Posted on 05/17/2008 6:18:29 PM PDT by Dutchgirl
I have been checking out various on-line IT courses for my college age home schooled son. I found this site for $149.00 that features a full menu of options for a flat one year membership,
SECURITY+ CERTIFICATION A+ CERTIFICATION
ACCOUNTANCY ADOBE
CISCO CLAIT
CONTACT MANAGEMENT COREL
DATABASES DESKTOP
DTP ECDL
E-QUALS GRAPHICS
I-NET+ CERTIFICATION INTERNET
LOTUS MCSE
MICROSOFT MOS
NETWORK+ CERTIFICATION NOVELL
PROGRAMMING SERVER+ CERTIFICATION
SOFT SKILLS UNIX
WEB DEVELOPMENT
and the other one in the link--whose typos on their web page do not inspire me with confidence.(My typos I attribute to my Saturday ration od Sam Adams)
Bottom Line: I have a great kid who wants to earn internet security cerifications without having to attend four years of liberal mind control meaningless classes. We are having a hard time wading through course descriptions to figure out where to get started. Soliciting freeper help and input.
If yoy want your son to get an IT career get him a plane ticket to New Deli.
Do you have some spare computers lying around the house?
If not, you can pick up old computers at the thrift shop or Craigslist for pennies on the dollar.
All he needs are some computers he can network, and maybe a book, and then some exam question cheats.
Self Test and Transcender were two of the traditional market leaders:
http://www.selftestsoftware.comThe advanced Cisco [and Juniper] exams are about the only ones where you might need some classroom time, because there you are dealing with actual hardware.
But people have been known to purchase used Cisco and Juniper equipment off of eBay and have taught themselves that way.
certifications are a dime a dozen. A good education is worth more, experience even better. Certifications arent a waste but they are better from a well known reputable source.
Thanks for the links. I am beginning to think that a few “Dummies” books and on line tests will be a satisfatory replacememnt for college for him. He’s a unique person. Did you know that the fishing rod in WOW was a lethal weapon?
Send him to a community college get a two year degree. If you want to avoid liberal colleges, send him to Bob Jones or Liberty.
Online classes are crap. I’ve done them.
“I am beginning to think that a few “Dummies” books and on line tests will be a satisfatory replacememnt for college for him. He’s a unique person”
Career wise he’ll do far better with a degree if at all possible. Even a 2 year degree. People who sell IT training and certifications often grossly overstate the earning power of their certification/training. Get him some training and then a entry level job. Build a lab at home that he can experiment and develop skills.
The local Community College wants $3k plus books for the same certification offered for $149...and the local CC also requires the basic studies in diversity crap in order to offer the AA. So, Appypappy- which is more crappy?
You get yourself a book, and some old hardware, and you study as hard as you can.
But then you memorize all the cheat questions from Transcender or Self Test [or preferably both of them - or some other firms - there are lots of people doing cheats nowadays].
Studying is great, but it's the cheats which get you the certification.
“Studying is great, but it’s the cheats which get you the certification. “
Doesn’t help him to actually know something though.
Nothing replaces college. College teaches you to work in a team environment which is essential in the working world. Community college should be fine. I’ve been in IT for almost 30 years and I have never met anyone with zero college experience. People had community college at least.
I was in a fraternity with a bunch of Aspbergers-ridden It types trying to come out of their shell. Of course, I was one of them. College does that for you.
Companies are pretty wise to that now. Certification helps IF you have experience. It doesn’t replace experience.
Certifications aren’t worth much. An associates degree from a community college is worth a lot more.
No - "actually knowing something" comes from studying and playing around with old hardware.
Passing the exam is something entirely different - assuming the studying has been done [so that there is some baseline level of competence], the quickest road to certification is via purchasing [and learning] the cheats.
Trust your gut instinct on this, and don't let these guys talk you out of it - by and large, college is a total waste of money [and when you think about what your tuition money is subsidizing, it's even worse than a waste of money].
Don’t get certification. Get the classes. An online degree is a joke anyway. I work with lots of people who don’t have a college degree. But they do have the classwork.
I took 28 hours of Accounting classes just to sit for the CPA exam. I never got the degree because I just wanted the classes. Note: My company paid for the whole shooting match. Sweet deal. If he could get a job at a company that paid the bill, it doesn’t matter what job he does for them. We had warehouse workers getting a free degree.
The key is to get him in the classroom doing the project work. He may decide he hates it.
My son just approaches the world and problem solving from a very different perspective. I think he would be brilliant in security for this very reason...but I don't think I can get him back to CC, which is like High School on steroids. Nor do I want him living in my garage at age 30.
Since he is already on a computer 10 hours aday, on=line classes semed like a no brainer. How did your classmates/Frat brothers do?
“Trust your gut instinct on this, and don’t let these guys talk you out of it - by and large, college is a total waste of money [and when you think about what your tuition money is subsidizing, it’s even worse than a waste of money]. “
nonsense, a degree isn’t required in IT but it VASTLY improves your earning power. Doesn’t matter what the degree is but a 4 year degree is mandatory as you progress up the career ladder. Especially when the job market is tight. I know people who managed to build a career without a degree only to find their options outside that company nonexistent.
Education is never a waste. Doesn’t make them smarter or wiser but it does set them apart from the chaff.
Keep in mind that schools like Duke have online schools. I know kids that have full blown asbergers and do well with the right environment. They need an understanding boss and some basic skills.
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