MCSE Bootcamp

Anybody here ever taken a certification bootcamp. This one offers an MCSE in
14 days with a 98% success rate. I'm wondering how good they are and how
much you actually retain.

Chuck B

"Chuck B" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Anybody here ever taken a certification bootcamp. This one offers an MCSE
> in 14 days with a 98% success rate. I'm wondering how good they are and
> how much you actually retain.
>

It took me about 2 years to get to a comfort point to earn MCSE. That was
working with the technology on a day to day basis (and for several years
prior), and reading and playing with a test lab at home. I am sure others
have done it in much less time than me, I'm just pointing it out.

I can't imagine anyone learning everything you need to know for MCSE in 14
days unless they spoon feed you br@!ndump$. I guess the retention is up to
the individual, but would you want to hire such a person? Especially if it
had been a couple months since they took the camp? More importantly, do you
want to put yourself in that position? That is to present yourself to a
potential employer as an MCSE, and then struggle to try to remember
something somebody said in a class 6 months ago for 3 minutes, and then
testing every possible scenario for days (maybe weeks) until you figure it
out when it should have taken you 2 hours to complete. That's kind of like
setting yourself up for failure in my book.

I can't say anything good or bad about a bootcamp since I obviously never
went to one. It just seems to me the old adage that 'anything worth having
is worth working for' holds true in just about everything in life.

Still, good luck to you if you proceed with it.

John R

John R

Boot camps are good if you know what you're doing going in.
Don't expect them to do your work for you.
They are there to keep you focused and on task.
They understand how to filter out the "Fluff" and help you focus on Drinking
the Microsoft "Kool-Aid"

I don't think every boot camp is successful because of Br@inDump$, and how
much you go away with depends on how much you want to work while you are
there...

Personally, I studied for the exams for 5 years before I finally attended a
camp and just "Got It Done"
Everything was a refresher, I did pick up a few tips... But ultimately, it
was on me to pass the exams.

Hope this helps! And Good Luck!

"Chuck B" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Anybody here ever taken a certification bootcamp. This one offers an MCSE
> in 14 days with a 98% success rate. I'm wondering how good they are and
> how much you actually retain.
>
>
>

TK [MCSE,MCT]

"TK [MCSE,MCT]" <> wrote in message
news:B2A527AC-AF38-4334-A25C-:

> Boot camps are good if you know what you're doing going in.
> Don't expect them to do your work for you.
> They are there to keep you focused and on task.
> They understand how to filter out the "Fluff" and help you focus on Drinking
> the Microsoft "Kool-Aid"
>
> I don't think every boot camp is successful because of Br@inDump$, and how
> much you go away with depends on how much you want to work while you are
> there...
>
> Personally, I studied for the exams for 5 years before I finally attended a
> camp and just "Got It Done"
> Everything was a refresher, I did pick up a few tips... But ultimately, it
> was on me to pass the exams.
>
> Hope this helps! And Good Luck!
>
> "Chuck B" <> wrote in message
> news:...
> > Anybody here ever taken a certification bootcamp. This one offers an MCSE
> > in 14 days with a 98% success rate. I'm wondering how good they are and
> > how much you actually retain.
> >
> >
> >

2nd

--
Michael D. Alligood, MCITP, MCTS, MCSA, MCDST
The I.T. Classroom - http://www.theitclassroom.com/
CertGuard, Inc. - http://www.certguard.com/

Michael D. Alligood [CertGuard, Inc.]

"John R" <jsr^^^813@zoom^^^internet.net> wrote in message
news:...
>
> "Chuck B" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>> Anybody here ever taken a certification bootcamp. This one offers an MCSE
>> in 14 days with a 98% success rate. I'm wondering how good they are and
>> how much you actually retain.
>>
>
> It took me about 2 years to get to a comfort point to earn MCSE. That was
> working with the technology on a day to day basis (and for several years
> prior), and reading and playing with a test lab at home. I am sure others
> have done it in much less time than me, I'm just pointing it out.
>
> I can't imagine anyone learning everything you need to know for MCSE in 14
> days unless they spoon feed you br@!ndump$. I guess the retention is up
> to the individual, but would you want to hire such a person? Especially
> if it had been a couple months since they took the camp? More
> importantly, do you want to put yourself in that position? That is to
> present yourself to a potential employer as an MCSE, and then struggle to
> try to remember something somebody said in a class 6 months ago for 3
> minutes, and then testing every possible scenario for days (maybe weeks)
> until you figure it out when it should have taken you 2 hours to complete.
> That's kind of like setting yourself up for failure in my book.
>
> I can't say anything good or bad about a bootcamp since I obviously never
> went to one. It just seems to me the old adage that 'anything worth
> having is worth working for' holds true in just about everything in life.
>
> Still, good luck to you if you proceed with it.
>

Yea, don't take my post to mean that every boot camp uses dumps. I didn't
mean to infer that at all, although after re-reading my post, I can see
where one would take that from it. I am sure there are lots of very good
operators out there. I just get nervous when I see anyone advertise "98%
success" or "guarantee success" when they have no idea who you are or what
your level of experience or knowledge level is.

