Tech schools

[Prowler]

So I have to get some training since I"m out of school. I gave up on that stupid CCNA crap and want to do something a little better/funner. I've seen some schools that are like camps for 12hrs a day for 9 days to get a MCSA/MCP or 5hrs a day for a week to get Net + and A+.
So does anyone recommend a good short term (under 6 months) school where i could get mcp, mcsa, net +, and a+? thanks

 

[posol]

montantaschooldirectory.com

national schools probably suck. look locally man. im sure theres a few.

 

[Prowler]

monTANTA lol. sorry, link doesnt' work even with it spelled right. every local that i'm looking for has gone t.u. in the last 8 years or so.

 

[halcyon985]

DO NOT under any circumstances go through a boot camp. For one thing they aren't cheap generally, for another, you dont learn as much. You may not give a shit, but fact of the matter is if your going in for an interview, the interviewer generally asks you technical questions. You won't know them.

Fact is, the way the job market is, even with a straight shooting cert your not going to get a job, or you'll get a ten dollar an hour 3rd shift tech support job.

If you really want a job, either get a degree, and then prepare to still not get a job, but maybe have a better chance, or start your own company and prepare to work your ass off trying to get clients that just aren't out there. Either way, you should be reading that CCNA book on your own. You don't need those classes, they are worthless. The books tell you all you need to know. And MS certs are worthless. The only certs that get you anywhere are Linux certs like RHCE or CCIE. Otherwise, give up now, or go to college.

 

[Prowler]

I honestly dont' agree with what you just put up. IT field jobs are the fastest growing jobs out there. The camps and schools also offer guaranteed passing of certs or they keep paying for you to take them.
MS certs are worthless? Wrong
Read the CCNA book and you'll pass the 640-607? Wrong

 

[halcyon985]

Originally posted by Prowler@Jul 12 2003, 11:40 PM
IT field jobs are the fastest growing jobs out there.

Dude I'm not trying to be a dick, just give you advice. I heard that commercial too. The one where they also tell you the average starting salary for a MCSE or CCNA certified tech is 75k a year? Yeah, right.

That statistic is from like 1998. Talk to anybody in IT, and jobs are hard to come by. Layoffs are very common. My friend Ian has his CCNA, MCSE, and A+ and had 3 years of freelance consulting experience. He spent 6 months of FULL TIME searching to land a $15 dollar an hour job that he only got because his mother works at that company and has connections, and he will readily admit this. When a big round of layoffs came around recently, and he thought he was going to get laid off, he said: "Oh looks like I'm gonna be back working at the mall again." He wasn't joking. Nor was he an idiot. When he was studying for his CCNA I used to quiz him, and I could say, Ian, tell me about the Spanning Tree Protocol. He would practically recite word for word what the book said. But he also understood it too, it wasn't just memorization. You can download router sims off the net, if you want one, PM me ill make sure you get a copy.

I'll give you this on the MS certs, they are practically worthless. Everybody and their brother has one, and forget the MCP, don't even put that on your resume, seriously, you will get laughed out of an interview, if yuo got one. Think about what it takes to get one? 70's and 60's and tests? About windows products? My 14 year old brother could get a MS cert. Lets be honest here.

As far as the bootcamps, they teach you how to pass the exam not how to run a network. I almost went through one, but I read multiple articles in trade journals about them and how horrible they are. Google for it I'm sure you will find the same.

I'm not just blowing smoke up your ass man, I spent a long time doing freelance consulting, since I was 16, and a good amount of time running an Industrial Battery Companies network/database needs for their three offices. I've been around. I have also been laid off, and spent a month straight looking for a job. There is nothing out there, and its not getting better, people are still being laid off (see the unemployment rate thread). If you want to get into the industry, more power to you, but you have to hit it from an angle different from everybody else. As an entry level go Red Hat Certified, take a class for that, but for the MS stuff, seriously, just buy the books. You will pass it. If you can't pass those without a class please just work in another industry because seriously your not cut out for it, no diss on you, its just the facts. I think you can though.

Any other help you need PM me or IM me, I would be more then happy to help out someone new, I wish I had that kind of help when I first got in it.

 

[halcyon985]

Oh and in reference to the beginning of my last full paragraph, I'm blowing smoke up my own ass...

 

[Domeskilla]

Dallas, TX.. communications/tech capitol of the midwest, if not the us, and its hurting, badly.

