Spent $6k on training

syndrax

Boy am I glad I found this forum! I'm a relative n00b to this level of tech stuff and paid ONLC training $6k for 15 days of training. Last month, I took a 5 day course (MS2273), hoping that it would enable me to pass 70-290. Luckily, I decided to first try passing a practice test so I purchased one from MeasureUp. The first time I tried it, I only got 10% right. I've been doing these practice tests for about a month now and am up to 80 - 90% but still not sure if I can actually pass at this point.
My question is - I'm thinking about taking the MCTS courses for AD and then taking the tests afterwards. Not sure if they're worth it? Any advice? Should I get my money back? Thanks in advance!

loxleynew

Wow 6k? hmmmmmmmmm. Go buy some books and save a ton of money and you will learn more than sitting in **** classes.

Just my opinion...

NetAdmin2436

Wow, 6k sounds awfully expensive for only 15 days? That does indeed sounds like a **** camp. It takes years if you really want to fully learn some of this stuff, so I'm with loxleynew on this one. You can buy your own books and some pretty good lab equipment for way less that 6k and just do self study. Another option, especially if your new to IT, would be to take some classes at your local community college. You can take some basic classes and work on some IT certs at the same time since much of the material will be the same. I think you would get much more for your money at a known college or self study than that ONLC training place.

RobertKaucher

loxleynew wrote: »

Wow 6k? hmmmmmmmmm. Go buy some books and save a ton of money and you will learn more than sitting in **** classes.

Just my opinion...

Seconded. I would take half of the money and buy some decent hardware and educational material. But then you might be like me. I could not have completed my MCSE without the structure of some sort of training.

djhss68

RobertKaucher wrote: »

Seconded. I would take half of the money and buy some decent hardware and educational material. But then you might be like me. I could not have completed my MCSE without the structure of some sort of training.

Thirded. If you have a decent machine with lots of ram, virtualize it all in VMWare. I'm learning a ton just by going through the MSPress books and on track to have MCSA by the end of the summer here with 0 years IT experience. No need for overpriced **** camps.

eMeS

syndrax wrote: »

Boy am I glad I found this forum! I'm a relative n00b to this level of tech stuff and paid ONLC training $6k for 15 days of training. Last month, I took a 5 day course (MS2273), hoping that it would enable me to pass 70-290. Luckily, I decided to first try passing a practice test so I purchased one from MeasureUp. The first time I tried it, I only got 10% right. I've been doing these practice tests for about a month now and am up to 80 - 90% but still not sure if I can actually pass at this point.
My question is - I'm thinking about taking the MCTS courses for AD and then taking the tests afterwards. Not sure if they're worth it? Any advice? Should I get my money back? Thanks in advance!

Actually, that's $400 per day; it doesn't sound so outrageous to me for USEFUL training. If you are getting good training that teaches you useful skills then I would say that's definitely worth it. If I am doing classes directly with a client, depending on the topic the range is $400-$500 per person per day. For example, I have a WebSphere class coming up that is 5 days and $2500 per person.

However, I'm going to agree with the consensus here. It sounds like the topics that you were covering during those 15 days could have been much more thoroughly covered by doing self-study. For $6k you could have setup a nice lab, purchased top-notch study material, and still had some left over to pay for exam fees.

Another question...10% correct? Is this hyperbole, or should I walk away from this post with the understanding that you scored significantly less than random on your first practice exam? I'd be worried too, especially if to get up to 80-90% all I did was do the same questions repeatedly for a month...

Do you have links to the MCTS courses that you're interested in taking? We might be able to assess better by seeing the proposed course content.

MS

syndrax

eMeS wrote: »

Actually, that's $400 per day; it doesn't sound so outrageous to me for USEFUL training. If you are getting good training that teaches you useful skills then I would say that's definitely worth it. If I am doing classes directly with a client, depending on the topic the range is $400-$500 per person per day. For example, I have a WebSphere class coming up that is 5 days and $2500 per person.

However, I'm going to agree with the consensus here. It sounds like the topics that you were covering during those 15 days could have been much more thoroughly covered by doing self-study. For $6k you could have setup a nice lab, purchased top-notch study material, and still had some left over to pay for exam fees.

Another question...10% correct? Is this hyperbole, or should I walk away from this post with the understanding that you scored significantly less than random on your first practice exam? I'd be worried too, especially if to get up to 80-90% all I did was do the same questions repeatedly for a month...

