Not All Training Programs/Institutions Are Created Equal

If you want a real eye-opener about some companies that operate in the post-secondary technical training market, check out Linda Briggs 2004 story: “Federal Probe Targets ITT Tech.” In particular, you must read the comments that accompany the article, where students wax lyrical and profane about their learning experiences. Interestingly, the federal probe cited in this story found no evidence of wrongdoing, and the company’s stock continued to trade in a range from $50 to $70 from mid-2005 until October 2008. It’s still trading at about $42 as I write this story, in fact.

I’m not trying to single out ITT as a “bad actor” in the training industry, particularly for IT subjects; rather, I’d like observe that it’s important for those looking for IT training or degrees to check all aspects of a provider’s posture and reputation–financial, technical, quality of instruction and curriculum, instructor/faculty credentials and ratings, facilities (especially access to state-of-the-art computing labs), and graduate and former attendee ratings and rankings–before signing up for any programs. I’d urge parents (where involved) and prospective students alike to be particularly careful before committing to programs that require students to accept multi-term engagements, either implicitly or explicitly.

One of the posters in the 54 pages of comments (!!!) that the ITT article provoked makes an incredibly telling point: he or she indicated that by attending a local community college, the same coverage and possibly better instruction would have been available at considerably less cost. Throughout my blogs and my career, I have been a big proponent of community college programs, and have taught repeatedly for my local institution, Austin Community College. Not only do community colleges work closely with local employers to build programs to provide qualified workers to fill their ranks, community colleges must also meet local, state, and federal requirements of all kinds just to operate on tax money.  These govern everything from quality of education, to availability of financing and grants, to openness, accountability, and quality. Also, community colleges are more or less transparent to those willing to take the time and expend the effort to research their offerings, graduation rates, instructor and program credentials, student demographics, and so forth.

If the current economic climate has you thinking about a return to school, or actively seeking a training, certification, or degree program of some kind, I urge you to include local community colleges in your search pool, even if you have neither the desire nor the intention to actually attend one. This will still help you to establish a basic benchmark against which other, more expensive programs can be evaluated at a minimum, and may provide you with some valuable training or learning experiences as you take to the classroom. As you evaluate other alternatives keep asking yourself “What value adds does this program offer that a community college does not? How do these value adds justify higher costs?” This is particularly important when evaluating online programs (like those from the University of Phoenix, Cappella University, and yes, even ITT itself) which often seduce students with promises of convenience and easy access, and entice them into expensive, long-term programs that they may come to question later on. Again: I’m not trying to start a witch hunt into distance learning programs, either: I’m just trying to urge some caution and investigation into programs that will involve significant amounts of time, effort, and expense to complete.

As with so much else in life, apply the old and sometimes detestable adage “Do your homework!” before signing up for training, certification, or degree programs–especially those that involve commitments of more than one academic term. Better to make a deeply informed decision than to find oneself saying “It seemed like a good idea at the time” sometime down the road.

A Small Silver Lining?

Although I enjoy writing these blogs, I sometimes find myself wondering if they have any real impact. In the case of my Friday the 13th blog “How Can You Get a Job that Requires IT Experience, When You Have None?” I got a very nice email back from the person whose original correspondence with me served as its impetus. I reproduce most of it next, then follow up with some comments and observations:

Thank you for blogging about my experience. Before I made the decision to go down the IT path, I found a job for a PC-Tech-like job. A company needed an individual to handle PC/laptop upgrades. They stated A+ preferred but not required. I applied for the position and in my cover letter I listed out the same experience as in my email to you. Needless to say I got no response from the company but that is when I finally decided to get A+ certified. Being 38 years old and going back to school to start over was very difficult, at first. I knew that I could do it but was it where I should go career-wise? In other words without technically being in the field, should I try it?

Years back when I first started college, I took a career profile test to see what suited my personality. The results came back auto technician or detective. I am a car guy for sure and like guns too but, I have this thing about being shot at. So, for years I did car stereo, body shop and auto parts work until I finished college( Associates in Marketing). I spent 11 years at BMW (11 years at one car dealership is pretty much unheard of, tremendous turnover), then 11 months at a Porsche dealership as a service advisor, which felt like 11 years.

