MCSE In India 5

[ocean14]

I'm off to India shortly to do my MCSE via a boot camp. I've been working with a domain now for three years and it is time to make me official. Has anyone out there done the boot camp thing? and even better has anyone done the Indian thing or know much about it/ I am a liite concerned about the quality of training
regards
Michael

 

[snoxy20]

Hi Prak

really looking forward to doing this camp

How was the food, i hear food poisining was rife.

what health measures did you take

Any tips

Tony

 

[prak355]

Hi Guys, apologies for the delay, xmas madness...

The Hotel is called the Delmon, in all fairness it's not that bad but it can be noisy and they don't exactly have the highest standards of cleanliness... They have a restaurant downstairs who also provide room service called The Royal Salute which has a good variety of meals which range in quality. I did have food poisoning once which I could not trace but none of the other guys fell ill. My friend who I went with would eat everything from everywhere and didn't suffer any illness at all so don't worry too much. Hopefully Koenig have found a more suitable hotel by now.

There isn't much variety in Panjim as all restaurants serve either Indian or Goan food, there is one good chinese and a Dominos pizza who Koenig will point you towards. When you do crave western food, head to the beaches where bars and beach hut restaurants will serve western dishes which can be a godsend after weeks of curries and chinese! The five star Marriot hotel in Panjim is also an amazing place to have incredible seafood and all other types of meals, it's not cheap by Indian standards but well worth it, the Lobster is awesome there!

The joker trainer was called Pankaj, he was sent back to the Delhi centre so I wouldn't worry about that too much. The super trainer we had was called Rajesh and from speaking to the other students there, all the other trainers good to so it's not a cause for concern.

As for health measures, I got a leaflet from the docs and have family who travel to India freqently:
Don't drink the tap water AT ALL. Brush your teeth with bottled water... check the seals on all bottled water to ensure the bottle hasn't been refilled with tap water!! avoid ice in your drinks as it's probably made from tap water.... avoid salads as they're probably washed in tap water too.. think you should avoid some of the street vendors too.. some of the guys would eat anything and were fine though so it's all a bit of a lottery but if you stick to clean looking places and have food that's been cooked well you should be fine.

Any more??
Prak.

 

[snoxy20]

Seems like you had a great time Prak. I am going to Delhi for 3 months in 10 days.

I am taking my laptop and would like to know about electrical requirements , do i need adaptors.

How much did you actually learn, eg hands on.

Would you go back

Tony

 

[prak355]

Hi Tony, from speaking to the other guys there, Delhi is supposed to be a proper city in the sense that there's a hell of a lot more things to do and places to eat etc..

All UK appliances work fine over there as the voltage is 240v but you'll need plug converters to the 2 pin indian style. You can grab these from the high street (Boots etc..) or even from the airport for a few pounds.

All the courses follow the Microsoft curriculum very closely; you'll also have machines setup in the labs which will enable you to carry out exercises from the books. My friend and I both did the fast track course as we both have several years of experience but there were plenty of times when we would do proper hands-on learning in the labs. Taking your laptop is a good idea as each Microsoft Curriculum book has a CD in the back which contains presentations and exercises which you'll be able to do back at the hotel.

3 Months is a long time dude, guess you're taking every cert on offer! Good luck mate.

Prak.

 

[snoxy20]

Thanks Prak really appreciate your help. I am taking the bespoke bootcamp superfast track of mcse upgrade 2003 70-292 and messaging as well as the superfast track CCNP and the regular REDHAT track. Hope to do some meditation and learn Hindi.

If i can be of anyhelp to anyone on my return please feel free

Thanks

 

[snoxy20]

Hi Prak. Booked everything up today, but almost had a heart attack when told i need yellow fever injections. i do not seem to be able to confirm this. Did you have to have these

Many thanks

Tony

 

[edie209]

Hi Prak
last questions, at Mombay airport you have to transfer to another terminal (apparently) did you have to? was it easy enough to find? do you have to collect your bags and recheck in for the internal flight?

Also would you recommend taking anything?

Cheers Mate

Marc

 

[iazms]

Snoxy - i suggest you take all injections recommended by your GP!!

Edie - if your domestic flight is with a different carrier to your international flight then most likely you will have to collect bags and recheck...Dunno bout the different terminals though

 

[prak355]

Hi, I didn't have all the required injections as the doctor said I didn't have time - I just had the Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Diptheria and Polio. There was no mention of yellow fever though... my friend travels all over the world (to Oil producing countries) for his job and he hasn't the yellow fever jabs yet.. bit of a lottery I'd say - we had different doctors and he had about 3 more jabs than I did!

As for the Terminals, on our arrival to Mumbai we got our luggage and then had to check in at another terminal which was a free 5 minuite bus ride away. On our departure, we had to go to another airport which was about 20 mins away, again on the free bus. Beware, Mumbai airport is a total filthy shithole. We had problems finding our terminal etc.. signposting is terrible and theres beggars everywhere..service and food is just a joke.... it's a total disgrace considering it's supposed to be one of India's main airports. Oh, I managed over 5 weeks in Goa without a single insect bite and during our hellish 9 hour stopover in Mumbai airport, I got bitten several times so stock up on repellant and after bite pens etc..! Once you've actually checked in and got through to the departure lounge it's slightly better and civilised though.

Good luck matey,
Prak.

