| |
| |
|
College & University Information |
|
|
|
Five Questions To Ask A Computer Training School Before Signing Up
As with any field, there are good technical training schools, and bad ones. When you sign up with one of these schools, you've made a significant investment in time and money. You deserve to know everything about the school and your job prospects after leaving that school before you put down your hard-earned money. The problem is, sometimes it's hard to know the right questions to ask. The point of this article is not to bash technical training schools. That's how I got my start in IT eight years ago, and today I'm a CCIE? and own my own Cisco training company and my own consulting firm. Before I ever put down the first dime, though, I asked some tough questions. So should you. What are my true job prospects and legitimate salary levels after I graduate from your school? We've all heard the ads on the radio? "Did you know the average salary of an MCSE is $80,000?" "Are you worth $65,000 a year? If not, call us!" I'm an optimist, and I often tell people that no field rewards individual achievement and drive like IT does. Having said that, none of us start at the top, and darn few of us start at that kind of salary. I'm sure that there are some people who broke in at $80,000, but I haven't met very many of them. Be very wary of technical schools that use the famous/infamous MCSE Salary Survey as a marketing tool. They tend to represent those salaries as starting salaries. Ask your technical school what the average starting salary of their graduates is. And keep in mind that salary is not the most important factor to consider when looking for your first job in IT; it's the experience you'll be able to put on your resume later on that you should weigh heavily at this point. In short, be very careful about schools that brag about starting salaries. It's not where you start, it's where you end up. How up-to-date are the courses you're offering? Make sure the school you're going to attend has made efforts to keep their courses relevant. Ask what changes have been made to their curriculum in the last three years. No field changes faster than IT. If the answer to that question is "none", look somewhere else. I want to work in IT security. Have you placed anyone in this field lately? If so, can I talk to them? Technical schools are jumping on the security bandwagon, with a couple of schools running ads about training you to work in Homeland Security. If that's your goal, that's great, but keep in mind that you have to get a security clearance for any job like that. And how do you get a security clearance? You have to be sponsored. And who will sponsor you? Your employer. Can you get employed in a Homeland Security job without having the clearance in the first place? Hmmm. Probably not. Hello, Catch-22. Again, I'm certainly not saying you can't eventually get an IT security job; if that's where you want to go, you can eventually get there. The key word there is "eventually". Ask the school you're thinking of attending whether they've actually been able to place graduates in such jobs. Ask to talk to them. If the school's managed to do so, they'll be glad to put you in touch with such graduates. What textbooks does your school use? Some technical school chains use only books that someone in their organization wrote. I've heard some of their own teachers complain about the quality of these books. The technical school I attended used off-the-shelf books, and the quality was very good. If you're looking into entering the IT field, you probably know someone who's already in it. Use that resource for everything it's worth. Ask that person what they think about the books, or for that matter, what the local reputation of the school is. IT is a small world, if the school has a good or bad reputation, most of the IT personnel in your city or town probably know about it. The fifth question is a question to ask of HR representatives. Every technical school lists companies where they've placed their graduates on their promotional material. Pick up the phone, call these companies, and ask to speak to someone in HR. Ask that person about the reputation of the school. Five to eight phone calls will give you a good picture of where the school stands with local employers. Making the decision to attend a technical school can be the best decision you've ever made; it certainly was for me. Make sure to ask the right questions before writing a check or taking a loan to attend; the answers to those questions will indicate to you whether this school is truly the school that can help you achieve your dreams. Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage. The Bryant Advantage's website offers FREE ebooks and tutorials for the CCNA and CCNP exams, FREE subscriptions to "Cisco Certification Central", and sells the best CCNA and CCNP prep courses and books on the market today. Visit his site at http://www.thebryantadvantage.com today !
