So you heard an advertisement on the radio for computertraining.com eh? Well, so did my uncle and he decided to inform me right away. I currently work in the IT field and at this point I have no certifications. I'm just your average nerd who loves working on computers.
I was told by my uncle to check out a website he had heard an ad for on the radio. The advertisement claimed that you could get the necessary skills and IT training to start making an average salary of 40K-45K. "Just come take the entrance quiz on our website." So, naturally I headed over to their site and all I really see is "Take the Quiz." At this point, I have no idea what the company does so I click the link and go on.
There are (currently) a total of 3 quizzes. The first was extremely easy and anyone with even the slightest Windows XP experience should be able to pass. The second was a little tougher and would require a bit more in-depth knowlede of Windows XP and the administration side. The third went even farther (I thought it was a bit tough) and now you had to have knowledge of Active Directory and so forth.
I passed the 3 tests and then found a link to "learn more." Following here, I find out that the training is for an MCSE certification. They place several different titles on the 'Program' page (MCP, MCSA, MCSE). For those of you that don't know, they build on top of each other (MCP - MCSA - MCSE), so really, you would just end up saying you're MCSE certified (the others would be assumed). It also says 'Cat 5' cabling (that's useful =P).
So now I have an idea of what is going on here and I take a closer look at the 'Tuition' page. DO NOT be deceived here! The site says that the average salary for an MCSE is 65K. Yeah, with several years of experience and another certification or two. This page also shows the course cost as 25K! If you were to take the MCSE courses through another training center, course by course, it would cost roughly 15-16K. If you want to go the self-study route (assuming you're pretty IT saavy) then the books can be bought from Amazon for roughly 500. Already I can see that they're making a tremendous profit from this.
Look a little closer at what's included and you'll see 'exam voucher' and 'mastermind access.' First, what the exam voucher tells us is that you will not be taking any tests at the computertraining.com learning center. You will most likely have to go schedule the exame somewhere else. Most well-known, accredited training centers will be able to test on-site at the learning facility and then give you your score right after.
Second, for those of you not familiar with 'mastermind' it is a form of "braindump" (answers and questions from previous tests/test takers) that you mostly try to memorize so that you can pass the exam. Any form of braindump is highly frowned upon by IT professionals and employers and is also very un-ethical.
Again, keep in mind, I have not taken a course at computertraining.com at this point. This report is meant to be informational from an IT workers perspective.
After taking the tests on the site, I'm contacted by a representative who asks why I'm interested in computertraining.com, if I understand what they do, etc. I explain to her that if I want my MCSE I would prefer to do self-study. She politely replies saying that they have these 'informational seminars' and that because I did so well on the tests, they'd like me to come out and get some information about the program. She says that, if nothing else, it will help me to make an informed decision on how I would like to pursue my training. So I kindly accept and setup a time to do this.
This is where my story currently ends. I am scheduled for (originally a 1 hour meeting) a 2 hour information seminar with the director of CT.com in Southfield, MI tonight (11/28/06). I have done my research and read up on quite a few things about this company so it should be an interesting meeting. I will post a response to this report afterwards so that everyone knows what happens. I hope this information has helped you so far and be sure to check back for my 'informational meeting' results:) [I can be reached via e-mail - * (REDACTED FOR SECURITY PURPOSES)
Venom
Novi, Michigan
U.S.A.
0 comments