opions about boot camps?

[Danrak]

I'm looking for opions about computer boot camps. Are the worth it? Will you actualy learn anything? With the time running out for the MSCE I was wondering if I should go to one or not.

Danrak

[Debbie]

I am looking for the answer myself! Don't care about the boot camp, but what is the best way to take a shot at it which exam to take first, I would think NT Work Station? don't know. May be some one can share her/his thoughts!

[PHiL2000]

I am currently studying for my MCSE. Unfortuanely, I have just started and have a long way to go. I think boot camps are a watse of time and money. However, if you can get your company to pay for you to go, it is worth it. The way I have been studying is by buying the books. Granted not everyone will want to spend the time to read. I am lucky enough to have a helpdesk job during my summer break from school.

As far as which test to take first; if you are going for NT4.0 take the Net Essentials test. I took the trancenders and the info covered is easy to learn and memorize.
Win2000 is going to be more difficult. That is what I am studying for now. I am taking Win2000Pro first(70-210).

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who? what? when? where? why? do you really care?

[Gigaguy]

Honestly, I have never heard of a computer boot camp. But, that sure doesn't mean there aren't any. Most of my learning has been with hands on. Made a few mistakes in the early years. I did find that our local comunity college had some great hardware and software use classes. I took the majority of them and learned alot. Of course, the instructor can make or break the class. Our instructor had some book work, very little homework (read, questions at the end of the chapter, etc.) but loads of hands on during the 4 hours of class. Right now I'm trying my self with NT / 2000 networking (inhouse). My suggestion for anyone wanting to get into this field and stay in it is to get the hardware and OS training at your local comunity college if possible, (or online training) and then go for the gold; get the CISCO training / certification and get that 5-6 digit payroll you deserve. Seriuosly, CISCO training is the way to go for an excellent opportunity in the computer field. I myself would first get the hardware down and then go for the CISCO stuff. Hope this help someone out there in cyber land.

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Brian Quinty
BBQ Computing

[thirdfey]

I am currently enroling in ACTT for my MCSE and I have a friend who is their for his MCSE, I have another friend who got his CCNA from there. They are very cool, they give you all the books but tell you to keep'em at home. They said you can pay someone else to read you a book, we give you the experience which is true. Everyone has a phat system to work on that they load and configure NT and 2K for each session, which there are 15 of. It is a little expensive but they guarentee you the certification and can also give you tech support after you leave, if you can't get a server working at work, call your old instructor up and he'll tell you to bring it to one of his classes and he'll demonstrate to the class how to resolve the problem. Very cool and worth the money.

[cordon]

I just completed my MCSE today (woohoo!)

I attended some hands on courses, used transcenders and a lot of web based information / study sites. It is possible to get one exam every 2 weeks if you are motivated and have good materials to study from.

I figure that the hands on course will look better on the CV than a 2 week bootcamp.

The blurb I've seen from bootcamps suggests that they will pay all your exam fees and provide CBT for free if you fail exams first time round. Prices in the UK are about £3,000 for a 2 week complete MCSE bootcamp.

As for exams, take workstation, server, server in enterprise then Net essentials. By the time you get to net essentials, you have covered most of its topics in previous exams.
As for electives, stay clear of IIS it is a very unpleasant exam.

[eenge99]

I would not suggest a boot camp for anyone just starting out in this field. They are primarily geared for people with real world experience who are being forced by some CEO for a certificate, something to hang on the wall, to keep their job.
One good way to learn is to get an extra box and install the OS on it and hose it purposely and try to get it back running again. Other than working with the OS "hands-on", you're just memerizing this stuff.

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Erik
"I drank what?" ~Socrates

[Alucard]

If you just want a certification, sure go to the boot camp. If you acually want to LEARN something, forget it, read the books, take REAL courses, get hands on training, anything!

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If you make it idiot-proof, someone will make a better idiot.

[Greggio]

I had zero computer skills when I enrolled in a part-time 14 month program. I learned a lot during the fourteen months, but it was nothing compared to what I learned in the first month of real experience in the field. One of the best ways to learn is to get the hand-on experience. However, it is not essential to pass the tests. I passes three of the MCSE exams without ever having a job in the computer field.

Reading a good book is essential. I found the Sybex books very helpful. They are usually detailed enough to give all the information you need to understand the topics, but also let you know what you need for the tests. A good supplement are the exam cram books. Not good for learning about something for the first time, but are great at focusing what you know for the test.

As for the order, I would go for Net Essentials first. It is the easiest test, and what you learn will make it easier to understand th remaining subjects. Then I would go for NT server, enterprise, and then workstation. TCP/IP is not that difficult, and is very helpful in the field. Always take some practice tests, they are invaluable. There are also a lot of sites that allow you to take some free demos. You would be suprised how similar some of the questions are.

Good Luck

[houseisland]

There are no two days the same. New problems present themselves all the time. Knowledge, whether directly from experience or vicariously from books, is always helpful, especially in going through the process of defining what the causes of the problems aren't. But in the end, it is always your wits that you must fall back on. The weakness of boot camps and exam-cram books is that they prepare you to write exams. They are less successful at training the mind in the processes of analytical thought. We are all empowered with marvelous neurological hardware, and it is this that will help us with tomorrow's problems. Books and experience are based on yesterdays not tomorrows.

[Mr_Miner]

It all depends on how you learn. I took classes all day long, five days a week, for about three months. I an not a very good learner.

TCP/IP, Server, Workstation, Enterprise, Net Ess, electives...

[Mr_Miner]

I an not a good speller, either.

[WinKrushR]

I've been in the field for 3 years, and I'm about to start a boot camp. Oct. 20 'till Jan. 24, MWF 6-10 PM. This is basically so I can get the cert to hang on the wall and get more $$$ for what I know. An employer will be able to tell the 'paper' MCSEs from the real ones in a few weeks. I know several people who have gone through these programs after having a few years' experience and it is definately worth it. You finally get paid for what you know! A friend went from $23K to $43K within the same company, with no promotion! They paid for the credibility and assurance of knowledge. The possible employers I've spoken with would rather a prospect have their MCSE than a CompSci Degree from a college, mostly because college material is outdated. What's more current than an MCSE for W2K?

(and don't bother flaming with 'it's not real world experience'...note the beginning of my post)

Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease,
WinKrushR

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"What would anybody want with a blind dog?"

[iateyourcat]

If your company will pay for it, take it. If you have to pay for the camp yourself, don't. Instead, buy the resource kits, read em, buy 4 machines (they can be cheap), a hub, and start experimenting. Setup a typical network with firewall, intranet, extranet, vpn, mail, and routing (linksys dsl/cable router does this well).

Training kits from Microsoft are also nice if you can't get your hands on the software anywhere else. http://mspress.microsoft.com/prod/books/1959.htm

But, the most important thing, buy whiskey... and drink it straight.