ComputerTraining.com 11/28/2006 - Read First! Scam? Fraud? Info from IT perspective Southfield Michigan

Alright, so I tried to type up this reply before, but became distracted with work and totally forgot about this post. So I'm going to try and remember what I learned at the 'informational seminar' as best I can. I'll go over what I can remember first, and then I'll respond to the two comments made here.

I arrived at the computertraining.com training center a good 15 minutes before the start time. I was asked to fill out a simple form with information about my background/experience etc. I finished that up quickly and then sat and waited. While waiting some more people arrived and filled out the form. Then finally we were called in one-by-one to talk to the recruiter for a couple minutes to go over what we wrote on the form. They ask about your interests and why you're here, etc etc.

Then they pulled everyone into a single room to give their speech. At each seat is a packet of information with some marketing brochures and other information. While I can't recall everything that was said, I do remember several important things. The first was the average salary chart given to us. The presenter tried to push that with this program, you could start making a significant amount of money. If I still had the chart I could tell you the amounts, but it's not with me. Do not be fooled by the salary amounts listed here. These are not entry-level salaries that someone will start paying you after completing only this program. Yes, an MCSE is a good certification, but much better when combined with other certifications and experience. That being said, their prime target audience for this program is career changers. We're talking about people that have already been working in (hopefully) a professional field and want to break into the IT world.

Now, after the informational meeting, they take you back in for another one-on-one meeting, probably to sell you on the class. Going in there with experience and knowledge will greatly benefit you. I know it helped me. I was able to question the information. For example, yes they have a high percentage pass rate because they have to per Microsoft. However, just because you pass the course does not mean you earn the certification. They'll tell you how great they are because they have a 90% pass rate or something like that, but ask them what percentage receive an MCSE and their look changes. You'll probably receive an "I'm not sure" type answer, or a "I'll set you up with the instructor" type answer because they can A) answer your question and B) sell you on buying into this because they're already certified.

TO CONCLUDE (for lack of memory of anything else, capped for those who will just skip to to end) ComputerTraining.com IS NOT a scam. It is a legitimate training center. Here's why I say this: you will receive good, in-depth training. The instructors are all MCSE/MCT certified. This is a 6-month long course. That's a long time. I'm sure that means it's pretty in-depth training and lots of hands-on. The price is obviously a little high, and I definitely would negotiate that if you're interested in taking this course.

As I've said before, you can take all of the necessary courses for an MCSE through ---- for $16,000. That's $10,000 less than what ComputerTraining.com charges, and on top of that, you'll probably get a discount from for taking that many classes. You'll still get in-depth training from qualified instructors, and a re-sit guarantee if you don't pass the corresponding certification exam. I stress this out to the people that learn well by being taught.

To take any form of IT course, you need to be able to learn from sitting in a class room, listening to an instructor, and doing some outside of class reading. Now, if you're like me and you like to self-study or teach yourself, then you can buy all of the needed MCSE books for roughly $500. This is a significant price difference and so long as you know what you're doing and have a spare computer or two to play with, this is definitely the way to go. You can download an evaluation copy of Windows 2003 Server for 6 months. That should be plenty of time to play around with it.

WORD OF WARNING: this course is not for you if you do not have a STRONG DESIRE to learn the material!!! This is the reason people do not get certified by taking this course. If you're one of those career changers, who does not have decent computer skills and you think you can just jump into this, I would highly suggest you re-think your plan of attack and possibly look at something more entry level. Otherwise, you're just going to waste A LOT of money by taking this course.

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Responses to rebuttals
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1 - 12/12/06 - Unknown

Ah, yes. The MasterMind software. I forgot to mention that above, but I'll say re-emphasize that here. MasterMind IS NOT a braindump. I was mis-lead from other information when I made the earlier post. I specifically asked in the informational meeting about MasterMind, and was told that it is a proprietary software to ComputerTraining.com. Again, it IS NOT A BRAINDUMP, and is legit software.

I don't know what they've done '30 or so' times, but many training centers are authorized to run the tests on the last day of the course. It's an inconvenience to have to schedule an exam outside of work, and outside of this course. ComputerTraining.com should have a test lab on-site.

I definitely believe that you can achieve an MCSE by means of self-study, if you have the proper study materials. This means books, computers, time, and more time. Just as mentioned, prepare to spend LOTS of time reading and studying. Do each exam separately and take your time. Make sure to keep notes as you go along and be sure to quiz yourself. Take your time and learn the material, so what if it takes you longer, say a year. You've just saved $25,000 by not taking the CT.com course.

