CBT Nuggets

Mike-Mike

holy crap that stuff is expensive! is it really worth that much?

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Synthros

Yeah, they are really expensive. The one set that I got from CBT Nuggets was through an employer a long time ago. I think they're worth it as a supplement to a book for a specific exam, but I personally couldn't afford to purchase them on my own.

Psoasman

I used them for the 291 exam. It helped to be able to follow along with some of what they were doing.

Devilsbane

Some are, some aren't. Best to decide what test you are going to take and then you can find out the materials that you want to use.

mikej412

You can buy a one month streaming subscription ($199) and watch all you can during that month to lower your cost per nugget.

http://www.techexams.net/forums/general-certification/38806-cbt-nuggets-streaming-subscription.html

ajmatson

I have used the streaming subscription for my Net+ (scored and 870 with the videos my ownly source) and for my Sec+ I am doing now (paired with the infamous Gibson book).

IMHO $199 a month for when you use it is worth more to me than paying $250 to re-take an exam

docrice

If you think CBT Nuggets is expensive, compare them to the SANS OnDemand option (although you also get spiral-bound books and perhaps MP3 recordings to go along with it). That's several thousand for four months worth of access for a single course. It's another five hundred for the exam itself. One notable factor there is that you can't get the materials for those courses anywhere else. I will say though that SANS has a superb reputation for vendor-neutral security-oriented content. I will probably take another one next year.

In my opinion, CBTs (whether from CBT Nuggets, Train Signal, etc.) are worth it if you're more of a visual learner (that is, absorb material more easily through videos than reading a book). Although I like to use both print and video for my studies on a given topic to complement each other, I personally find watching videos a little easier. It's very dependent on the instructor, of course.

The streaming subscription package seems to be a nice deal for $200 / month (or if you're planning to be studying for at least eight months with CBTs, then an annual subscription access is a better deal). I might consider that since I've been in constant training mode for the year. I noticed that they also have a training server for sale that's loaded with their material.

dynamik

docrice wrote: »

If you think CBT Nuggets is expensive, compare them to the SANS OnDemand option (although you also get spiral-bound books and perhaps MP3 recordings to go along with it). That's several thousand for four months worth of access for a single course. It's another five hundred for the exam itself. One notable factor there is that you can't get the materials for those courses anywhere else. I will say though that SANS has a superb reputation for vendor-neutral security-oriented content. I will probably take another one next year.

That's not really a fair comparison. As you've alluded to, you're getting a custom course. It's significantly less work to let a vendor put a course together for you. It's be a different story if you were paying SANS that much to give you a Cisco or Microsoft course

docrice

That's true. I tend to lump online training into one bucket with a bunch of checkboxes in them. From a bean counter's perspective, it's just another pinch in my pocket.

In any case, for a good majority of subjects I'm not planning to do live instructor-led courses anymore. I've done a few of them, and each time I wondered if the thousands of dollars spent (by my employer, thankfully) was worth it. Don't get me wrong, you get to interact with others in the class, share stories, use the provided lab equipment (if any), ask direct questions to the instructor, and (usually) get free lunches, but cost-wise I think CBTs are the way to go with some exceptions.

brad-

2 things

1 - If the expense is your concern, compare that to a college course. Then throw in the fact that you can do it on your own time, as often as you want, and focus on what you feel necessary. If you're serious about learning and certifying on something, look at it as an investment. An investment in your education, and a little bit of test insurance.

2 - Depending on your purposes, trainsignal also puts out a good product. They cost a little more, but have much more content. I purchased CBT nuggets for the MCSA package and it was good. I switched over to trainsignal for Exchange, and I liked it a little bit more.

Devilsbane

brad- wrote: »

2 things

1 - If the expense is your concern, compare that to a college course. Then throw in the fact that you can do it on your own time, as often as you want, and focus on what you feel necessary. If you're serious about learning and certifying on something, look at it as an investment. An investment in your education, and a little bit of test insurance.

This is true. For my degree, it was required that I took an XP class (taught from the 70-270 book) a Server class (taught from the 70-290 book) and then optinally I took an AD class (taught from the 70-294 book) and a Network infrastructure class (taught from the 70-291) That is 4 classes at about $450 a piece at a community college, so $1800 total.

MCSE CBT nuggets? About a thousand. Spend an extra couple hundred on books, and you will learn loads more than you would from those 4 classes. (Plus the MCSE pack will prepare you for 3 other tests).