A majority of the jobs that I see now want years of experience with the certifications. I know that I have a good bit but not wanting to sell myself short, not enough PC and networking yet to be on my own. That is why I am looking for job environment that has some supervision. Like a large company that does PC and laptop exchanges, were I would transfer files, set permissions, network settings….etc. I did create a profile on ADP’s web site since they support car dealerships like Reynolds&Reynolds and also on RIM’s (Blackberry) site. I know that with some good mentoring, I will excel very quickly. When I started at BMW, I had to learn a lot on my own which taught me so much. I was skipped over several times for training yet I was still able to figure out and diagnose the cars. I have found a few possibilities on Dice, which does seem like the best tech job web site out of all the ones I have been on. I will keep you posted.

I see some emerging glimmers of hope in this reply and some good positive attempts to find work as well. I also continue to see more evidence of highly relevant experience that he’s still hesitant to claim. I’d urge him to make as much of that experience as possible, to stress his abilities to learn, solve problems, and deal with complex systems even in the absence of formal training to learn them.

I’d also urge him to look beyond Dice and other job sites, to ply his own personal network to look for opportunities. I’d also urge him to look for forums and message boards online where others are asking questions about tools and technologies he knows, and posting helpful information to answer those questions. This not only gives him a chance to flex some intellectual and problem-solving muscles, it will also give him something to point to in a job interview or cover letter as evidence of technical skills and a willingness to help and work with others (key ingredients for IT personnel of all stripes). I also recommended that he research PC repair depot operations in his local metro area, because such operations always have need of qualified repair technicians. So do big technology outlets such as Fry’s, Best Buy, Office Depot, and so forth. My final word to him: leave no stone unturned in your search for work. One job will surely lead to another thereafter.

Reader’s Digest Gets Into the Job-Loss Act

I was sitting in the living room last night flipping through magazines while the boy was watching Spongebob Squarepants. For some reason, I just can’t get into watching the same episode repeatedly, but Gregory has no trouble with that at all. One rag under scrutiny last night included the latest issue of Reader’s Digest (March 2009). Though I don’t often think of this publication as a source for high-tech information or advice, there’s an article in this issue that bears reading for those who might be looking for work right now, and for those who might be worried about losing their jobs.

The story is entitled “What To Do When You Lose Your Job” and is available online so you needn’t run out and buy a copy of the magazine just to access this lone item. You’ll find an interesting catalog of euphemisms for pending or actual layoffs and a discussion of the types of jobs most likely to disappear when layoffs actually hit.

The story goes on to tout the benefits of working with a career coach to get back into the workforce, and to make sure you, your resume, and cover letter make the best possible impression when you put yourself back out there to pursue a new position. There’s also some useful  discussion of the time it takes to get back on the job (the old “one month for each $10,000 of salary” has apparently been revised to “one to two months for each $10,000 of salary” in another telling sign of the state of this economy), along with use of e-resumes, use of personal Web presences, and resume tune-ups.

Be sure to check out this links on this page to other related stories as well, including:

• Negative cover letter and resume examples (what NOT to do).
• How to Find a New Job
• 9 Recession-Proof Careers
• Career Experts Offer Advice to 6 People Out of Work

It’s a truism that by the time news hits Reader’s Digest it’s attained the status of “something everybody knows.” For this kind of news to hit its pages, therefore, may very well be a sign that that bottom of this trough is now in sight. Here’s hoping so, anyway!

How Can You Get a Job that Requires IT Experience, When You Have None?

Of all the questions I receive regularly from readers, site members, and the public at large, none is so poignant to me as those that might be summarized as: “I’m looking for a job in IT. I have certifications x, y, and z. Nobody will talk to me, or take me seriously because I have no IT work experience. What can/should I do?” In these tough economic times where jobs of any kind are scarce, and entry-level positions if anything scarcer, this goes double or perhaps even triple.

Case in point: I got an e-mail from a nice young man who has nine years of prior experience as a BMW technician, along with a couple of years’ experience as an electrician, who really wants to work in IT. He’s had no difficulty earning an A+ and Network+ certifications, and even took classes from a training institution that promised job placement help as part of the no-doubt expensive training package I’m sure he had to pay for to sit through their courses and work in their labs.

This person has had zero luck in finding work in IT. He’s gotten exactly nowhere with the placement office at the training institution, who turned him over to Robert Half International for temp/part-time placement help in response to his expression of concern about a lack of results. No joy on that front, either.

