Advent / CDSL

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Hi All.

I've just signed up to Advent Training using a CDSL. I've had a training advisor around whos talked about the course I wanted to do, MCSE.


I have applyed for the CDSL through Barcleys and the Advisor has taken 3 months worth of my bank statements and will be sending a letter aswell as I don't have a Passport or Drivers Licence, is this normal?

Also he said that as soon as the CDSL money goes into my account they will take it straight out for the course. I havn't signed the form for that yet and wanted to know what you guys think.

Cheers.


I'm wondering if anyone has had dealings with them

 

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Welcome to CF! Can you tell us more about your 'deal'? Also do you have any experience or IT certifications?

BTW can you pop into the New members forum and introduce yourself so the guys can say hi!

 

I havent heard of your training provider, but i understand that you submit your application to Barclays, if you are a member and have no probs (credit) then then is a very high rate that your grant will be accepted, Barclays will then send you your paperwork to sign (confirmation), you then have to send that back to Barclays and they normally send the money to your training provider not you... here is the link linky

 

I ment dealings as in being on the course.

It the moment I don't have any qualifications for IT just experiance. Mainly building, installing, overclocking, custom cooling, kinda home from home hobby.

I had tryed to do PC Maintenance and Repair and GNVQ Advanced IT afew years ago but my job makes it very hard for college courses so I had to give them up.

 

This is just my opinion. First of all this certification (MCSE) isnt easy. Microsoft says you should have atleast 18 months experience in a network environment before attempting it. Now with what you know, you will struggle alot with the MCSE first up. I suggest what you do is the A+ followed by the Network+ certifications first then look again at the MCSE. Is this classroom based study or at home?

EDIT: sorry just re-read your hello post. This is a distance course. Which means you study at home right? How much are they charging and how long do you have to complete it in?

 

These guys have been mentioned here before. If you do a search for them I'm sure you'll find some interesting stuff. As for the course, if you don't have time for the college courses then how will you manage the time that you'll need to go to the classroom training (if any)?

That said, if they are a distance learning company and you do all the study and learning at home then there's not really any difference from self study (except the price of course).

 

They charge £4450 (course CDs, books, exam fees/retakes, they aim to get you employment 6-12 months from the course start date at 15kpa, 20 days classroom workshops, e-mail and phone support. The Advisor said there is an average completion of 2 Years +.

I caun't study at college because I do shift work i.e. 3-11pm/11-7am/7-3pm so I would be too tired or too late for college. Although I could do self study I feel that the added support would help me out greatly.

 

Here are 2 SnapShots I took of there course info:

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Click for larger views.

 

ok, i've been stewing over this all day. If I was to self study what would I need to do?

I know to buy the books but apart from that I have no idea. Self study is not somthing i've ever done before but I can see the benifit of being able to do each cert in your own time/pace. I also think your right zimbo, I'm diving head first into this with no "true" experiance and havn't studied in years.

I don't wan't to start somthing I caun't complete, especialy at £4450 a pop.

Damn i'm confused

 

what you are doing with Advent / CDSL *will* be self-study. Self-study means not attending classes - just studying the material in your own time and practicing what you learn at home. Okay with Advent you *will* have tutor support but not for what they charging! Let me show you what it takes to get everything yourself:

Books: MS Press Self Paced Kit - £81.51
These will be your primary source of info for your 4 core exams.
MS Press MCSA/MCSE Installing,Configuring,& Administering Windows XP Professional - £27.05
MS Press - 70-284 Exchange Server - £27.05
Designing Security for Server 2003 70-298 - £26.59

Total for reading material: £162.20!
You have a wide choice of books and electives but im just showing you the cost now....

Lets say you spend £600 on a lab (which is way too much) - this will be all the pc's you will need to get to practice on or you could build/buy one rather *fat* pc and use VMWare to run virtual machines.

Exam fees: Prometric: 7 exams @ £88 = £616

GRAND TOTAL: £1378 and even that could be too high!

Compared to £4450? Now you want tutor support? Certforums and Google! Oh and there is not time limit on this course either! JMO you are being over-charged!

 

Zimbo, great post mate.