Do you have links to the MCTS courses that you're interested in taking? We might be able to assess better by seeing the proposed course content.

MS

Thanks all for your responses!

The first class I took was MS2273 which was 2274 and 2275 combined. It didn't cover a lot of stuff like disks, printing, etc. It was basically a lot of AD and NTFS. Yes, I definitely got only 10% - very discouraging. Since reading this forum, I have ordered the Sybex book to study with, plus I'm studying the materials on this site.

The classes I was going to take next are 6424 (Fundamentals of Windows Server 2008 Active Directory - 6424 Course, Class - ONLC Training Centers)
6425 (Configuring Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Domain Services - 6425 Course, Class - ONLC Training Centers)
and 6426 (Configuring Identity and Access Solutions with Windows Server 2008 Active Directory - 6426 Course, Class - ONLC Training Centers)

Perhaps these would cover the concepts I need to know for 70-640?

Again, thank you all so much for your input!

TravR1

If you are up to 80 or 90, is that because you have memorized the answers or do you honestly know the right answer and can explain why?

I would at least go through the MS Press book once, study it completely, and then go from there.

TravR1

I believe the MS book also comes with a free 180 day trial version. If not the 290 then the 291 book definitely does.

dynamik

TravR1 wrote: »

I believe the MS book also comes with a free 180 day trial version. If not the 290 then the 291 book definitely does.

You can download a trial too: Windows Server Downloads, Service Packs and Trial Software

Lamini

couldve bought some real machines for that $$$. but hey, we all learn, i had to see for myself if boot camps were any good. in the end it was about memorizing, and the teacher made that clear.

i went through a boot camp not long ago and what a waste of $1800+5days of leave+5dayslostofwork as i failed by couple questions. other than getting a punch in the balls (and wallet) as far as my confidence went, i did my own self study afterwards and was only several questions from perfect. theres just some things you cant be rushed learning, and if you give it time to soak in, you lose it quickly after the test is done my imo

syndrax

Well, I took the test today and passed, no thanks to the class I took, really. Will probably request my money back for the rest of the classes that I haven't scheduled yet. Most helpful things were the MS Press book and MeasureUp, although I must say that the questions on the actual test are far different from the ones on MeasureUp. Many of you here recommend Transcender - are those questions more like the actual test? Might go with MS Press and Transcender next time.

dynamik

I prefer Transcender myself.

If you like instructor-led training, check out CBT Nuggets. Same type of deal, but much cheaper than the classroom. You obviously can't ask questions, but that's what we're here for

Congratulations on the pass!

vetec

I agree: you won't learn Microsoft in 15 days, some people can only pass exams. The real deal is to know system in and out and be a professionall. In my work I have contact with different admins, mostly from help desk and I really strugle often to get my things done as they are trained to do only few things and they never use brain. In this country poeple are train to click this and that and not to understand why and how thing are working. Very sad.

I have also made mistake paying for full training and after 4 years I still paying off my debts and course was just mistake, by the way it was BritaniaIT in Kilburn, London, they suck!

I am study for 70-290 exam and I didn't spent a penny so far thanks to internet. Normal book is handy for sure, so we are talking about 30 pounds or less from second hand. Only money I am ready to pay is exam fee. All the best with your studies.

fleck

Wow that is too much for too little.

I am spending just under $20K for a year of training in a 17 class diploma program toward a stack of certs: the 3 major CompTIA certs, four MS certs and the CCENT.

And people weren't sure if I was getting a good deal!

fdeangelo

Anyone that pays $2,500 for 5 days of watching power point slides at a remote training center is a chump.
As most everyone said, get a book or look at the tons of free training on YouTube. I learned so much from Professor Messer's site and the Mike Meyer's book. Plus I take instructor lead classes a Bunker Hill Community College. The professors actually care about their students and are not just mercenaries. You can buy a good computer, install VM Work Station and get student copies of operating systems in Microsoft Press books.

fdeangelo

Boot camps are good if you are already in IT and have a good understanding of the technology and just want to pass exams to get a certification. How in God's name can you retain knowledge that is shoved down your throat in 5 days?

wd40

Why are you digging up 6 years old threads?

knownhero

I was about to write the same thing. I noticed the 2009 in the date and was like "damn"

cyberguypr

Some people just have a lot of free time

Earlier this year a guy respawned a 9 year old thread.