First thing I have to say is “Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!” In employment, like comedy, timing is everything. And in bad economic times, looking for employment is about as bad as timing gets, especially for somebody who apparently has trouble talking up his prior learning, job skills, and accomplishments when moving from one field to another.

The key here, as I see it, is for this person to stress what kinds of problem-solving and technical skills his BMW repair and electrical work taught him, and to explain how they apply to work in IT. I have to believe that an ability to solve problems, handle complex billing and reporting systems, interact with customers, and handle all kinds of interesting diagnostic regimes and the tools that go with them–both important parts of working with cars and matters electrical–transfer very well into the IT realm. Instead of thinking he has “no experience” he should be honing his explanation of how what he learned in those other technical areas make him a better IT person than a straight-from-school graduate whose only job experience comes from short-term summer gigs or part-time work while a full-time student.

The other cure for no experience is to get experience by hook, crook, and sheer dint of effort. Here again, my correspondent sells himself short. Although he says he has no real experience to speak of, he goes on to observe “In years past on my own, I have set up wireless networks, installed CAT5, diagnosed and replaced defective power supplies, sound cards, upgraded memory, Ethernet cards, DVD drives. When I was a BMW tech, I had to update my diagnosis and programming equipment regularly.” Obviously, he’s a bit further along than many people, but needs to present this experience in positive terms, and parlay it into value he can add in the workplace. Others who lack this kind of experience, should also begin doing as much stuff on their own as they can stand, and possibly even volunteer at local charities, churches, or schools–all of which have active volunteer intake programs–to help out with IT projects and maintenance activities.

Ultimately, I have to believe that most job searches do pay off, and produce entry or re-entry into the workforce. In the meantime, the secret to eventual success depends on staying busy, continuing to learn, and looking for and taking advantage of every possible opportunity to practice and hone job-related skills and knowledge. This is tough, but when the going gets tough, that’s when persistence and drive can carry those who refuse to give up through, while others are flailing all around them. And indeed, involvement with others by volunteering, contract placement, or part-time work provides opportunities to excel that others will notice, and that may very well provide an entree into a next (or first) job in IT.

Prepping for CISSP? Check out CCCure.org

As I started working on one of our more successful books–it’s now in a fourth edition, and continues to generate modest but steady earnings–I first stumbled across French-Canadian Clement Dupuis’ outstanding CCCure.org Web site. For those prepping for the CISSP exam, this site is a real treasure trove of information, including all kinds of useful study tips and advice on how best to prepare for the exam, as well as beaucoups content and pointers to still more content to help candidates learn the subject matter necessary from each of the exam’s many categories/topic areas in the body of knowledge that they must master.

You’ll also find pointers to relevant training and tutorials, exam quizzes to help you hone your study skills, and even a nice collection of book reviews of CISSP study guides–including, thankfully, a good review of the aforementioned CISSP Study Guide to which James Michael Stewart, Mike Chapple, and I all contributed. But the best aspect of this resource has to be the on-site forums. Here, you can learn an awful lot by reading over postings from others with CISSP related questions, and the answers that some incredible security luminaries regularly provide in response. If you need answers to your own questions, please do your homework and search existing threads first before posting here, then be prepared to wait 2-3-sometimes-even-4 days to get a reply. You won’t be sorry.

Of course, I should also mention that Clement Dupuis is no slouch in the security department: he’s a well-known instructor, researcher, and consultant in this area. He’s also now teaching for Shon Harris’ San Antonio-based training company, Logical Security, where he regularly rubs shoulders with other security experts as well.

If you need to add an excellent on-line resource to your study arsenal for the CISSP exam, CCCure.org is it. You’ll also find some coverage of the ISACA CISA and CISM exams here, too, but I haven’t explored it sufficiently enough to give it the same ringing endorsement I so happily give to the CISSP coverage–though I’m pretty sure I would do likewise were I to dig into it more deeply.

Check Out Pearson’s CertFlashCardsOnline Offerings

Pearson Publishing is the parent company for Cisco Press, InformIT.com, and Que (the publisher of Exam Cram and Exam Prep titles, for which I was series editor until January 1, 2006). They are currently offering a free flash card pack to anybody who visits CertFlashCardsOnline and who also clicks the “Try it free now” button on the home page (site registration/sign-up is required but their privacy policy specifically enjoins them from opting you into anything involuntarily).