 

[SimonDavies]

Guys, I am looking at going to Goa for my training at the end of next month (starting in March). I am looking at doing a number of certs over there. In total the time over there at the moment is looking in the region of 107 days.

I am a bit concerned about the feedback for the hotel Delmon as that's the hotel they are recommending for the duration of my stay. I am guessing that for that amount of time it's not worth it??

Should I possibly do Shimla or Delhi instead?

 

[snoxy20]

Shall give you a tip, do not do fast track or super fast. Total waste of time. Learned nothing, half of the instructors no nothing. Tip spend your money in england

believe me

 

[SimonDavies]

Can I ask why?? I have heard a number of good things about Koenig. Do I take it that you haven't done your 3 months and have come back to the UK instead? Where did you do your courses again?

 

[snoxy20]

All you do is sit down and watch the objectives on the curriculum powerpoint. I never got to actually touch the computer.

Other types of courses may be fine, Oh and by the way all you get are testkings, you may as well sit at home and do it.

I have got to do cisco with Heinz Ulm.

 

[SimonDavies]

Snoxy, I am a tad surprised, from all of the information I have seen about Koening this doesn't sound like them at all.

Even reading Prak's post about it he says that he and his friend spend time in the labs. Did you complain to Sandeep? Who was your trainer? What did you say to them when you left early?

I am about to commit to a few months worth of training over there (MCSE2003 Security and Messaging, CCNA\CCNP, CEH and Security+ courses). I had thought that with all of the good press about that I was spending my money wisely. So far you are the only person I have found who has complained about their training methods. I even have a work colleague who has used them for his MCSE2000 and it was he who gave me the initial recommendation.

I would like to know what you did to complain to Koenig, what their responses were, did you get any money back?

 

[prak355]

Hi Simon, the Delmon isn't that bad I guess but make sure you voice any problems you have to Koenig themselves otherwise they won't get sorted. I know the Koenig guys were trying to iron out creases so, maybe they've given the Delmon folks a kick up the arse or something. All of the other locations have good and bad points but Goa has beautiful beaches!

Tony/Snoxy, sorry to hear that it's not working out for you, you need to speak to Mr Sandeep fast. Also, make sure you're instructor is an MCT as not all of them are; you might've got a dud like we did at first. It's strange you're not doing much practical work, my friend and I both have several years of experience so would skip practical exercises at times but, whenever we were unsure, the trainer would always stop and demonstrate and let us do excercises. We had access to the labs and trainer whenever we wanted, even out of hours. We were never pushed into moving onto a new subject till the current one was totally nailed.

Just remember, you're paying these guys a lot of money (a HELL of a lot in Indian terms) so you're calling the shots.

As for the last post by kpmen, ignore it. By looking at his other posts, the guy's just advertising...

Prak.

 

[SimonDavies]

Prak,

Thanks for your reply. I have had a slight change of plans. I have changed my location from Goa to Shimla because I was unsure of the Delmon (yes, they are still using it as a place to stay). Because I am due to be out there for a long time I don't want to have the worry of a bad hotel.
I changed my mind about Goa because I will be there for the start of the Monsoon season and also because I wanted a better class of hotel. I have arranged to stay at the Silverine in Shimla which is a 4* hotel.

As I said to Tony\Snoxy I was surprised at the way he has been treated.

I am on the verge of signing off on this but am waiting for Vibrant Bootcamp to get back to me before I do.
I will also have a look at Gates just to be safe.

I must say that I have been very impressed with the prompt replies from Sandeep@Koenig. He has always answered me very quickly.

 

[snoxy20]

My Trainer was fine, it was the speed of the course. Do fast track or regular. Believe me super fast is bloody fast.

There are some very good trainers but also some bad, this is from feedback from other people.

Go over and give it a go, it may suit you.

Super fast track was no good for me and i am an MCSE 2000.

 

[SimonDavies]

Snoxy, thanks for the feedback. I have chosen to go for the fast track but on a 1-1 basis rather than a loaded class. I want to take the courses at my speed and not be slowed down by others. Because of the amount of training I am doing I am not going to accept poor trainers. I am not exactly shy in coming forward and will complain if it's needed.

As a matter on interest, do you think that had you taken the Fast-Track instead of the Super Fast you would have been a lot happier with the outcome? Was it that reason that you decided not to do your CCNP with them?

I like to think I pick up technology fairly easily.. but I realise that there is a much bigger difference between my current NT4 MCSE and the 2003 that I am undertaking.

Again thanks for your feedback, sorry it didn't work out for you at all. Please do let me know how you went about sorting out your issues with Koenig.

 

[snoxy20]

Yes if your trainer is bad Sandeep will replace them immediately.

Sandeep is very professional and wants you to succeed.

Yes it was the speed of the course, super fast is just stupid.

However my trainer was excellent, he was just doing his job, when i finished my curriculum i had a couple of spare days and he was one of the best trainers i have had, as he showed me countless of things.

Koenig will refund your money if you are dissatisfied within one week.

The programming regular track are reported to be exceptional.

If anyone else has done super fast then let simon know. I promise you it is too fast

 

[SimonDavies]

Tony, thanks for coming back fast. I am a lot happier now that I know exactly what happened with you.

As I am not doing the Super Fast I am not too concerned with the speed issues. At the moment I think I am scheduled to be over there for 86 days.

Please let me know what you think of your Heinz Ulm course.