 

[joe654891]

I've been in the IT field for over 6 + years and I have to say...I agree with both halcyon and prowler. Both of you guys make good points. I have my MCSE (both NT and 2000), CCNA, CCNP (4 tests), and Solaris 8 Admin I & II. And I recently got laid off and I have to admit, I am not having the best of luck getting a job suitable for me. Right now, the IT field is so competitive. A lot of these companies/employers want a 4 in 1 guy. They don't want a guy that only specializes in one thing, they want a guy who can do a truck load of stuff (i.e. MCSE, CCIE, DBA, Security, etc) and the list goes on and on. I'm planning on taking some perl classes (scripting) and and Oracle class and see if that can get me ahead but who knows...you really can't say now-a-days. In any rate, good luck to you and hope you find what you're looking for...

~joe

 

[halcyon985]

Good point about diversifying... I should mention, like touched on, security is a good field to be in. Unfortunetly, its not entry level, you need to work for that, but it is a good goal to have in the end, a CISSP cert, which I should have mentioned as a sought after cert, as it is gold.

 

[joe654891]

Like I said, the list goes on and on...I think I'm just going to be a guy selling coffee at a local starbucks...hahahha.

~joe

 

[halcyon985]

Luckily I could work as an EMT, works out well so I can work overnight and get some sleep and go to school for Comp Sci during the day.

Physics and Chem for Summer School =



By the way joe... that WRX is wicked sick...

 

[joe654891]

Hey thanks for the compliment halcyon...

How's the EMT thing working out? WHat did you have to take or do to land a job like that?

~joe

 

[halcyon985]

6 months of 2 nights a week/3 hrs a night... with the occasional saturday. Thats how it is in PA at least. Not a bad gig, I make 11.30 an hour to sleep most nights. Doesn't make me rich, and it doesn't compare to what I made before, but hey, until Im done school ill take it.

 

[Prowler]

Just as a thought, what would anyone recommend for short term (2yr or less training) that has a good job market and paying? My sister went to dental hygiene school for 2 years and makes crazy money just out of school. on the coast wages start at $90 an hour with a year or two of experience. but that's not what i want to do for a profession. ugh... this is no fun.

 

[JDMilan]

I wish you all the best of luck, I have a degree (check out the recent post I made) and still looking for work and with 2 years experience. Persistance will do it for you guys IMHO.


Milan

 

[LXVTEC]

I agree the job market sucks. I live in Nor CAL and when I quit my last job in So CAL to move back to Nor CAL I spent 3 months looking and had to take a $13/hr job part-time fixing printers which is a big difference from $23/hr. The IT field is saturated with people looking for work from the .COM companies. I have an AAS and several different cert's and about 8 years experience in the field. I got lucky though my company has already moved me to full-time and raised me to $16/hr. I am going to get my Cisco cert soon just to make me that much more valuable.

I will give you an example of how bad it is in Sacramento, CA. My company put out an ad for 1 network technician and got over 1500 resumes.

I wish you luck on your quest. The IT field is very competitive right now and the companies have the upper hand.

 

[halcyon985]

Originally posted by Prowler@Jul 13 2003, 10:23 AM
Just as a thought, what would anyone recommend for short term (2yr or less training) that has a good job market and paying? My sister went to dental hygiene school for 2 years and makes crazy money just out of school. on the coast wages start at $90 an hour with a year or two of experience. but that's not what i want to do for a profession. ugh... this is no fun.

You could do Nursing... thats about the best job you can get right now. You can do the LPN program for 2 years, and get a good job in high demeand, but i would suggest you do the whole 4 and get an RN, then you can make crazy money. As an RN you can easily make 30-45 dollars an hour with a bit of experience. As far as 90 an hour from dental hygeine school, thats like 187,000 a year. Scan in a paystub please, because it thats really true, which I dont think it is, Im going to switch my major right now. Thats more than RN's and a lot of Doc's make...

 

[joe654891]

Yeah, nursing sounds like a promising career. The medical field will alway be there. And as far as the dental hygenist being a $90/hr, WOW, that is pretty damn good. But if this was the case, a lot of other people would have gone into this instead of the other careers they have chosen, don't you think? What do you guys think of a Law Degree? I already have my Bachelor's and all of the prereq classes I have taken are all trasferrable...I don't know, I don't want to go to school anymore...

And as far as a 2yr school/training...just go to a JC and take a Cisco cert class. Cause I'm sure they will have a lab you can mess around in. In any case, good luck in your search...

~joe

 

[Prowler]

Yes, $90 an hour. But dental hygientists only work part time usually. Otherwise they kill their hands very fast with that repetetive motion syndrome crap. $60-70 is very common on the west coast. here in extremely low cost of living MT, my sister makes $30 and she just graduated.