TK makes an excellent point that as a refresher course, there could
certainly be some value. But then again, it is refresher. Something that
you could most likely do on your own, but that's just me.

And seriously, I did mean it when I said good luck. If you choose it, I do
hope it works out for you. However, if you have worked with the technology
for a while, and struggled through some issues, I am sure you will not need
luck.

John R

John R

Thanks for the input.

My situation sounds similar to yours. I've been a working technician and
systems engineer for about 12 yrs but primarily on Linux systems. Now my
focus has shifted more to a Windows environment. I've studied for the MCSE
but never got around to taking it. IIR there are 7 tests for the MCSE. I
studied for the the 4 core exams back in the NT 4.0 era but never managed to
make it to a test center. Part of that was procrastination with a healthy
dose of chicken in the mix. Now I'm looking to fluff up my resume a bit but
don't really have the time to commit to studying. I'm thinking a 2 wk
vacation/bootcamp should do the trick.


"TK [MCSE,MCT]" <> wrote in message
news:B2A527AC-AF38-4334-A25C-...
> Boot camps are good if you know what you're doing going in.
> Don't expect them to do your work for you.
> They are there to keep you focused and on task.
> They understand how to filter out the "Fluff" and help you focus on
> Drinking the Microsoft "Kool-Aid"
>
> I don't think every boot camp is successful because of Br@inDump$, and how
> much you go away with depends on how much you want to work while you are
> there...
>
> Personally, I studied for the exams for 5 years before I finally attended
> a camp and just "Got It Done"
> Everything was a refresher, I did pick up a few tips... But ultimately, it
> was on me to pass the exams.
>
> Hope this helps! And Good Luck!
>
> "Chuck B" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>> Anybody here ever taken a certification bootcamp. This one offers an MCSE
>> in 14 days with a 98% success rate. I'm wondering how good they are and
>> how much you actually retain.
>>
>>
>>
>

Chuck B

Thanks for your input John.

I'm not exactly going in with a blank slate. I do have an IT background
although my experience in "The Microsoft Way" could probably use a little
polish. What I was primarily interested in was finding out the satisfaction
level of ppl who had participated in these bootcamps and what they took away
from the experience.


"John R" <jsr^^^813@zoom^^^internet.net> wrote in message
news:...
>
> "Chuck B" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>> Anybody here ever taken a certification bootcamp. This one offers an MCSE
>> in 14 days with a 98% success rate. I'm wondering how good they are and
>> how much you actually retain.
>>
>
> It took me about 2 years to get to a comfort point to earn MCSE. That was
> working with the technology on a day to day basis (and for several years
> prior), and reading and playing with a test lab at home. I am sure others
> have done it in much less time than me, I'm just pointing it out.
>
> I can't imagine anyone learning everything you need to know for MCSE in 14
> days unless they spoon feed you br@!ndump$. I guess the retention is up
> to the individual, but would you want to hire such a person? Especially
> if it had been a couple months since they took the camp? More
> importantly, do you want to put yourself in that position? That is to
> present yourself to a potential employer as an MCSE, and then struggle to
> try to remember something somebody said in a class 6 months ago for 3
> minutes, and then testing every possible scenario for days (maybe weeks)
> until you figure it out when it should have taken you 2 hours to complete.
> That's kind of like setting yourself up for failure in my book.
>
> I can't say anything good or bad about a bootcamp since I obviously never
> went to one. It just seems to me the old adage that 'anything worth
> having is worth working for' holds true in just about everything in life.
>
> Still, good luck to you if you proceed with it.
>
> John R
>

Chuck B

Funnily enough I teach a 14 day boot camp for the 2003 MCSE and though
generally the pass rates are in the 90% range I don't see how these guys can
really guarantee 98%. Anyway as for retention, if the instructor is worth a
flip and if there is significant review periods your retention should be
pretty good. Obviously this depends on your level of experience going into
the camp as well.

David


"Chuck B" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Anybody here ever taken a certification bootcamp. This one offers an MCSE
> in 14 days with a 98% success rate. I'm wondering how good they are and
> how much you actually retain.
>
>
>

David C

It's all about how much you know going in. The bootcamps seem to be more for
the experienced professionals to register their knowledge, rather than
scooping new grey matter into newbie brains.

I think they appeal to the "junket" part of the mind. Instead of revising at
home in the evenings, get the boss to approve the spending for a two week
paid course, leaving your evenings free to run up a bar bill.

"David C" wrote:

> Funnily enough I teach a 14 day boot camp for the 2003 MCSE and though
> generally the pass rates are in the 90% range I don't see how these guys can
> really guarantee 98%. Anyway as for retention, if the instructor is worth a
> flip and if there is significant review periods your retention should be
> pretty good. Obviously this depends on your level of experience going into
> the camp as well.
>
> David
>
>
> "Chuck B" <> wrote in message
> news:...
> > Anybody here ever taken a certification bootcamp. This one offers an MCSE
> > in 14 days with a 98% success rate. I'm wondering how good they are and
> > how much you actually retain.
> >
> >
> >
>
>

PedroAsani