All that glitters is not gold ... (Courses in General)

Member Name: eclipsehater

Product:	Courses in General
Date:	28/08/07 (621 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Get highly qualified and then find you can't get a job !!

Disadvantages: Empty bank balances and years in debt to the banks ....

I couldn't find a section for this so hopefully its found a home.

Of late I have noticed the massive amount of airtime on SKY given to these distance learning courses and programmes, from the Skillstrain, to Driving Instructor 'College' to Computeach and a whole raft of others, these are starting to really annoy at every interval, ok they've paid for the airtime but they rarely give you the low down you REALLY need to make a balanced decision.

For example, lets take the IT distance courses in general, bearing in mind most have an aptitude (got the money needed? good YOU'RE IN!) test and then tell you that 'places are limited' (i.e. we have 10,000 'places ...) and that it will ONLY cost you the best part of 3 grand (give or take another 2 or 3) plus for say an MCSE course and that's for the bare bones, now take the fact that Bill Gates ain't daft and adds/changes/deletes parts of the MCSE each year, thus giving these companies an ever ready supply of cash i.e. your money. What they DON'T tell you in the glossy ads i.e. like the ones with the guy in the donkey jacket moping home all forlorn and dejected, does an IT course and next time you see him hes in a suit with a flash car, chances are with a basic IT course under your belt you'll be lucky to get a 12k a year job as a field engineer fixing pc's in some crap hole company that's too tight to pay for its own IT staff somewhere in the country, oh you get a Renault company van (whopppee!) and thats IF you're lucky to find a half decent entry level job in IT nowadays.

If it was all glitz and glamour why is it that 11% of IT graduates can't get a bloody job? So you've got to question the validity of these courses and what they promise.

And its worse if you're unemployed, they just don't want to know (you can't pay!) but you CAN have a CDL , career development loan (aka a bank loan on 'preferential - to the bank anyway - terms).

And you'll be paying the bugger back at 80 quid a month or more for the next 3 years regardless of whether you actually get a job at the end of the course, if degree educated (cough) graduates can't get a foot in the door then you've got little or no chance, unless you know someone who can lever you in, and i have it on GOOD authority that IT agencies will rip you off as you walk in the door and run you ragged something chronic, so you have to ask yourself, do you really want that crap and runaround all the time? I certainly wouldn't.

There's a local IT trainer near me, they charge about 3,500 quid and specialise in ex-forces (as they get a joining civvy street bursary) so the moneys already there, they proffer the promise that they guarantee you a job (but no mention of salary , i'd say 10-12 if you're lucky and take it or leave it...) so all these great, super 'where's the porche?' IT courses are not going to make you rich in the IT world overnight.

I worked for an insurer once, the IT guy in the building was on 16k i think having left the RAF and he did every course they threw at him, when I asked him why, he said that they paid shit money for what he did plus night call outs and weekends for little or no premium and that to quote 'i'm gonna take the bas*tards for everything they have' and then when he's got all the qualifications he needed he said he'd be off like a shot, good for him.

It really peed him off when he was on holiday for 4 days and they booked an agency guy for 5, so there was a bit of an overlap, and when the agency guy told him what the agency paid him he went nuts!! nearly DOUBLE the rate the company was paying, but the downside was that work wasn't very fluid at the best of time, so when it came up in week blocks you took everything you could. Welcome to the world of IT ... no thanks!!

In brief, lets take the 'be your own boss' driving instructor, all you need is a driving licence... they say, yes, and a bank balance to pay the buggers as you certainly won't be getting rich quick, but they will !!

What the miss out is the fact that people (or a lot of people) haven't got oodles of cash nowadays, a lot of independent schools have gone to the wall , so those instructors left join (fight?) a slot in a known agency like BSM, AA or some similar one, usually at some considerable expense.

