How does the IT College Program look?

I am looking to go to school and have always been a fast learner when it comes to technology. About 6 years ago I was going to go to school and do the IT Specialist program but instead I moved to Alberta from Newfoundland in Canada when a job came up. Basically now I'm stuck in a job where I won't advance and only making 50k/year.

I'm wondering how this collge program looks? Computer System, IT & Network Specialist Certification | Evergreen

How would I go about finding the entry level jobs? Are they pretty much all help desk and stuff? I've been loking on the jobs board for IT Specialist and Network Specialist and so on and it seems every posting wants 2-7 years experience, Computer Science degree and a bunch of certs.

The school is in Mississauga, Canada and that's where my girlfriend is going to school, so if anyone here is from there or have worked there it would be cool to get some info on how easy or hard it would be to start work out of school. Thanks.

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newff

Just gonna bump this since it was approved, wasn't showing up for a while. Thanks.

Also guys if I do decide to go this route and do this program in say September of 2014 what kind of stuff could I learn, study and get done before I even take the course. I mean I'm sure in that amount of time I could maybe teach myself a lot? Maybe even some easy certificates? You guys are the pros though so any advice would be good.

paul78

Hello and welcome to TE.

I only took a quick look but that appears to be a certification training program and not a degree program. The actual certifications gained are a good start. But people do earn those certifications without ever using classroom training. Those are certifications that you can earn on your own through self-study and lab practice.

How much does that program cost? Unless the cost of the program is equal or marginally more than the cost of self-study, I wouldn't place a lot of value in the program.

jfitzg

Thats a certification program, not a degree but it does include a lot of certs which is nice. What is the cost of this program if you dont mine me asking? If its expensive I would say go to uni, get a degree and study for these certs on your own.

newff

I was afraid of that actually guys but was unsure. The cost is $12,000 and is a 30 week course. What kind of degree would I be looking for if i want to get something valuable? I don't really want to do the whole 4 years in college thing for Computer Science or anything. Are there any other shorter, cheaper options I can look for?

paul78

Wow - that's definitely not worth $12k. I thought you were going to say something like $5k which I would have thought was too high as well.

Depending on your age and career aspirations, I would have advocated a computer science degree. Is there such a thing as a 2 year computer science program in Canada? Perhaps that's an option. I personally studied electrical engineering but ended taking mostly comp sci classes, but I dropped out of college and never got a degree. It's never held me back but if you can get a degree of some sort, that would be a better approach.

newff

I'm 25 and won't be able to go to school anyway until Sept 2014 or so. Don't have any savings right now, screwed up a bit in my 20's with financial decisions. I guess the student loan worries me, it would probably be big one. Also I am weak in math.. I'm guessing there's quite a bit of that in a Computer Science program? That would also be a University and I just don't have the grades from high school to get in, I'd need to do quite a bit of upgrading before I even thought about it. Blah, was excited to do that program..figured those certificates were attached to some type of degree even if it was a small one.

Soo, how far could one go with just certs? Has almost everyone here done some kind of degree or just landing a job with some kind of certs and then getting more certs and experience?

goldenlight

$12,000 for a Certification Wow!

Look for a 2yr accredited Community College and self study some certifications your self. That should get you on your way.

If money is extremely tight, you may want to try to self study for some Certifications. There many out there. Try to self study for a certification that is in demand.

In the United States there is a website called Onet online. It shows what occupations have the brightest outlook.

jesseou812

"...screwed up a bit in my 20's with financial decisions."

You are about to screw up again.

Many of these certs you can do on your own at a fraction of the cost even if you had to retake a test or two. A decent junior college will get you the same stuff for under $4K.

This program looks to do one thing for you; drain your bank account.

DoubleNNs

IT isn't very math heavy, although Comp Sci is. Look for a 2 yr IT Associates Degree, if they have that in your area.

Also, not to jack this thread but my friend is doing a similar program to that int he link above: 9 months (about same as 30 weeks, no?) $19k, A+, N+, S+, CCNA, MCITP (except, the cert expires in 7 months, so I don't see how that's even possible). Personally, I wanna tell him to do self-study, at least for the CompTIA stuff. He could always go to classroom setting for he higher level stuff if he wants. But I decided not try to control his decisions since everyone learns differently and not everyone is self-motivated. Do you think I should have told him it wasn't worth it?

newff

Thanks guys. I wouldn't have screwed up again

It wouldn't have been until 2014 so lots of time learning what I need to do. Won't be doing that.

I'm a complete newbie when it comes to Networking/IT but I am a very fast learner when it comes to anything computer/tech related. I hear you guys talk about labbing. Does that mean using equipment and programs to test what you study? I wouldn't really have anything to do that. Is that a must when it comes to studying for most certs?

For a complete noob that is a fast learner..are there are certificates that I could do from home with no equipment? for example the Cisco ones? If so what would you guys suggest to get first?

My work shift right now is 7 days working then 7 days off so studying could be done on my days off.

kgb

I think a lot of people would recommend the CompTIA's in the beginning. A+, Net+, Sec+. They can easily be learned without any special equipment.

Valsacar

Yeah, self study and get some basic certs down (A+, Net+, Sec+, maybe CCNA and/or some MS stuff) you can do it for a lot less. Then look at an associates or BS that accepts some certs for credit (Excelsior does, WGU does, etc). From the address of that site I assume you're in Canada, not sure about their schools but I do believe WGU accepts Canadian students (all online school).

If you really want to do a certification training thing, I would suggest Keonig Solutions. I went there for my CISSP and it was some of the best training I've done (4 students, 4 passed). A co-worker went for his CCNP and said it was hands down the best training he's ever done, my boss just got back from doing Sharepoint training and hasn't stopped talking about how good the training was (for 2 weeks). Another co-worker did one of their "Career Enabler" packages and... well got himself an entry level job right after. They have DL training (using adobe connect, or some similar system) but I've never tried it. They are located in India, which means a nice trip as well. Their one that covers A+, Net+, MCITP:EA, and CCNA would take about 2 months and with everything but airfare is almost half the cost of the one you were looking at (hotel, all meals, travel to/from airport and to/from class). For most of the training it's all hands-on, not just cramming with a book to pass a test.