Boot Camps?

Hello all. New to the site here and the info here is very useful. On to my question. I was think about signing up for one of those boot camps that say they will help you get certified in A+ and Network. Can you really learn both A+ and Network in one week?

The college where I am currently enrolled teaches both A+ and Network but my time and semesters are all book up. I was thinking about signing up for the boot camps in order to save some time.

My main questions are these boot camps legit or a waste of money? Has anyone enrolled and been certified by these boot camps?

Thanks in advance for your help.

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Comments

keatron

Basically what boot camps are supposed to be for is for people who already have the basic skills needed and just need to be whipped into shape on exam objectives.

Plantwiz

Although a boot camp sounds tempting, I've always figured I can buy a LOT of Technology/certification books and accomplish about the same thing in my lab.

I'd agree, that boot camps are geared toward people with knowledge who need a crash review, not a complete newbie.

FWIW

Kawi130

Cool. Thanks for the info. I do know A+ (still need to brush up on CPUs) but I dont know that much about Network. It may be cheaper to pick up some books and study Network on my own. Gotta think it over.

keatron

Exactly. Spend 50 bucks on a couple of books, read and practice. Then you'll have a better idea of where you stand. It's a lot cheaper than spending $3,000 on a boot camp. I've taught boot camps before and it seems that half the people attending end up being not even remotely ready for the material that's covered. Not to mention it's covered at a pretty fast pace. If you have no experience, usually you will come out of a boot camp feeling drained and depressed, and with a feeling that you just wasted a week (or however long it is).

Slowhand

Be wary of some of these bootcamps that promise miracles. My networking professor went to do a forensics seminar about a year ago, and came across a guy who was doing a MCSE 2003 bootcamp at the same facility. When they got to talking, my teacher found out that the bootcamp simply trained the students how to take the tests. They were more about how to answer the questions, how to read them, and not really about the material being tested for. Basically, they were organized braindumps that this guy had paid some $5,000 for, and they guaranteed a passing score on every test, or he could retake until he passed, for free.

Here's the kicker: it had taken my professor about six months to take his MCSE 2003, and he has just about ten years' experience in the field, including having taken MCSE 2000 almost as soon as it was offered. This guy, on the other hand, was taking all six tests, plus his Security+, inside of four weeks. He even admitted that he'd never really studied this stuff before, he had equivalent to about A+ experience, and thought it was so funny that he could "earn" his MCSE in that time and get a better-paying job.

The lesson: be careful with bootcamps that pump all the info into you in a week or two, and have "first-time pass" guarantees. They're out to take your money, and usually all they get you is a toiletpaper certification that will end up getting you in trouble when you go to work.

(Actual conversation between that same professor and a potential employee, during an interview:)
Employer: "Alright, so it says on your resume that you're MSCE and CCNA certified. Let's see what you can do, go plug the server into that router and we'll get started."
Candidate: "Which one's the router?"

AnthonyJD81

I have enrolled at New Horizons which is kind of a boot camp I guess. I attended my first class which was XP Professional (70-270). The course did not really prepare me all that well for the exam but it got me fluent with the interface and knowledge of how XP worked.

After that week, I studied with the MOC book, resources on this site, Transcender, and **** exam simulations for 7 days passed the exam with an 880.

So basically, if you have been out of the IT field for awhile (like I was) then the boot camps are great for getting acquainted with again. Otherwise, if you are in an IT position or are doing private study on your own, just grab a book or two and an exam simulation. You should be fine and you will save yourself quite a few dollars

Plantwiz

AnthonyJD81 wrote:

After that week, I studied with the MOC book, resources on this site, Transcender, and xxxxxxxxxx exam simulations for 7 days passed the exam with an 880.

Too bad you need the **** site to help you pass

Might have been a good score.

JDMurray

Plantwiz wrote:

Although a boot camp sounds tempting, I've always figured I can buy a LOT of Technology/certification books and accomplish about the same thing in my lab.

The disadvantage to this is in not meeting and collaborating with lots of people with the same interests and goals like you do with public classes, seminars, boot camps, etc. I like these learning situations because there are many people available with lots of new knowledge that I can absorb.

Plantwiz

jdmurray wrote:

Plantwiz wrote:

Although a boot camp sounds tempting, I've always figured I can buy a LOT of Technology/certification books and accomplish about the same thing in my lab.

The disadvantage to this is in not meeting and collaborating with lots of people with the same interests and goals like you do with public classes, seminars, boot camps, etc. I like these learning situations because there are many people available with lots of new knowledge that I can absorb.

Yes, this can be a disadvantage indeed! However with limited funds vs. being 'bummed' that one cannot attend, 3-5books can be purchased (even used) to prove as a resource to learn the new material. Not much can replace interactive learning.

Networking - that is with people (not what we do

). Is extremely valuable for anyone with a business or anyone working for someone else..so everyone