We have all heard the radio advertisements for Computertraining.com. You know the one that says the average salary for a Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE) is still over $50,000 a year.
While this may be true what they don't tell you is that an employer is only paying those salaries to a qualified individual who is a MCSE and has years of actual hands on experience. The truth is that after your $20,000 investment the only thing you have learned how to do is memorize a bunch of exam questions and answers.
That's right for $20,000 your tuition is divided into 2 protions. Half of your tuition goes toward 6 or 7 text books, 2 three ring binders with Xeroxed copies of lab excerises and access to Mastermind.com. Mastermind.com is an online tool designed to prepare the students for the Microsoft exams by giving you the questions and answers. The other half of tuition goes toward hours spent in the classroom. This is the only part that is refundable if you decide to withdrawl within the first 8 weeks.
Although the course is represented as a 6 month program it is actually a 4 month MCSE program and a 2 month Cisco program. So basically they charge you $10,000 for books and material and $10,000 for class lectures. Plus at a cost of $125 each there are 9 total exams to obtain the MCSE, CCNA & CCDA certifications. If you fail any of these the money is lost and has to be paid again to retake it.
Computertraining.com claims that they have a %97 pass rate and why shouldn't they if they are giving the students the questions and answers.
However this has really devalued the certifications in the IT industry forcing Microsoft to change the tests and employers requiring hands on experience. They actually goes as far as to give the students other websites to visit that have more up top date exam questions and answers.
Computertraining.com has no interest in training people for a skilled career in the IT industry. All they are interested in doing is to scam hard working people out of money that they have saved or borrowed to try and make a better life for themselves and their families.
When it is all said and done all you have to show for yor efforts are a few peices of paper that say Microsoft on it, no actual experience and a $20,000 debt that you probably won't be able to pay off with an IT job if you can get one.
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