News & Articles About College & University

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 !

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

Online Degree Forum Opens For Students Seeking Information About Accredited Colleges And Universities
For the first time you can participate in a community of people seeking both traditional and online degrees. Degree.net seeks to help you by providing this community with free information packets on all accredited colleges and universities.

Capella University Online Degree Student to Present at Conference on College Teaching and Learning
Keith Fowlkes, a master's degree student in the online university's School of Education, will present on online education in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., on April 5

Distance Learning, Online Education, Electronic Education, Electronic Learning…Call It What You Want
Whatever you want to label "learning at home" and however you want to define the latest buzz words for non-traditional education, you can find a program and method that suits your needs. Right now over 1.

University Degrees Online - How To Get Your University Degree Online
If you're looking at earning University degrees online, then you will want to read this article. In it, I will give you some facts to consider to determine if getting a university degree online is the right action for you to take. Also, I will offer some advantages and disadvantages of earning your University degrees online.

Eduventures Study Helps Colleges and Universities Understand Growing Complexity of Online Higher Education Market
As the online higher education continues its transformation - moving from the periphery to the mainstream - schools offering online programming will find themselves competing in an increasingly complex market, according to Eduventures' latest report, Understanding the National Online Higher Education Market.

Online College Degree Programs - The New Way To Get an Education
Modern technology has done wonders in making our lives easier. In today's world we have cars that can tell you when you're lost and keep you from getting lost in the first place, telephones that can dial out just by being asked to, and colleges that you can attend from your home computer because of the advent of distance learning.

Online Education and Online Degrees - Many Options Available for Distance Education
Online education is the latest trend in alternative education choices. Also known as distance learning, options in online education are being pursued by people from all over the world who are looking to further their education.

Colleges and Universities Turn to Online Communities to Boost Enrollment Yield
EducationDynamics' web-based UPeers program cultivates engagement rates as high as 70 percent, resulting in enrollment increases.

Florida Association of Community Colleges Joins Capella University's Education Partnership Program
Online university partners with Florida's 28 community colleges.

10 Tips to Help You Select an Online Distance Education College
Check to ensure the college is accredited by a legitimate accrediting agency Accreditation means the college and its programs meet certain set educational quality and standards

Con Men Internet Scams: How To Earn a College Degree Without Earning a College Degree
What's a diploma mill? Explanation is right at your finger tips. Just check out the entry in Webster's Third New International Dictionary:

Excel College to Begin Online College Degree Courses in Early 2008
Excel College, an accredited online community college, has announced that it will begin offering business, technology, legal studies, health sciences and early childhood development education courses in early 2008. The college is a division of Excel Group, which owns and operates accredited online high schools in Minnesota, Florida and Louisiana.

Distance Education & Online Degrees - The Business of Distance Education
The business of distance learning – online education courses offered by colleges, universities, and trade schools – is an up and down affair. On the surface it would seem that distance learning providers are doing quite well, but according to a May 12, 2005 report at the Motley Fool financial website, the stocks of companies like eCollege and SkillSoft are earning less than honorable marks in the market.

College Admissions Essays that Take 1st Place -A Personal Statement Checklist
Congratulations on your move toward a college degree. And congratulations on seeking support for writing your admissions essay/personal statement.