Paid IT Training Threw Curve ball need advice

thexfiles

Hey-

Perhaps I can get feedback from IT professionals.

I signed up for this IT training through my local community college.

The first semester which I am currently in consist of programming courses, web security, resume building, Network+ and Security + exam prep. The cost was over 800 dollars and we meet 3 times a week for 4 months essentially.


Now I was told for the next semester we have the option to take either MSCA server 2012, and windows 10 specialist, programming, or CCNA. Cost is over 800$.

Now I am told they are replacing CCNA with CCENT.

The classes have been fun and interesting but I could have prepared for Network + and Security + just using the resources throughout this forum. I signed up for the courses to get some hands-on experience for CCNA which is not happening anymore.

What would you recommend? Pay for CCENT, go down the MSCA route, or try and get a refund? 1600 bucks is a lot of money to throw down on classes that you could just study for on your own. Plus how far off is networking + to the CCENT? I plan to take Network + and Security + in a few months

I imagine 1600- 1700 I could find routers & switches to start a beginner lab.


Sorry for the rant but thank you for your advice.

yoba222

I have a CCENT and a CCNA. The CCENT is the first half of the CCNA. They probably figured the entire CCNA and all the other material would be too unrealistic to digest in only 3 days a week for a semester. So you'd still be getting CCNA training--just focused on the first half.
As far as my recommendation, I wouldn't pay for college of any kind unless it was going towards classes counting towards a degree.

NetworkingStudent

As yoba said..Do these classes count as part of your degree?

thexfiles

nope no credits for these courses. I figured I would get hands on training and motivation to get me to do the exams. It would be Tuesday Thursday class and Saturday labs.

That being said perhaps it makes more sense for me to just purchase my own starter kit and get my money back.


Thank you for your responses

OctalDump

I think it's a tough call. If you have the drive, then yeah, you could do it all by yourself. But there is something about being in a classroom with an instructor that knows the material, and can explain it, and other people in a similar situation.

It's a pity that you aren't getting credit for these courses towards a degree. Some community colleges offer really good 2 year programs that combine a lot of practical skills and certification with the degree.

The actual cost isn't that bad for what you get, but that's also relative to what $800 means to you.

As for CCNA, I know in my part of the world, they usually run it over 2 years since the NetAcad course is broken into 4 stages. Of course, you could sign up for a bootcamp and do the whole thing in 5 days.

If you do want to go the self study route for CCNA, then you can even skip buying the gear and use PacketTracer for all the labs. Some hands on real gear is useful, though. After all if you get a network job, you'll be using real gear.

Objectively, the MCSA is worth more than the CCENT, but it also depends on what you actually want to do.

Net+ to CCENT is still a fairly large step, since CCENT gets practical. Net+ can't get into the same detail of configuration since it is vendor neutral.

I think on balance, I'd take the MCSA option, and try to learn CCNA by self study.

Danielm7

Are the cert exam vouchers included in your tuition? If so you should subtract those costs from the total to get more of an idea of what the training portion costs. Obviously ignore if not. Also, I did some courses at a CC back in the day that were non-credit like yours, but then after they allowed you to bring in your passing exam printouts and they'd give you credit for related full courses at the college. No one else in my class seemed to know about it before but I managed to get 15 credits at the time, worth looking into whether they can do something like that.

BerkshireHerd

CCENT can easily be done self study with CBT Nuggets and a book along with either a copy of Packet Tracer or some switches and routers from ebay.