Online Technical Training

[kidder]

Hey folks, wondering if you can help me out by sharing some of your experiences.

I'm the IT Manager for a small manufacturing company.  I'm looking for the best option to get certification training for me and my underling.(Yes, I have just one.)  Stuff I am interested in, and that we could use are, all the Microsoft Certs, Oracle, and MSSQL, VB, Linux, Cisco, and ??

So, if anyone here can sound off on what they think are valuable certifications to have, and if there are any online training options that are actually good.

We have a New Horizons training center locally and I'm looking into it now, but a more self paced option might be better for us.  My reasoning is that if I can get an online course, much of the training can be done at work, so it will not keep us out of the office for a week at a time.

That's it I guess.

[Fargull]

Depends on what you mean good.  Resume, I would say Redhat, Oracle, Microsoft are all good.  Cisco used to be golden, but honestly not sure how prevalant it is anymore.  Some places offer online training, but really, to get the cert your going to have to spend some money.  If you learn better at a slow pace, then find some cheap online training.  Not much help I am afraid.

[Jamiko]

We use www.testout.com and have been pleased with their products. Which is more than I can say about New Horizons.

[Sky]

I have no certs, no degrees, years and years of experience. When I interviewed around twenty applicants to replace my last position, I went with an immigrant (from cuba) who had no certs, no degrees, but years of experience, and she had moved as an adult, so she had to relearn everything in english.

I found everyone with a cert had half-assed knowledge and everyone with a degree was way overqualified. One wouldn't be able to handle the job once the handful of apps they learned in the cert course became obsolete, the other would move on as soon as a higher paying job rolled along (we don't work in libraries for the money, trust me...I'd be doing better if I stayed with Walmart management, in fact).

So the question I'd poise is: why do you want certs if you have the positions? If the company is requiring it, make them find a place and pay for it. Otherwise, you may want to consider the strength of experience without the crutch of paper to back it up, the right kind of people get impressed by that kind of thing. Assuming, of course, that you're competent and know the job.

[HaemishM]

I thought the whole point of getting your training paid for by the company was getting to miss work for the time it takes to do the course.

[kidder]

I have no certs, no degrees, years and years of experience. When I interviewed around twenty applicants to replace my last position, I went with an immigrant (from cuba) who had no certs, no degrees, but years of experience, and she had moved as an adult, so she had to relearn everything in english.

I found everyone with a cert had half-assed knowledge and everyone with a degree was way overqualified. One wouldn't be able to handle the job once the handful of apps they learned in the cert course became obsolete, the other would move on as soon as a higher paying job rolled along (we don't work in libraries for the money, trust me...I'd be doing better if I stayed with Walmart management, in fact).

So the question I'd poise is: why do you want certs if you have the positions? If the company is requiring it, make them find a place and pay for it. Otherwise, you may want to consider the strength of experience without the crutch of paper to back it up, the right kind of people get impressed by that kind of thing. Assuming, of course, that you're competent and know the job.

I'm a big fan of experience.  I have a degree, and a buttload of experience in every data and voice system we have.  Ranging from SCO Unix, Novell, WINNT, 2000, Oracle, MSSQL, Cisco, watchguard, ERP, EDI, AS2, Retaillink, GQL, Bi-Query, MS Office, Mac OS 7,8,9,X and Jaguar.  Not to mention plant wiring, Lucen/Avaya PBX, and Merlin phone systems.  Can anyone say Jack-of-all-trades?  Master of none?  I'm good, I can figure anything out given a few minutes to look into...I just can't instantly spit out the answer to obscure problems about any of those systems without looking into it.

I'm not even a money grubber.  What prompted this look into training is that I am entertaining a job offer with a company closer to home, and am giving my current employer a list of things that will entice me to stay.  One of the things I want is certification training.  While some might frown on me taking advantage of the company, but there needs to be incentive to stay...something to challenge me besides reading f13.net.

It would be nice to say.  "I have this MCSE and I also have worked on this system for 7 years.  Yeah, I have the experience AND a piece of paper that says I can do it." 

There just aren't as many opportunities for people with just pure experience, as there are with the cert and exp.


Jamiko:
www.testout.com looks promising.  No Oracle stuff there though...but it is cheap.

[kidder]

I thought the whole point of getting your training paid for by the company was getting to miss work for the time it takes to do the course.

If the owner wasn't a cranky bastard, I'd do this in a heartbeat.  I think he would be more apt to let me complete training at work, than to be gone from work to do it.

[Sky]

While some might frown on me taking advantage of the company

Honestly, in today's job market, I don't think that's possible. So many companies are shitting all over their employees, company loyalty died decades ago. Too bad, I understand where you're coming from.