Training in a Foreign Technology Boot Camp? 40
Martin Clarke asks: "I've recently been considering undertaking a technology boot camp to get some more certs under my belt to help with my employability. I've always taught myself, but I feel like I need to get it done. I've came across an interesting option, a very well priced tech boot camp in Dehli from Koenig. Has anyone ever considered something like this? What other unorthodox training options have Slashdot readers tried?"
The training isn't so bad... (Score:2, Funny)
Self-study: it's cheaper. (Score:2)
Re:Self-study: it's cheaper. (Score:2)
Unfortunatly, this is bullshit. Just troll the want ads. Microsoft certs, good or bad (BAD!) still get jobs. But if you have to get certs, get Cisco certs.
Re:Self-study: it's cheaper. (Score:2)
I wouldn't get certs; they really don't help you much.
Disagree: Early in my career they helped me a lot! I can count at least two contracts that I would not have had without my MCSD. With recruiters, certs can really get your foot in the door. It is unfair, as some people with certs but no skills get jobs. But blame the game, not the player!
Only experience helps you in the long run.
Agree: In the long run, you will still need to have the skills and recommendations from former employers. I have s
Re:Self-study: it's cheaper. (Score:3, Informative)
While perhaps I could have gotten the same results studying on my own, it was much easier and more concise to have instructors that not only knew the field, b
Dehli? (Score:4, Insightful)
Anyway, I would say just this -- get a degree. A degree is infinitely better than any certifications that you may take. While certifications are nice things to have, a degree speaks a whole lot more.
If you have one, work on a master's part time. Much better than wasting money on these things.
But that's just me. And personally, when I hire, I do not look for either of these -- degrees or certifications -- but rather technical skill and talent. Things like Opensource projects and other kinds of experience plays a bigger role than either of those.
But ofcourse, you may come across PHBs who think otherwise. At which point it becomes a call of judgement.
Re:Dehli? (Score:2)
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=124846&cid=104 67001
Re:Dehli? (Score:3, Interesting)
Most people forget that shorcuts are short-term positives and long term negatives.
While a PhD may take time, it's worth its weight in gold. However, then again getting into something like a PhD is quite pointless if you are not interested in the subject to begin with.
Re:Dehli? (Score:2)
Re:Dehli? (Score:1)
However, I'm looking at getting into the contracting market where certs just seem so much more important than a degree. Where I have to get past a number of clueless salesmen acting as recruitment consultants who are desperately trying to find the certs that their clients are wanting.
Re:Dehli? (Score:2)
Like another poster mentioned somewhere, SAP is another area that seems to be forever in need of people. You could try that, and you could get in touch with other contractors, who may be able to help you out in this regard.
And another thing I've noticed in contractor based jobs is that you woul
Re:Dehli? (Score:1)
Re:Dehli? (Score:2)
Dang, I would like to think it is better than you represent just because I almost went that route.
Re:Dehli? (Score:1)
Over-glorified vacation... (Score:4, Insightful)
Thinking about it, if I were a potential employer and you came to me and said: "I got my MSCE (or whatever) cert in New Delhi," the first thing I'd ask you is "Why?"
I can't see a defendable position for that question. 1) You'll be studying the same material that you would be studing in a program in your own country. 2) You could have studied on your own and saved money. 3) You just wasted a lot of money by taking a course in ANOTHER country.
Because it is fscking cheaper Sherlock. (Score:3, Insightful)
Certifications are pretty much the same everywhere (that is why they are backed up by global companies), I have taken them in Asia, Latin America, the US and Europe.
Your comment is frankly childish.
Re:Because it is fscking cheaper Sherlock. (Score:1)
Re:Over-glorified vacation... (Score:1)
Re:Over-glorified vacation... (Score:2)
Hell, I've gotten my certifications for various things in physics from places across the world -- simply because it gives me an opportunity to travel, and it helps me get another perspective of things.
It's an experience. If anything, you should be glad that the candidate is willing to go to various places, learn, and adapt. Not to mention the familiarity with new places.
Just out of curiosity, _you_ have not given me a reason - why NOT?
It's not l
I know one person who does this (Score:5, Interesting)
He loves to travel, earns enough from each SAP contract to take a few months off, and spends part of his travel learning "The Next Great Thing". I think he started as a DB2 expert, then went through the whole Oracle training series in places like Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. He calculates the cost against things like local cost of living, exchange rates, and vacation possibilities. He double checks the course is offered in English, rather than the local language, often the courses have American or Kiwi instructors. He also talks to useless lumps of s^W^W^W^Wrecruiters about where the market is going and which skillset pays the best to decide what courses to take.
He had one example from when he was working in Colorado. To take the two or three necessary Oracle training courses local to Colorado, at US$3000-US$5000 per course, he could buy a ticket to Kuala Lumpur and take the courses at the equivalent of US$400, and still come out ahead. He spent a week in some tropical beach hut in the region to get over his jetlag, then 3 or 4 hectic weeks at the Oracle HQ in KL using the exact same materials and computers. Afterwards he had all the training on a specific product for his next contract, and a great tan.
