Has anyone else started the self study V5 Foundation course?

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Many thanks Michael. The points in that link were helpful. I used Transcender for my Microsoft exams as I was recommenced these. Unfortunately they don't seem to do the CIW exams yet.

Its a shame companies use real exam questions as I feel a bit like I have cheated, even though the questions in the exam weren't exactly like those in ********. I have got rid of the software now and fighting for a refund but doubt I will get it.

I will also tell my friend about it as I am not sure if he was aware.

Bit stupid I didn't do my own research really! Just when it is recommended by a friend you don't hesitate to get it.

Looks like AssessPREP is the only ones for CIW.

Iklekid

 

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We did the CIW exams. In fact, I wrote the Foundations exam back in 2001. Unfortunately, they were abysmal sellers - we lost money developing them. They weren't worth paying an employee to update them when the exam updated a few years ago. I'd guess that if none of the big-name test preparation companies have CIW any longer, they lost money on developing them as well. Our company probably won't develop them either.

Looks like AssessPREP is owned by Prosoft, who created the CIW certification program (much like Microsoft created the MCSE program).

Be sure not to keep on mentioning the name of that braindump in your posts... notice, moderators keep editing it out...

 

Do you recommend any books for the V5 Site designer and V5 E-commerce designer exams?

Amazon has quite a few CIW books but the majority are for the retired exams. Do you think these books are still valuable?

Regards

Iklekid

 

No idea if they'll be useful - I don't know what content changed between v4 and v5.

The reason why publishers don't create books for CIW is because there's no demand for them. And there's no demand for training products for CIW because... to be honest, there's little demand for CIW certifications.

 

ComputerPrep do the 'official' manuals.
They are very good but pricey.

 

They're the "official" manuals because ComputerPREP is owned by Prosoft as well! ;)

 

Yup.

And if you buy CIW/Prosoft online learning, you get NETg material.

It's all weird...

 

Really??? I thought CIW was the leading web design certification?

Aint there no jobs for web designers then???

Its not what this web site says www.cwjobs.co.uk No sarcasm in my words though!!! Just a little hard to take coming from a system engineer.

 

Well, they're the leading web design certification because... they're the only one.

I never said there were no jobs for Web designers... I said that there's little demand for the certification. Think about it - you don't need a certification to show you can create a Web site. You've got proof you can show them!!! Right??? You can physically show them a site you created! Thus, certification isn't demanded for Web designers as much as it is for systems and network and router and security admins. After all, I can't go into a job interview and bring in a sample of my network administration, can I?

I'm no Web designer... I've just been in the IT industry for years, and met more than my fair share of Web designers and IT managers and CIOs. Listen to me if you want... or ignore what I have to say. Doesn't matter to me; I'm not the one at the start of my career. ;)

EDIT: Search for keyword "CIW" on that site you linked: 0 hits. Search for "web designer": 239 hits. Dreamweaver, Flash, Photoshop all have hits... CIW isn't in even one listing (if their search tool is working). The certification simply isn't in demand.

 

I appologize if i sounded a bit off, but i have been training now for five months and have just realised ( after more advice) that a good portfolio is all you need to get ahead in web design.

What all of us in here are doing is wasteing our time trying to pass the exams when we should be concentrating on building web sites and learn as we do so.

What you say is right and i am sorry for doubting you!

Getting a good portfolio is the key and certifications are just a bonus!!

Thanks for your advice, anymore would be nice.?

 

No problem - it's always best to double-check any advice you get, even from us grizzled veterans.

The reason most of us on this forum need certifications is because most of us here aren't Web designers... we're wannabe IT techs, help desk techs, desktop support techs, system admins, or network admins... jobs that DO require certification because we can't create a portfolio of work. So certification, to us, isn't a waste of time at all.

Certification isn't absolutely useless for Web designers... it *might* be the one thing that sets you apart from others with similar experience and similar abilities. Whether it helps or not depends the skill level of your competition, and whether the employer values the certification. Some do... some don't. However, your portfolio will probably do much more to influence an employer than any certification will.

 

I totally agree....many thanks for the advice!

 

I disagree with this. I am a web developer and have been for 11 years. Many of the large clients I see wanted to see certificates. This is why I started the CIW exams.

Since getting some of the exams I have seen an increase in my quotes for jobs being accepted. One client the other day said I was not the cheapest by far but went with me as the rest just had a good portfolios.

So saying they are a waste of time is incorrect. They are a great addition to a portfolio which should consist of your past experiences as well.

What is your main aim in doing these exams? Are you getting these exams to prove your knowledge? or are you trying to get into web development?

Andrew

 

Hi Andrew

What i sat out to do 12 months ago was to pass the CIW exams ( IDO 510 -20 -25) and then move onto the MCAD certificates, thats still my plan and allways will be.

But since passing my foundations exam, i have applied for a junior web design position with 6 companies and all have said either that my skills aint good enough or have i got some recent examples of my work to show. ( which i haven't)

Correct me if i am wrong but surely the CIW Associate certificate is good enough evidence that i can at least do the basics of web design?????
The thing is...and i say this in my CV.....is that i have good knowledge of web design software such as Dreamweaver, flash and photoshop, i know the basics of hand coding such as xhtml, css and javascript, yet i haven't any evidence of this knowledge, only the CIW Associate cert to show.

I have just spent the last two months studying for my next exam when i feel i should of spent it learning css or javascript and even though i know alot more about the methology of web design, i still haven't got that portfolio and feel that i have wasted my time learning stuff that doesn't really need learning.....only if you are wanting to pass an exam....not get that important portfolio i need and then the entry level job.

What i am saying is that the portfolio should come first then the certificates because if i was an employer looking for a web designer i would definitly want to see recent work of theirs, and if that was good enough....then any certificates would probally make up my mind.

 

Exactly right. The certifications are by no means useless... as Andrew stated, they CAN be the difference between getting hired and not getting hired. But the portfolio is extremely important.