At present, flashcards are available for the following exams:

• Cisco Certification
  CCNA Security 640-553 Cert Flash Cards Online
  CCNA Voice 640-460 Cert Flash Cards Online
• CompTIA Certification
  CompTIA A+ Cert Flash Cards Online
• Microsoft Certification
  MCSA/MCSE 70-290 Cert Flash Cards Online
  MCSA/MCSE 70-291 Cert Flash Cards Online
  MCSE 70-293 Cert Flash Cards Online
  MCSE 70-294 Cert Flash Cards Online
  MCTS 70-620 Cert Flash Cards Online

Numerous other exams are promised for this series in 2009, including the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), CompTIA Network+ and Security+, plus Microsoft exams 70-622, -623, -640, -642, and -643.

The biggest benefits of this offering, which normally costs $25 to 30 (though I’m guessing certs like the CISSP, CISA, and CISM will cost more), are as follows:

• Ability to store and access all flashcard collections online (it’s not a one-time download)
• Ability to select and group flashcards into custom named collections at will.
• Ability to access flashcard collections on a PDA, iPhone, SmartPhone and other mobile devices, as well as on a conventional notebook or desktop PC.
• Custom annotation and scoring capabilities per flashcard item.
• Create custom card sets based on questions marked incorrect.
• Online checks for question bank updates at will.

At the prices mentioned, these flashcards are at the top end for what’s normally charged for one-time downloads or hardcopy flashcards. But given their interactive capabilities and access to question bank updates, I think this represents good value for the money. But don’t listen to me: Try one for free and see what you think yourself. That’s the only way to be 100% sure your money is well-spent anyway.

MS Leaks “Career Assist” Details in Blog

Microsoft Certification Project Manager Ken Rosen has let slip the details on the “Career Assist” program in a post to his Born to Learn blog. It actually went up on Wednesday as I was waiting for official word from MS, and reports the same Friday, February 6, public release date that MS PR shared with me yesterday by phone. You can see his original language at “Oh, the heck with it…”

Here are the salient details:

• Between today (2/6/2009) and June 30th (6/30/2009) individuals who register for Microsoft’s Second Shot program can get an E-Learning Collection for $35.
• This e-learning offering remains available for only 90 days (rather than the usual 180 days for full-price e-learning collections).

It will be interesting to see if this also applies to Premier Collection 6337, as I wondered in yesterday’s blog. It seems pretty clear that this is a “one and only one” kind of offer, though Rosen says that those signed up for Second Shot already will have to sign up again to qualify for the e-learning discount. Does that mean if somebody is willing to work hard enough between now and the end of June that they can knock off more than one collection to prepare for multiple exams? That’s not yet clear, but when MS does release the final, official word some time today, I’ll post an addition to this blog to clear things up.

After all the initial hoopla, I was hoping for something more (and thus, also find myself hoping that this is an “all-you-can-eat” deal rather than a “single-serving” one). But only time, and Microsoft, will tell…

10:53 AM CST (GMT/UCT -06:00) 2/6/2009 –Ed–

Update on 2/10 10:41 AM CST

Career Assist is now live and official. Read more about it on Born to Learn. My guess was correct: it is a one-and-only-one offer so once you sign up for a single collection, that’s the only item of that type for which you will qualify for the discounted $35 price. Still one heck of a deal, though, and obviously intended to entice more students into the e-learning classroom for other, follow-on courses at full price. No all you can eat, though. Bummer!

Stay tuned for further “Career Assist” news from MS

Alas, the program details for the “Career Assist” program from Microsoft foretold to me last week have yet to materialize. The original launch date for this program was supposed to have been yesterday (February 4) and I waited on this blog to discuss them until the day had come and gone. Instead I got a nice apology from the PR folks for Microsoft Learning citing some unexplained but undeniably real delays in getting the word out. At this point, all I can say is “stay tuned for further details.” I’ll follow up as soon as I can get more information on what promises to be an interesting and potentially valuable cert-prep offering from Microsoft.

At this point, all I know is that Microsoft plans to offer a major discount–as much as 90%–off the price of some of its e-Learning collections. As a quick visit to the E-Learning catalog will quickly reveal (thanks to the “Most Popular” default Sort order that shows what is selling best already), the top items there are invariably collections of some kind or another.  Likewise, change the sort order to “Price (High-Low)” and collections all float to the top thanks to their higher sticker prices. You’ll see numbers that range from a high of $960 (Premium Collection 6337: Upgrade Your Windows Server 2003 MCSE…) to a great many in the $200-400 range, many of which also target specific certfication exams (70-293, 70-536, 70-431, 70-272, 70-294, and on and on). Search on “70-” and you’ll see all the items (primarily also collections) that focus on specific certification exams.