Zartanasaurus

I was wondering why someone paid $6K to take a class on an exam that expired years ago.

Cyberscum

wd40 wrote: »

Why are you digging up 6 years old threads?

If you consider inflation that's like $12k nowadays.

varelg

For that money, you can rise from zero to super hero in a year with certain Linux upstream vendor.

Lenniusce

What is a **** camp?

kaisersoze28

INFOSEC INSTITUTE Nightmare

July 31, 2015

I am writing to officially document and express my extreme dissatisfaction following my recent experience as a training participant at the InfoSec Institute.
After the first few days and inadequate facilitation, it was abundantly clear that the training would fail to live up to its claim of a 93% pass rating, hands-on training and Microsoft partner experience. I called the contact number on the web site and sent at least eight e-mails regarding the fact that every single person in my class failed the first exam. This seems like an unusually high number given your self-proclaimed pass ratings. Other students did the same with no response from anyone at all the first 24 hours. After a lack of response and unclear direction on how to move forward with the training, I was forced to re-arrange my travel plans and return to work where I had to explain to my leadership team why the training did not meet my expectations or deliver what it claims to offer.
A few important things to note regarding the training, materials and instructors, that are backed by others in my class.

• The entire class failed the first 70-410 exam Wednesday afternoon/evening.
• The training prep class did not follow the syllabus or schedule as advertised. I was given 3 different syllabuses and none matched.
• The website indicated 9 full days of intense instruction with no outside distractions yet we were let go every day before 5 p.m. and one day as early as 4:15 pm.
• The website claims a proprietary Intense School Server 2012 R2 boot camp is designed to assist you in gaining a level of proficiency that can only be taught through hands-on labs, simulations, and the real-world application of skills. The class did not offer one hands-on lab, or one real-world scenario.
• The website claims InfoSec is the most-awarded Microsoft training company. InfoSec is a Microsoft Gold Partner and recently won the Editor's Choice award for best virtualization Training. Recognition at this level is the result of thousands of quality student experiences in our boot camps. Yet, the class used third-party practice questions from a website named Ensurepass. Via the website the instructor only had one user account that the entire class used. This alone is a violation of the license agreement with Ensurepass. We had great difficulty even getting the software to work. One of the students actually figured out the issue and brought it to the instructor’s attention.
• Because of difficulties accessing the website, we did not get the practice questions until the second day of training. As a result we had less time to study.
• The class room projector has proved to be nothing more than a distraction in the class as nothing on the instructor’s screen displays with clarity on the screen.
• Our books for training from Skillpipe were not provided until late on Monday and not at the beginning of class. There were also issues with the software related to the Skillpipe books. This did not allow us to follow along during the first day of class.
• The exam’s practice questions from an outside vendor we were given were not the same questions as are in the actual tests.

Needless to say, the 93 percent pass rate was not achieved. The end result is that out of the 41 tests that should have been taken, only one test was passed and most of the students did not even take additional tests because of the lack of study material made available to them to be adequately prepared.
I still have not received an actual phone call from the company now nearly three weeks after the incident. I did receive one email that stated the following:
Hi James,
Our company policy for students who leave a course early is that the student is not entitled to a refund, a resit or any travel re-imbursement.
I heard from my boss regarding your request and we are offering a resit of the MCSE course with updated VCEs and 2^nd-3^rd shot vouchers for the first exam. We will not be updating the courseware since the material hasn’t changed.
We will not reimburse you for the travel.
I don’t believe I, or any of the other students that left, should be penalized for leaving the training early/before completion because I couldn’t get in touch with someone from the Institute itself to help direct me in my search for answers and next steps. The instructor was no help either and knew very little himself, saying himself, “I’ve only been employees for two months.”
After little response from your company to find a resolution, I am now involving my attorney and am seeking a full refund for the following:

• Training cost $4,500.00
• Travel reimbursement $1,500.00
• Meals and misc. $ 250.00
• Lost wages $2,000.00

Sincerely,
James Sullivan

Deathmage

more the reason why so many here avoid brain **** and this forum is strongly against them. Scams like this happen all the time.

learning all that content in 9 days is just not possible; brains are not sponges.

bpenn

There is some serious necromancy going on lately...