Thinking of entering the IT field and need advice, please help

[mhopper979]

I need advice from anyone that is willing to give it. Please be honest, as I am looking to make a career change and need some perspective from people that actually are doing the work now.

I am thinking of attending a local PC school to obtain 5 different certifications. They are:

Microsoft
1. MCP Microsoft Certified Professional
2. MCDST Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician
3. MCSA Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator

School specific certs
1. SDP Service Desk Professional
2. PCHT PC Hands-On Technician

They are a nationally accredited school and very expensive. They are charging roughly 20K for these certs. They claim that it is very easy, virtually guaranteed, to get an entry level job right out of school at any number of local employers. They also say that the pay starting out is good and that the more experience you obtain the sky is the limit on what you can make. They say it is normal to be making 50K annual salary after being in the field about a year. Also that the economy has not affected the IT field and companies everywhere need good people with these certs. I already have an associate of applied science degree from a local college and it isn’t getting me very far.

Please help!!!

 

[kmcferrin]

Yes, the second part of the statement was "and by whom."

But Zel is right, there are certain types of "boot camps" that aren't bad. The Microsoft Certified Master program includes a 2-week boot camp. But then you're taking it at Microsoft, taught by Microsoft's own experts, and paying $18,000 for the privilege.

Unfortunately, the majority of advertised boot camps are the "spoon feed you questions and answers" type. To do a "true boot camp" means charging a lot of money and actually being selective about who attends. Most training companies aren't interested in doing those things because it limits their pool of candidates, so they opt to spoon feed short order cooks instead. The word "boot camp" has become such a pejorative that some companies (mine included) refuse to pay for training that uses the words "Boot Camp", including high high quality boot camps like those hosted by the SANS Institute at SANSFire.

________________________________________
CompTIA A+, Network+, Server+, Security+
MCTS:Windows Server Virtualization
MCSE:Security 2003
MCITP:Enterprise Administrator

 

[Zelandakh]

There is a boot camp course available at MS HQ in Seattle that I want to attend but it is 6 weeks long and you have to pay for the hotel, food, travel and so on, on top of the cost of the course. Plus you miss 6 weeks of work.

Bet they don't give just Q&A on that one...

 

[mhopper979]

Thank you all for the information you have given me. I didn't sign up for the school.