If you do this, you don't have to mention where you got your certificate, but if it comes out, then put a positive spin on it. "Yes, I picked up that certificate on my most recent around the world trip, while scouting possible lucrative contracts downunda. But your company's project really caught my attention bla bla bullshit bla..." At the very least, some time spent in a foreign country learning new job skills will also open your mind quite a bit more than most 'merkins. Yeah, that's it, its a learning experience.
the AC
Re:I know one person who does this (Score:1)
Re:I know one person who does this (Score:3, Interesting)
the AC
Putting spin on bad news for over 20
Re:I know one person who does this (Score:2)
If you plan on working in India, it is probably a good plan.
After the last three completely fuxored projects outsourced from my department alone - if someone came to an interview proudly announcing that he was trained in India I would show him to the door with a polite 'don't call us / we'll call you.'
No offense intended, but the corporate focus is slowly shifting back from 'absolutely cheapest' to 'doesn't suck'. Thank God.
At least somebody sees the point. (Score:2)
I don't see why you should hide the place where you got your certs, any place is as good as any other, and good employers know that.
Re:I know one person who does this (Score:2)
Personally, I think going to somewhere even more exotic like India, Malaysia or Thailand for certification would be great. The price is low and the opportunities for relaxation before or after the course are
Not new... (Score:3, Interesting)
Pensioner eyes up India treatment [bbc.co.uk]
A British pensioner frustrated by the long waiting list for a cataract operation on the National Health Service flew to India for 20 minutes of eye surgery.
The pensioner did run the risk of post-operative complications in a backward (compared to his country) foreign country. However, he probably got very good care -- several Indian private medical facilities are absolutely top-notch. (Sadly, public medical facilities are pathetic -- the majority of Indians would be truly blessed to have the NHS or medicare equivalent in India.) While you don't run the same degree of risk he did, if you go, be careful about food and drink... a 3-star hotel is pretty basic there. Also, Indian accents _may_ be a bit difficult for you to understand and the degree of skill in conversational English varies widely. (Perhaps talk to the instructor on the phone before signing up?) Also the price is a bit expensive for India. A google search shows other cheaper options: http://www.mcsecamp.com/. There's no question about bang for the buck in India though -- you may well find a very skilled instructor and excellent lab facilities. Or you may not. That's the risk - there can be more unknowns than where you come from.
I don't have an MCSE, but wouldn't most employers show interest in the certificate, rather than where you gave the exam or which organization helped prepared you for it? Like the pensioner with cleared-up vison, it's the end-result that's important.
Also, Delhi is a bit of a boorish city. For example, unescorted foreign females in Delhi can get lots of unwelcome male attention. Shimla is much better.
Re:Not new... (Score:2)
Re:Not new... (Score:2)
Don't destroy yourself smoking dope. And if that attracts you to the Shimla/Manali area, don't come.
Yes, it does grows wild in the mountains. But wise people don't ingest it. They only use the leaves as a skin rub when you have a rash -- it acts as a local anaesthetic, and may have other good medical properties when applied like that.
Re:Not new... (Score:2)
*shrug*
#begin rant
Don't destroy yourself smoking dope.
Well, that's true for just about everything isn't it? Alchohol, smoking, even coffee. But that's a very generic statement to make. Smoking dope != destroying yourselves, and I'm sure you're aware of quite a few counter-examples to your point.
Besides, generalizing marijuana under the rest of the dope is not quite fair -- there is
Re:Not new... (Score:2)
No fatal overdose due to cannabis use has ever been recorded in humans.
Except for a few who choked on their own vomit... and then there are the psychological and medical problems caused by this drug:
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/librar y
http://www.nida.nih.gov/Ma rijBroch/parentpg13-14N. html
I know people who've used it for differing amounts of time, and _all_ of them show differing degrees of damage: from g
Re:Not new... (Score:2)
From the same page you linked in the first article, they contradict themselves in the sections 4.23 and 4.24. FYI, speaking from personal experience, there _is_ no withdrawal symptoms. And in the cases where people choked on your own vomit, they were most likely under the influence of either alchohol or other chemicals.
And the secon
Re:Not new... (Score:2)
> is quite biased against the way research is often presented in this particular area.
Your allegations of bias cannot discount the good hard research done on the damaging effects of cannabis.
> they contradict themselves in the sections 4.23 and 4.24.
Rather it's wishful thinking on your part. In 4.24 they quote an earlier report about mild withdrawal symptoms, but then say that the evidence makes the conclusion uncertain:
This has provided the
Re:Not new... (Score:2)
I seem to have found a Slashdot bug.
Foo bar.
Something
Something more
Is this still Italic? Yup it is.
Strange, the following code causes Slashcode to get foobared -
Re:Not new... (Score:2)
It seems to render fine on MSIE 6.0, however both Moz. 1.7.3 and Firefox 1.0 seem to freak out.
Should probably submit it to Bugzilla sometime.
Re:Not new... (Score:2)
Then you would know that "Sonam" is more probably a girl's name... ;-)
Re:Not new... (Score:2)
Re:Not new... (Score:2)
I'm a guy.
I hear some really neat programs are available (Score:2)