MCSE offered by computrain

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Hi

I have been offered an MCSE qualification through a company called computrain, which i am sure many of you will have heard of. I work in the industry and the guy has told me it will be achievable in 8 months. Apparently you are guaranteed a job at the end of the course, and the course will only cost £2750.

Now my question is does any one know of this company? And secondly is this a con?

Thanks in advance.
Shelz.

 

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Beware of training companies guaranteeing you employment unless they physically can offer you a job of their own (which isn't likely).

Additionally, what constitutes a job? One where you have to commute 4 hours away? Perhaps making £5K less than you can afford? Or at a company that engages in less-than-honourable business practices, and employs a bunch of people you'd rather not have to work with? But hey, they've fulfilled the terms of the contract, right?

All that said, I have absolutely no experience with Computrain.

I typically advise that people employ self-study methods to get them through certification. I did, and I'm much better off for it.

 

Yes, I've heard of them and like any training provider they're interested in your money, not your career. The MCSE I'm told is a very hard exam, it's not possible for anybody to tell you when you're "ready" to sit the exam. It depends on how much experience you have already and how quickly you pick things up. Remember, different people learn at different speeds.

Before parting with £2750 of your no doubt hard earned cash, have you considered the self-study option? It's a hell of a lot cheaper than obtaining the cert through a training provider and I don't mean to sound cocky, but training providers, once paid, only send you material that you're expected to study in your own time anyway, and the material's often not up to the required standard.

With self-study, YOU'RE in control. YOU get to decide when you're ready to sit the exam and YOU get to decide which resources are best suited for your needs.

Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck.

- Alex

 

Welcome to CF and I also would advise you study this through self study. All you need is a very fast computer with over 2gb of ram and then use virtual PC for installing several other operating systems.

Virtual PC is free and can be downloaded from Microsoft's web site. Lastly, get the MS press books and start plugging away. Please, don't spend that type of money on acquiring the MCSE as it can be done a lot cheaper through self study and plus you learn at your own pace.

Above all the mentioned you still need practical hands on experience in a lab type environment and also in the work place. Best wishes as you've been given brilliant advice already.

 

what he said ^

If you can read, you can self study and save yourself £2000

 

i think i am going to take the self study route. For a full on MCSE how much is it predicted to cost me. I have found all the books I need, but will be purchasing these as and when they are needed. How long would be needed for each exam? a month? two months?

 

What do you actually do for your job?

Microsoft recommend at least a years experience in administering networks and desktop operating systems before attempting the MCSE.

MCSE certification won't do you much good unless you have a decent amount of experience.

It'll take as long as it takes but I doubt even the most experienced people on CF could do the MCSE in 2 months. There a few exams to get it not just one.

cost wise maybe you are looking at about £80 per exam and whatevr you pay for the books

 

I work in a school administering their network and the desktops that are used within it. I have been there for two years and previous to that i worked in a furniture factory doing exactly the same thing.

As for the exams, i meant per exam - maybe my wording wasnt clear.

 

Sh3l5, you have brilliant exposure and experience and also glad to hear you've opted for the self study route. With reference to studying for the MCSE one exam at a time how long it would take really depends on the individuals experience, time allocated to studying and other commitments.

But if you get the MS press books R2 release or second edition with another book i.e. syngress and setup a lab using Virtual PC or VMWare for the labs then you're good to go.

 

I myself has also been offered a job with computrain i am unsure as to whether to take it as i do not want to be ripped off.

they have also said that i willl receive a qualification within the next 8 months due to my experience ( i have only done a vocational ICT course as a GCSE)

if any one has any further questions please do not hesitate to email me

 

Are you sure they've offered you a job ?

 

This is exactly what I was on about in the why is it thread, 8 months yeah right.

 

Hi Everybody!

