Attn all computer People

00saturn · 03-12-2003, 11:09 PM

I know there are plenty of people who work with computers for a living. Granted you may do different things, but hopefully some of you can answer my questions. Recently I have been looking into classes for MS and Cisco certification. I like computers and I think it would be a good career choice. I have a few questions.
1. Is there really as much of a demand for certified people as they make it out to be?
2. Is this something worth doing for a young person as myself. In other words. Will it last, or is it going to be obsolete in 5 years?
3. Is it really necessary to take a $20,000 6 month course or can you just read some books or something?
4. Overall, do you think it's a good idea?

CelticShadow · 03-12-2003, 11:23 PM

1. It's an excellent career choice IMO. You can make alot of money in that line of work and there will always be a demand for it as long as we have computers.

2. This type of work, as long as you're willing to keep learning what's new will never be obsolete, and the younger you are, the better your chances will be.

3. To get a job "right away" in this field, you will need the classes and certifications. Alot of people are self-taught, and well, some of the self-taught people are better then the ones who went to school, but it's the ones with the pieces of paper that say you're "certified" that get the jobs right away. Most companies look for either "certification" or relevant experience.

4. I think it's a great idea.

picksl1 · 03-12-2003, 11:27 PM

read a book. i went to a tech school called cittone and it was a total piece of **** school. i went for a brand new class called PC tech support where i learned about getting MOUS cert, A+ hardware and software certs, and net+ cert. the net+ cert test is like $200 and is HAAAAAAARRRRDDDDDD!!!!!! you need an 80% in order to pass the test and get certified. the A+ test is 2 parts (hardware and software) each test is like $140 and if you pass the hardware test then you have 45-90 days to pass the second part otherwise the first test becomes invalid. ive heard that computer **** is goin noplace tho for the next few years. it took me 6 months to find a job after i graduated. and i got a job doin quality control that ****tone found me as a temp.

00saturn · 03-12-2003, 11:34 PM

Mike, I know I need the certifications. What I'm saying is, do I really need to take the classes that teach you how to pass the test or can I feasibly teach myself. I have some more searching to do, but the one place that I got an interview with and talked to told me it was $20,000 for their 6 month course. But along with that he showed me all the statistics of how people that go to this school pass and they do it with score of almost always over 95

I'm thinking you prolly can learn the stuff from books, but it would be a hell of a lot harder. But $20,000 is a lot of freaking money for basically a semester and half worth of classes.

Pat, I'm glad to hear your first hand knowledge, especially in the area of finding the job once you've received the cert. That was one of the things I'm most worried about. The guy I talked to assured me most of the people who get their certifications get a job right away and ususally get paid from 30-45K a year, and can increase by a lot in the first coupe years. Now this seems like a great idea. Just go to school for 6 months and you're in a really good career, but I'm not certain how much truth there is to everything that I've heard. Thanx for the comments guys

picksl1 · 03-12-2003, 11:45 PM

i never got the certs. im leaning towards car stereo cert now....they are only like $30 each test

it all depends on who you talked to about getting a job. if you talked to a teacher at school then yea they will say anything to keep you interested, just like the head of career services at the ****TONE i went to. he would give you the biggest BS stories ive ever heard and when he called asking you if you could go to a job interview it was like hi this ia paul can you go for a job interview tomorrow? hello like i can just take off work to go to another job interview with less then 24 hours notice.....sorry i think that this is turnin into a rant by me since ****TONE sucks so damn much. now i hear that they are moving away from computer classes and turning more towards medical crap. i also knew almost everything before i went into the school and graduated with a 3.95 GPA while i pretty much just surfed the net in class

00saturn · 03-12-2003, 11:50 PM

3.95

dizzam. That's good. You're talking about high school right? I had a 3.12. Could've had over 3.75 except I didnt "apply myself". So says my mom. Well, the company I'm looking at seems very good. Very reputable in the area. I plan on getting the certifications. I dont mind paying that much to take the test when it will help me BIGTIME in the long run. Its nothing really. I'm mostly concerned about the outrageous price of the class.

picksl1 · 03-12-2003, 11:53 PM

nope 3.95 graduating from the tech school....each class was only 3 weeks long. im horrible at retaining info for a lon period of time. my midterms and finals in HS were **** grades like my highest was prolly like 70 except for auto shop and i think my electricity electronics class i did like 85 or better. my geometry final test was 40

minivankiller · 03-12-2003, 11:54 PM

I once considered attending classes of the nature you speak of. It seems like a good investment of time to learn about the inner workings of a computer and the software side of it.

......but you don't have to spend that kind of money to learn it. Just go buy the A+ or MCSE certification book at Barnes & Noble or somewhere, read and study it, and just pay to take the test(s). The test is all that matters. Once you get the certification, a company will be willing to invest time in you and give you a job. After you get a couple years of experience, you will be set.

Hope that helps.

00saturn · 03-12-2003, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minivankiller

I once considered attending classes of the nature you speak of. It seems like a good investment of time to learn about the inner workings of a computer and the software side of it.

......but you don't have to spend that kind of money to learn it. Just go buy the A+ or MCSE certification book at Barnes & Noble or somewhere, read and study it, and just pay to take the test(s). The test is all that matters. Once you get the certification, a company will be willing to invest time in you and give you a job. After you get a couple years of experience, you will be set.

Hope that helps.

thanks. I really thought that it was possible to just buy a book on it. I'd rather go through some more difficulty and work my ass off to get it then spend $20K for what I know I am capable of doing myself. I noticed you said something about MCSE. well, perhaps I shoul've mentioned that this course prepares you for MCP, MCSE, MCSA, CCNA, CCDA, and cabling certification.

picksl1 · 03-13-2003, 12:06 AM

MCSE and the MC.. classes i believe last like 5 years before you have to go get recertified which means you have to constantly be learning new things. if you want ill give you all my books from ****tone that i got bc i prolly will never use them again. i also got like 3 thick books about 2 inches each. ill sell them to ya the next time i see ya for like $150 which is ALOT of info worth. all the books i got thru school is layin in my closet and they come up to mid thighs on me