Your advice..?

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Hi everyone,

(I'll say hello soon in the newbie section, sorry to skip protocol )

I'm looking at taking the pseudo-role of Systems Administrator at the research facility that I work in. Pseudo, because the position would not formally exist.

I want to get training. The funding for this training needs to be run up by Thursday 9th of March.

I am really put off by the training centers I see online. It all seems, in my opinion, a little 'dodgy'.

Perhaps this is unfair as everyone I have spoken to has been very nice and informative, but it has felt like a sales pitch. They were a little thwarted in what seemed like a well practiced selling point, as I already have employment.

However another (will remain nameless, but I can offer proof if you would like me to email it to you), sent me an introductory email, that not only did not make sense, but also used the word 'weather' instead of 'whether', VERY disconcerting.

In all honesty, I am thinking about scrapping the idea of taking the compTIA and MCSA examinations just because I don't trust the training schemes I have seen thus far.

Ok so my point in question -

Is there other than the BCS a national body that provides training, specifically in the compTIA examinations and the MCSA?

Who regulates the online companies that provide the training?

Is there a 'ranking' system of the training companies?

Can you rest my 'edgy feeling'?

Thanks in advance guys

 

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First - welcome to CF!

Next - don't tar CompTIA and M$ just because you don't like some trainers. Neither organization are involved with those trainers.

It is perfectly possible to get the certs without going to trainers, it just requires a fair amount of effort. And those certs *are* valuable.

Harry.

 

You will find that if you join up with a training provider, the vast majority of studying to pass Microsoft exams will be through self study.

So, have you thought about self study? It's a much cheaper option and you can still find everything you need here and elsewhere on the Internet.

This site has experienced members that have done these exams or are in the process of doing them. We have excellent mentors here and even our very own MCT. The topics an exam covers can be found on the Microsoft site. All the information you need is available either free or for the small price of two or three books per exam.

You will need your own home lab of two or more computers to play around with and break.

Good luck,

Pete

 

@hbroomhall

Ah yes sorry,

I should explain myself further, my workplace has offered me a day off in a week to study towards these qualifications. I believe I would need the structuring of a training package. If I don't have that there, it would be easier to be dragged into other work business.

So although I am a firm believer in self learning, I would need to look at long distance learning. Hence compTIA and the MCSA become un-attainable in my eyes without a decent backing from tutoring.

 

Sorry my previous post must have been as you were writing this..

Yes, I am interested in self study. I can just see though, without propper organisation and structuring, myself getting lost in it and becoming distracted by my work enviorment.

I am on the very fortunate position of having a few machines to break and fix. Also access to whatever OS I want, as it would be covered by my workplaces' site license.

 

Welcome to the CF forum.

Read the other posts spread around the many sub-forums on this site, there is a wealth of information.

As you have said, you have a job (WOW) and 'they' will let you do training too (wow).

Your original thread asked for advice on companies, personally I think skillstrain is 'pretty good', but that is personal and subjective, other may well feel opposed. I'm taking the A+,N+,CCCNA for £2500.00 paid back at £70.00 per month.
They 'give' me files, notes, test sheets, remote tutoring by email and a c*** or bad web site (which is apparently due for update).

Hope that helps, just a plea, could you fill in your Profile?
(See blue bar, click tab 'User CP').

 

From my experience, the classroom environment covers only about 20% of the knowledge you need to pass the exams. The remaining 80% would need to be learnt through self study.

My point is this. If you are going to be self studying the majority of what you need to learn, why not forgo the huge cost of a training provider and teach yourself the other 20% too.

Also, the pace at which a class environment moves along is usually faster than the students are able to absorb, so you need to also self study again what you learnt in class.

There are many other reasons why I would not pay a provider again. Top of the list is that they can and do go out of business. Mine did half way through my MCSE

 

Simply, because I would need to draw up an entire schedule of what I would need to learn in order to get qualified in about 12 hours time. Annoyingly enough I have only been told that I can persue this direction in the last 3 days. I have only until the 9th to come up with a proposal.

Yes there is a massive amount of extremely useful information on this site, its a great forum by the way !

However I don't even know what I am looking for yet to figure out how I would even start to structure my own course. I can't rush into this saying "I can teach myself", with general ideas about exam costing.

So yes, bar my concerns about structuring & time constraints, self study would be an option.

Can assume there is no answers to:

Is there other than the BCS a national body that provides training, specifically in the compTIA examinations and the MCSA?

Who regulates the online companies that provide the training?

Is there a 'ranking' system of the training companies?
(by government, or national independant, or student bodies?)

Not meaning to sound rude, but I was asking for more information as to regards to an independant review system of the training companies. 'that is personal and subjective, other may well feel opposed' - is exactly the problem, there doesn't seem to be any system of scoring or testing these training camps... or am I wrong?

Also, I appologise if my reference to my employment came across as trying to rub peoples face in it. I was just highlighting the fact that whilst talking to the salesmen of certain companies they would very much come across as if they were offering me work in other places, whereas the questions I really wanted answered they could not cater for. Which I personally think is a shame, as it has made me really doubt the integrity of the teaching side.

cheers guys though

 

Not that I know of but I am in Australia now, maybe someone else can fill in these gaps when the other guys and gals wake up

I do believe that there should be an independent body that is able to monitor and control training providers. The issues which so many people have with them are on a global scale. It would seem that the problem is widespread.

 

To my knowledge there is no offical body that regulates the training providers.

Have you looked at your local universities? They may offer what are known as Foundation Degrees that cover the A+, MCSA, etc.

Since these are academic institutions you can be fairly sure that you get value for money as they are publicly funded.