Just thought I'd give my advice on this, started studing for me MCSE 2003 back in September 2006, and Im hoping to finish it by the end of september, been in the IT industry just over 10 years in a variety of roles, and in my opinion its not easy to pass even with experience, I usually take about 3 months per book, which then gives me enough time to learn everthing I need and also practic, what I did was setup a virtual server with win 2k server, xp, exchange etc which I think is beneficial to help you pass this.

I started using microsoft press books but it wasnt going in so I started to use the Sybex books which are a lot easier to read and understand in my opinion.

 

Forgot to say this I take my Microsoft exams at a branch of Global Knowledge, they look ok but in my opinion its a waste of money as you can do all exams from selfstudy at a lot cheaper cost, all you need is PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) and the willingness and time to study.

When I first started out in IT, I went on a windows NT 4 core technologies course with New Horizon boring as hell all they do is read through a folder of items and none stop for 8 hours a day for 5 days, brain numming.

Hope this helps

 

You might want to check out the guide to self study in the training and development forum.

 

Has anyone on this forum actually signed up with Computrain or any other training company for that matter? I decided to reply to some of the comments on here because from what I have read, no one has actually signed up with Computrain or any other company and yet are calling these companies cons.
I signed up with Computrain in March 2008 to do the MCSE course, but before I put pen to paper I did a bit of research and spoke to a lot of other companies (Computeach, Advent & Skils Train). After careful consideration I chose Computrain for a few reasons. The first was that out of all the training providers I spoke too, Computrain were the only ones he never sent a salesman round my house to try and sign me up on the spot. Computrain, or should I say Jay the Senior Consultant I spoke to never put any pressure or on me to sign up. The second reason I chose them was there training method they used, which is an on line modular learning system and the final reason was the cost. Compared to some others, they were about half the price. I paid £3350 for the MCSE course, which included the ECDL, MCDST, MCSA and MCSE and all the exams.
From the very first day I signed up with Jay, he took a very keen interest in my progress. I spoke to him on a very regular basis, about every 2 weeks. He was very easy to contact as he had a direct line that I could call him on if I needed help. I also had a Training Manager I could speak too for more technical issues. I found the on-line mentors very useful and invaluable too.
Jay advised me from the very first day it would be challenging and very difficult to do the course, so I was under no illusions about it. He advised me if I was to do approximately 8-10 hours a week I could complete it in a reasonable time. By the end of April I was made redundant and had a lot more time on my hands. I started investing 30 hours a week in the training and was able to complete it in just over 5 months. Within 3 weeks of finishing Jay had got me a position as a Network Engineer working for LloydsTSB, where I have been for the last 6 months.
All I am saying is that I took a chance and it worked for me. I think Jay at Computrain had a lot to do with me succeeding, so much so that I wrote him a thank you letter. At the end of the day from my experience I signed up because the consultant was great.
I hope this helps when people are deciding whether or not to sign up, from someone who has actually done it rather then those who go on hear say.
I hope you all make the right choice for you.
David N G

 

NO, I DO NOT WORK FOR COMPUTRAIN!

So you think that because I have left positive feedback about a company I have actually used, that I must work for them? God forbid that someone has actually had a good experience using them.

Let me ask you a question...

Have you ever used Computrain or any other training provider?

Because if you havent, why on earth are you leaving negative feedback on a company you have never used? I dont make it a habit of giving negative feedback unless I have had a bad experience USING a service or product from a company!

I can see you are a premium member and I dont want to offend. I can see you have made 6,149 posts on these cert forums, which is a huge amount! Unfortunately I dont have time to read them, as I spend the majority of the time working!

This is a cert forum, so I thought I would give my experience of using Computrain, which I am entitled to do.

At the end of the day I advise people to make up there own minds, but seek feedback and advise from those that have used them rather than from people that hate the fact these companies charge for training! They not a charity after all.

If you dont want to use them, then the simple answer is dont! Self Study instead.

 

Don't worry DavidNG

if you have anything positive to say about a TP, they always think there is something more cynical going on.

The fact is, that most of the self studiers have never used a TP, but they have lots to say about them.

Strange.........