then sit the exams at your local test centre, believe me they are very easy!

DO NOT CONSIDER COMPANIES WHO PROMISE JOBS

BECAUSE THEY CAN"T!

 

Thanks for the input guys.

I just want to say that there is no way I will be going anywhere near Cerco now.

After doing the online test (scored 92% and I think one of the questions is actually wrong too) I entered my details. The following day (within 12 hours) I received an answer phone message asking me to call and arrange a visit. What the guy said in the message might well have worked on someone naive, but I saw right through his painfully obvious ploy.

The point at which he blew it was when he said, “We noticed you scored 92%. That’s… well… one of the highest we have ever seen!”

Yeeeeah right!!!

My dog could have scored that, the one that died 7 years ago. Anyone who has ever owned a PC (almost the entire population) could score near that. The questions are like “What’s this?” with an arrow pointing to a keyboard. Not only that, but after a fair bit of Googling, it would seem that almost everyone gets around that.

And if Cerco are reading this (and the plants on this forum are so obvious guys), you also blew it by calling too soon. Bad sales tactic, seems desperate. Every one I have heard from Cerco just sound like a sales guy. I just feel like you are trying to sell me a TV warranty, not work hard in the best interests of my career.

Also, from everything I have read on the net, I feel quite sorry for all the people that have been duped into losing 5 grand. 98% success rate sure - in finding people a lame one week low paid temp job. Then never bothering again, because A) the industry does not recognise the cert and B) you need to keep some temp positions available so you can find the next 5 grand paying sucker their "success".

Am i also right in thinking that Cerco's claim of being around for years is slightly less than true and that they are actually just trading using the name of a previous venture?

For what it’s worth, I will be taking the home study self taught route, saving a packet and gaining a cert that employers actually want. I’m just very happy I found this place to help me make the right choices.

Thanks and take care,

Dom