Training Suggestions for a Tight Budget

Russ5813

Hello everyone. I recently just finished my probationary period as a service desk specialist and my supervisor informed me that I have $800 to spend on training between now and the end of our fiscal year (June). Most OLL courses I've looked at start around $1800 and go up from there. I checked for any semi-local tech conferences/seminars that may be coming up but there doesn't seem to be much going on until later in the summer. I don't intend to leave any unspent money on the table, and as long as I can justify the expense (i.e. relate it to my duties, which I do a little of everything--security, network, desktop support, etc...), my supervisor will support it.

So, I'm hoping the TE community can offer some ideas for training to get the most bang for my buck. So far I've considered buying books or possibly a 1 year sub to CBT nuggets (although this slightly exceeds the $800 limit), but I'm curious what sort of training others have had with a limited budget. What say you?

shochan

Lots of good stuff here

https://linuxacademy.com/join/pricing

PJ_Sneakers

What kind of training?  You never mentioned what you're trying to learn.  That would be helpful.

Russ5813

We use a number of technologies/platforms that I'd like to get deeper in the weeds with. SCCM, PS, SharePoint, AD, Nessus, CUCM. I know that spans several disciplines but I get a little exposure to each and they all interest me. I figure if I can become proficient enough with at least a couple of those, I may have the opportunity to eventually move into a sysadmin role.

PJ_Sneakers

Gotcha. I have been lucky to have the opportunity to evaluate a lot of the training companies out there.  Lynda, Trainsignal/Pluralsight, IT Pro TV, etc.  Out of all of them, my favorite has always been CBT Nuggets.  But YMMV.  You should check out some trials from CBT Nuggets, Pluralsight, or IT Pro.  Lynda was meh.

stryder144

I would add to PJ_Sneakers recommendations with Udemy and ACM.org (they offer access to SafariBooksOnline as a part of the member benefits, which means books and videos).

SteveLavoie

Pluralsight 299$/years  
Safaribooksonline 399$  
With those 2, you get new training every day  

paul78

Totally agree with @stryder144 about an ACM membership - @Iristheangel had recommended that to me a while back and it's a great value. It's only $99/year and access to SafariBooks and Skillsoft. If you are intestested in the Digital Library as well - that's $198/year.

Jon_Cisco

I like CBT Nuggets but if you have not used it yet definitely do the one week trial. It is a bit pricey if you don't have the time to watch the videos.

Russ5813

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I've checked out some of the resources recommended here and they're definitely interesting! Funny thing is, I spoke with my supervisor a little while ago about setting up a 1 year subscription service and they weren't really on board with that (they wanted me to attend an actual class). I told them that $800 was simply not enough money to cover a decent training session and they bumped my training limit to $2k So, it's back to the drawing board with an improved budget.

jcundiff

Not sure if you are a veteran or not, but if you are, be sure to take advantage of all the stuff thats free for veterans on

https://fedvte.usalearning.gov/

Also if you are a veteran, the 1st two Splunk courses (User and Power User [I think are their names]) are also free

paul78

Russ5813 said:

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I've checked out some of the resources recommended here and they're definitely interesting! Funny thing is, I spoke with my supervisor a little while ago about setting up a 1 year subscription service and they weren't really on board with that (they wanted me to attend an actual class). I told them that $800 was simply not enough money to cover a decent training session and they bumped my training limit to $2k So, it's back to the drawing board with an improved budget.

That's an interesting response from your management. By actual class, is the requirement that you sit in a classroom with people with an instructor that's lecturing? Or would distance learning count? If distance learning is an option - you could check out the classes at Coursera or EDX. https://www.coursera.org/ https://www.edx.org/

Also - not to state the obvious - but you could also check out the classes by TE's sponsor - Look at the drop-downs - https://www.infosecinstitute.com/courses/

cyberguypr

Are they still stuck on physically going somewhere? $2000 for a physical class it's still not that much. Even an A+ class at most providers is over $2000.

Russ5813

I think I could get them on board with an OLL class. Which may be my only option because as you said, I'm realizing that $2k isn't really all that much for a physical class. There are a few service management classes under budget, but I'm more interested in improving my technical skills right now. I'm tempted to go back empty-handed just to see if they'll double my budget again. Probably shouldn't push my luck

cyberguypr

Ha! Nice gamble. May end up with nothing though. If you have an interest in security, Elearnsecurity's offerings, although not live classes, would fit within this budget. 

LionelTeo

Udemy. I found buying books is the best seriously. Those 50 dollars books are usually covering the same stuff as those 6k dollars courses.