There the fairy tale ends, and it turns into the nightmare you dreaded, as you're usually out at 8am on the road, back at 8pm, ( I knew a neighbour once who was an independent, he was out 12 hours a day M-S and said that he JUST made enough after all the bills and such like to make a livable wage) so its 12 hour days if you're going to make the 'i'm on 30 grand a year' promises, with the smiling drip in the car or the guy 'taking it easy' in the cafe, plus every weekend usually and late nights too, so this isn't the alleged 9-5 job they make out, then you pay a cut to a school if you have one of their slots, then there's insurance, personal tax if you're self employed, it all adds up. Exactly all the nasty off putting stuff they DONT come out with in the shiny advert.

I think that advertising rules on both TV and paper media should be changed so they HAVE to tell you the expected cost, not just a vague 'financial commitment required' (HOW BLOODY MUCH ????) Because they do the hard sell through the call/sales centres to get you hooked and spin you all the bullshi* on how great it is ...

A load of codswallop I say, too little information, and to test it, find an online IT provider and contact them by email, start off by asking them how much the courses are and say you don't have much money ... i bet a tenner you don't get a reply if at all, as if they can't smell that 3 grand plus you have burning a hole in the wallet they're not one iota interested in paupers or those who may not have the ready funds, so emails are always 'screened', based on potential to pay, as those with an initial question of costs usually mean there's a financial issue at hand. Now try sending another email starting with 'i have been recently made redundant and have 8,000 to spend on IT training, can you help' (you're DAMN sure we can help, now how much exactly of that 8 grand do you have left Sir??)

You'll get a PHONE CALL let alone a bloody email within 24 hours ... guaranteed, they'll fight for your money !!

I suppose some courses do work for some people, but you've got to ask yourself with the current IT market in a steady global decline and companies laying off, just exactly WHERE are all these jobs they promise you???? Answers on a postcard to 'Bill Gates ain't stupid' ... !!!

In a word, a long gravy (skills?) train for the IT course companies, full of empty promises on the road paved with gold coins but little to show at the end and in all honesty, a fool and his money are easily parted, enough said eh?

Most of these 'IT companies' know the same amount about 'training' as I do how to bake a cake ... naff all !

And as all good cakes are in the eating , have a munch on these post links ... interesting reading indeed, especially the first one ..

http://www.certforums.co.uk/forums/thread7453.htm l

And on their own site an interesting 'interpretation' of the decline in IT roles and salaries, hmmm the juries definitely out on this one !

http://www.ciw.skillstrain.co.uk/

This one below made me laugh, this is the skillstrain site front page, starts off with an immediate contact form, they dont want to hide it away under mounds of info because they WANT you to contact them, it says 'begin the journey' !! If its anything like British Rail you're going nowhere - fast.

http://www.skillstrainuk.com/contact-us.html

This one is two years old posting wise, but wise it is. the blurb on the site belies the smooth talking sales rep who's gonna 'do a double glazing job' on you and get you to sign up for THREE years (34 months in fact) at 70 quid a month, so you'll spend 3 years in hock to them, and whaddya get at the end? A nice 'glossy certificate' whopeee!!!

http://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-3528.0.htm l

This one for computeach is a HORROR story, smooth talking salesman, 29% APR loans, profiling and more bluff and bluster than ken dodd's tickling stick, only you won't be laughing ...

http://www.ciao.co.uk/Computeach__Review_5695367

or buyer beware ...

http://www.ciao.co.uk/Computeach__Review_5635634

Loans, loans, loans Oh to be a driving instructor ...

http://www.instructorcollegedirect.co.uk/training /finance-options/

That's all folks, should generate some interesting feedbacks ... I would NEVER EVER use these type of training courses as they are only after one thing, as much money as they can screw out of you for as long as possible - and usually sod all worth to show at the end apart from a piece of paper. i'd sooner chance my arm with a fake Degree off ebay, it's got more credibility than these sharks.

Summary: Best avoided unless you're bored and have tons of money to burn