Add in the cost of Mike Meyer's A+ (or equivalent) and a Network + boo and exams and for another £300 or so you will be fully prepared.

 

Thanks for the info zimbo, looks like I will be giving Advent a call to cancel the course. The books shouldn't be a problem but how do I go about getting into an exam once I feel ready to take one?

PC side of things I'm sorted, High-end custom built PC with a dual TFT setup and I use vmware quite abit. I think I will build another PC from the spare parts I have so I can get used to setting up a real network.

 

when you feel you ready you can book your exam at www.prometric.com or www.vue.com. They are computer based and will know if you pass or fail straight away. Hang around CF and you WILL have everything you need to pass! Just ask the questions on things you not sure on!

 

I contacted Advent training recently in which they sent a guy round to talk over the course. It all seemed good but I was concerned as you hear stories of dodgy outfits. I have spoke to someone at pitman training since who are slightly cheaper and they said that they hadn't heard of Advent and would recommend computeach if I didn't go with them. When you search on yell.com there doesn't seem to be any details for Advent whereas pitman training offer locations throughout the UK.

I am currently in the need of help as I want to train and be MCSE qualified but I don't know the best direction to go in. I ideally want to study via e-learning. There are so many companies out there, which ones are legit, which offer the genuine qualifications, should I do the CompTIA A+ qualification first etc. I want to learn relatively quickly.

Any help would be grately appreciated.

 

I recently signed up to Advent. The experience with the Advisor was fine. I found their course seemed to present good value compared with others on offer.
<I have removed my comments here>

Advent have resolved the problems I have had with enrolment & I am more than happy with the way they have resolved my problem.

 

I know of a couple of people at Advent, no names but they are good and honest IT training professionals. Problem is, these people have absolutely zero control over what the sales and markting people say. The tutors and tutor managers will do their very best to help you. However, and I know this from experience (not at Advent, but from other companies competing in the same market - ie, revenue from self-funding IT wannabees), they will sometimes trugle to deliver what you have been - or what you perceive you have ben - promised.

Tutor support is ALWAYS better than going it alone. Sure, it's cheaper to buy the books at Waterstones. But when you come to the part n page 600-something tha just makes no sense at all, no matter how many times you read it, it's good to have someone to call on - and a good honest IT pro is a better someone than most. The question you need to ask yourself is "how much is that comfort blanket worth to me?"

 

The salesman is not allowed to suggest a bank for the CDL. The application form and ALL documents have to be sent by you NOT Advent. The money, if approved, will be paid to Advent, NOT into your account. It may take up to 2 months to get the CDL approval. Good luck

 

Hi Agent Smith ,

From the previous posts and what you have said you have no IT experience other than what you have done yourself.

Forget MCSE. Thats for the future.

Start with either the A+ or Network+ (you will probably need both)

You need to get into a job and these will provide the means of geting there.

On the point of CDL (Career Development Loan), it is against the rules for anybody to advise or provide the necessary paperwork in favour of any bank that does that service. All that they can do is explain what it is about and the names of the banks involved. It is then up to you to decide who you choose as the supplier of the loan. It is a loan and you do have to pay it all back. (Just making sure you understand)

On another level, with what you have said you can do self study but that comes down to how you prefer to learn.

Good Luck

Keimos

 

I am currently with Advet. I did a lot of home work looking for the right kind of course and this was the best arround.
Its actually cheaper then other like for like courses including computeach.

Advent take out all the hard work for you and just leaves you with the studying to do. also they provide 2 day centre based work shops for each module of the course.

Theres a lot more books and manuals that previous replys have stated and these are all included in the costs.

I know they currently have over 20 thousand studdents training with them so they must be doing something right

Yes its a lot of money but its always best to be trained by professionals and having personal contact with tutors and meeting other students on the same path is asuch an advantage.
There are also a lot of other costs involved in attaining the right qualification which advent take care of.

Hope this helps

 

Hi

I have seen one of Advents advisors regarding their training. He recommended I take the MCSE couse they offer.

I have a basic knowledge of IT but no real experience. people elsewhere have recommended I take an A+ course first, but this certification is part of the Advent course anyway.

I was just wondering if anyone else has taken this course and if they would share their opinions and experience.

Thanks