2 - 12/26/06 - M

I guess I don't really have anything to reply on here. Good for you and I hope it goes well. Seems like you've got the right idea about paying attention and making this worth the time. Best of luck in all of your studies and on your tests. Be sure to come back here and reply to let us know how the finaly result turned out :)

sorry, allowing you to give a competitors name would instigate others to just file against their competition, to only come back later to suggest their company your comments on this policy are welcome! CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

Okay so check it, I recently signed up for Microsoft training and am currently enrolled in it for about 3 weeks now. I heard the advertisement on the radio just like everyone else in my class went to a seminar and know then that this is something I wanted to do. I think this school has been very helpful to me.

I believe if this isn't something you want to do or learn and don't have the patience or the time to invest in it, then this isn't something for you. People who want to complain about this school are people who don't study, who don't want take the time to learn it, or just want their money back. This is a school people nothing in life is free and no matter where you go, if you want education you're going to have to pay for it.

As far as the mastermind, anyone can remember answers to questions on tests and get it right the second time, but only those people who are really interested in growing and becoming educated are the ones who know why those answers are correct for each question. And for the ones they do get wrong they learn to understand why it doesn't go the way they thought.

As far as the testing in another facility goes, who cares :-) that you have to go to another facility to get tested?? At least you know your going to a place where most of the professionals IT come from.

On another note, I think this school is excellent, I can honestly say they care about seeing you succeed, at the time I wasn't approved for the full loan, they did an exception for me and did an in-house finance for the amount I didn't get which really helped me out a lot. I study everyday, and believe one day ill be on one of their boards they have hanging on their walls advising everyone who comes in there how this school helped my career.

Everyone at my school has been very helpful. My instructor is at the school everyday from 2-10 M-Thurs., and we are allowed to come in at anytime before school to meet with him if we have any problems with anything.

M.
Chesapeake, VA

That's a lot of info to post for someone who hasn't even visited the school yet, don't you think? :)

I'm an ex-employee, a trainer who worked in MD. I know the ct.com current employees won't step in to battle some of these posts, so I'll respond.

First of all, Mastermind (one of computertraining.com's training tools) was very inaccurately described in the first post above. CT.com goes out of it's way to make sure that the questions are not from braindumps. In fact, there is no "braindump" functionality there -- students have no ability to add questions to the database based a recently taken exam. Questions are created in a way to make sure they do not conflict with the actual MS exams. The questions and possible answers are written by different sets of people, and are then peer reviewed for accuracy, completeness, and content. If the question is not effective, or too closely resembles the real MS exam, it is not included.

And if you really think about this, it makes sense. Microsoft keeps a close eye on this thing, and you can bet they audit companies of this size to make sure they aren't dropping braindump style questions and testing on their students. Microsoft is not stupid, folks.

Furthermore, ct.com is a Microsoft IT Academy. A braindump style program would violate their partnership with Microsoft. MS would be free to revoke the partnership which would hurt the business.

As for exam vouchers, that's the standard way to pay for student exams. No, you can't take the exam at the local computertraining.com center. Wouldn't that be a conflict of interest? I have trained at three different companies now, and none have administered the exams themselves for that exact reason. The exams need to be administered by a disinterested third party. So you go to your local Prometric or Vue facility, just like nearly every other test taker -- just like I've done over 30 times.

Is the school expensive? Absolutely. Heck, ask them, they'll tell you. When I worked there, I told students it was expensive. But you're not paying for Mastermind access and test vouchers! You are paying for 6 months of classes. It comes out to $500 per class to be in a room with that instructor, and if you make the most of it, you will come away with a quality education.

Can you do it yourself, on your own, studying in your bedroom? Sure you can. Go buy a nice Dell, some Mark Minasi books, and bury yourself in your bedroom for 6 months to a year. It can be done, and lots of folks do it that way. But chances are, if you haven't done it yet, you're not going to. That's why you were looking at a school in the first place.

To finish up, as I left the school to pursue the next phase of my IT career, the Maryland ct.com locations achieved their academic accreditations, which is a big deal, and they are working on other states. Regardless, it doesn't matter how much a school costs, or if they are accredited, or whether you get 7 vouchers or 10, or if they administer exams, and so on. You only get as much out of it as you put in.