At this point, I find myself really wanting to hear and know more about this planned program. At current prices, the offerings are interesting. At substantial discounts they may be too good to pass up! I also just touched base with MS PR by phone and they tell me all will be revealed some time tomorrow, so you won’t have to stay tuned for too much longer. Be like me, and try to be patient.

Microsoft readies financial aid for IT pros

When I read on the MS learning center site last month that the company had plans to help cash-strapped IT professionals boost skills and knowledge, quite naturally I e-mailed their PR folks to ask what was up. At the time, they couldn’t yet tell me anything but I have recently come into possession of some information that provides a foretaste of announcements planned for next week in this general arena.

A new learning program is on its way from Microsoft: it will be called “Career Assist,” and will be laid out in detail on Wednesday, February 4. Certain e-learning course collections–especially those that aim at specific certification exams–will become subject to a substantial discount (wish I’d saved my $100 of “try-it-out money” already spent last month to investigate offerings for this opportunity!). The Second Shot offer will also attach to this program, so that individuals who go on to take exams based on their learning will be allowed a second, free re-take if they don’t pass on a first try.

The whole idea is to make obtaining certification easier and more affordable. I’m not necessarily sure about the “easier” part because none of the content or exam coverage has changed (nor am I sure anybody really wants it to). But for those willing to follow an e-learning path toward certification preparation, those costs are going to get significantly cheaper. And because MS has focused its e-learning collections first and foremost at the most popular/sought-after certification exams, this could provide an interesting double-whammy where the costs of self-study actually go down for the first ime in many, many years.

Be sure to visit the Microsoft Learning pages on February 4 to get all the details. I know I will!

NPR weighs in on re-employment: “Move where the jobs are”

My weekday morning wake-up routine always includes at least a half-hour of news from National Public Radio, and this morning was no exception. I did hear an interesting bit in their news coverage today, however: some very good advice about how to cope with a layoff. I can’t find the story on their Website just yet, but if the dates on existing stories are any indication it will post tomorrow or the day after.

The essential points of this story were these:

• Americans have become much more rooted in their locations than they were even 10 years ago
• If you get laid off, it makes sense to move where the jobs are, rather than staying put and hoping for the best

Though it may be tempting to wait and see if the economic recovery or stimulus bucks from the US Government help to alleviate job scarcity in some areas, the reporter made the excellent point that the longer one waits to get into a new job, the more profound the resulting impact on feelings of self-esteem and well-being, as well as the greater the financial impact involved.

At 56 this news hit me like a slap in the face. I already hate to move my household and that tendency has only increased as I’ve gotten older. But it’s undeniable that the best way to find a job if you’re out of work is to go where the prospects are at least positive, rather than “slim to none.” Obviously this has the biggest impact on rural or non-metropolitan areas where a small number of big employers can cause a savage impact on the local economy through layoffs or site/plant closure.

Upon reflection and a grim encounter with my own resistance to the idea, I have to agree that when jobs are scarce, the best hunting has to be in those areas where there’s still some “game” to be found. And although I would hate to have to sell my house, pack up all my wordly goods, and uproot my family, it would be a better strategy than staying where only luck or connections might possibly lead to a new job in my current location.

But hey, except for a few short periods (none longer than 9 months) I’ve been a self-employed freelancer since 1994 (it will be 15 years in May of this year), and I’ve had to keep confronting the possibility of under-employment (or at least, under-earning) through good times and bad over that entire period. So let me end today’s blog with a series of “Big IFs” that might offer an alternative to those determined to stay put where they are, come hell or at least, no ready full-time permanent job prospects:

• If you can fund 3-6 months of living expenses out of savings or other ready cash resources
• If you can stomach the idea of being self-employed
• If you can pay for health insurance out of your own pocket (it costs me over $1,000 a month for a family of three)
• If you have skills you can turn into ongoing cash flow
• If you have customers who will part with their money in exchange for your work

Then you might be able to consider self-employment as an option to moving for another full-time, permanent job. Otherwise, it may be time to start scouting those locations where IT work is still to be had. Hint: start with the top 20 metropolitan areas first: work is where the employers and markets are most concentrated, and that’s where to find them.