MORE RESOURCES:
College-University - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Why Students Turn To Custom Writing Services Plagiarism has been condemned lately by all types of experts, including scholars, university board members and even commercial parties, such as TurnItIn, which sells plagiarism detection software righteously claiming that plagiarism should be combated through the most efficient and up to date tools.Well, if such company ever reaches its ultimate goal of eliminating plagiarism, it will go out of business, since there will be no more need for plagiarism detection. Choose the Delivery Mode for your e-Learning Course There are so many ways to deliver instruction online that the topic warrants its own lesson. In fact, deciding how you are going to deliver a course is critical to the way that you design and develop the course! Your first decision is whether or not you will deliver the course "live" or in a synchronous mode. Naturopathic Schools NATUROPATHIC SCHOOLS instruct in Naturopathic medicine which is an holistic approach that relies on natural remedies altogether. Sunlight, air, and water are thought of as natural healers; this, along with nutritional supplements and massage therapies are all part of naturopathic medicine. What Are Online Masters Degrees? Online masters degrees are higher education college degrees that are earned over the Internet. In order to apply, individuals must first have a bachelor's degree in the same field of study as the masters degree they wish to obtain. Self Marketing 101 - Why Students Should Tell Lies Everybody lies, and storytellers are some of the best liars around. But here is the problem: People like storytellers. What is the Cost of College Tuition? What is the average cost of college tuition? This is one question that most parents and future students ask themselves and need to know in order to plan for a college education.The national average college tuition rate for public universities is $4,694 per year for in state residents. Making the Most of Your Summer At last, summer is here! After a school year full of hard work, you can finally put away your books, break out your bikinis, and soak up the sunshine. This is not only what you deserve but in fact what you need: If you have been working to your maximum level during the school year, you owe your body about two weeks off during the summer for a real break. College Residence Life Staff: Speak to Gain Respect When you speak, do residents listen or ignore you? If you're having trouble commanding respect, it could be the way you're saying it. Here is a list of words that can sabotage your effectiveness as a communicator. Online Paralegal Degree Preparing You For Employment In an era when professional opportunities are diminishing, one area where opportunities are certainly expanding is in the field of paralegal work. Consequently, as the practice of law expands, and the need for professional paralegals grows, many argue that there has never been a better time to enter the field of paralegal work. Discover How Online College Classes Work It's no secret that more and more people are looking to the internet for a convenient way to further their education. Online classes are a great way to obtain an accredited college degree from home and continue to work a full time job. Accredited Online Universities - Getting Good Grades Taking distance education courses requires more motivation and self discipline than traditional college classes. Being able to work at your own pace can result in you falling behind on your work, if you're not self directed. Federal PLUS Loans As a student entering college, it is very unlikely that you have a few spare checks lying around that you can cash and magically use to pay for college. Most college-aged students, ranging from late teens through mid-twenties, have no line of credit and cannot receive much money in loans if they need to do so in order to attend college. The All-Important College Application H.G. Distance Learning: Balancing Your Education and Busy Lifestyle Distance Learning is a priority for most who have already set their lives out in one way or another in that their responsibilities have been laid out, and in quite a few cases, would not allow for regular College schedules. This is taken into consideration when looking for a place to study, and this shouldn't mean below par education. Online Colleges as a Resource for Your New Career Online Colleges require successful team buildingMost online colleges require their students to work together in teams to fulfill their coursework obligations. The University of Phoenix Online, for example, requires weekly participation and discussion questions, 4 to 5 individual assignments, and 3-4 team assignments. All About Grants for College Students Grants are a type of student aid that is awarded by the government. Grants for college students do not have to be repaid. Marketing Students: 5 Guidelines For Your Final Paper Get motivated! ('Why do I write this paper?")This is a basic question with a not-so-basic answer. In order for a job to be done well - and your dissertation paper is, in fact, a job to be performed - you should give yourself time to figure out why you will do it and get yourself motivated. How To Improve Your Study Habits and Remember Better If you're a student attending classes, you have probably experienced many moments when it was hard to make yourself settle down and study, even when an important exam was coming up.If you're like most students, you put off studying until the very last minute. Business Plan Competitions The idea of a business plan competition first started in the 1980's at the initiative of some MBA students from Texas and has increasingly gained popularity. Such events happen yearly and rejoice a great affluence of contestants, which highly increases their competitiveness. College Study Tips: Work Smarter, Not Harder Here are some benefits to studying for your college classes the right way: more leisure time, less stress, less pressure from your parents, less debt, better grades, and better career opportunities. Sound worthwhile? That doesn't mean there isn't work involved, but it's how you accomplish the work that matters.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
