Forum Moderators: phranque
I am looking at taking this course:
[nitlc.com...]
I have the some one coming to see me tonight to give me the hard sale and to get me to sign on the dotted line! Just wondering what people think of the course and what it offers you.
What qualifications do the members have here
Craig
how much of it do you already know?
JOAT
HTML and JavaScript, Fireworks, basic Dreamweaver, and basic office is what I know already. The intro stuff should be pretty straight forward as well. Just started on XML about a month ago!
Those prices sound way to high for me and where is this course recognixed?
This industry is still built on merit and experience, not qualifications...
Nick
Personnaly i get as much of a course outline off the rep and then send him packing! ;)
Use the course outline to base your study plan on.
I have a few URLs for training orgs and resources that i compiled for one of my sites. Sticky me if you want the URL.
JOAT
Seriously though- get some good sites going and then start applying. If the company likes your sites and you then you'll get the job. Demonstrable skills are more important than a degree I think. I know plenty of Computer Science graduates who don't know the first thing about web design and hardly anything about coding... They know that they can learn it if they have to ("its too easy, we didn't spend much time on it" etc) but if you can show that you already know how then you're there.
Ofcause I also read alot about different programs.
zeus
good luck
So is that the general opinion of people... the qualification isnt always the way to go?
Craig
The benfit of going to uni and doing a qualification is not the piece of paper, it sets you up to learn what you need to do your job.
If you already have that, then you would be better advancing specific existing skills and developing new ones, than covering the bases again with "formal" qualifications.
Plus most of what the course is offering is available free on the Internet. You just need the determination and will to sit down and learn it! :)
JOAT
My advice would be dont do it!
There are so many courses like this available, I have looked into plenty myself. A lot of these courses are worthless.
If you are serious about getting a recognized qualification go to the Open University, they offer a very good range of courses and offer a very flexible way of paying for it i.e very low interest rates
I am just about to start my third year and am really looking forward to it, I have managed to get a fairly well paid webmaster job without qualifiactions purely because of my involvment with the O.U
Hopefully by the end of next year I will have a recognised Diploma and be well on my way to a Degree.
Have a look [open.ac.uk...] it will probably be the best money you ever spend ;)
CK
Craig
exactly. RESULTS are the qualifications.
Everything I know is self taught, and learned from books, online tutorials, and more recently WebmasterWorld. The postgrad. was absolutely no use at all in the real world. Every job that I have got has been on the basis of my experience. I was never once asked for proof or transcripts of my degrees, but always asked for level of experience etc. etc.
I agree completely with edit_g, I know many computer graduates who haven't written a line of code since they left college.
I think that these days, experience counts far more than a degree/diploma.
My 2 cents!
I think there can be areas where specific qualifications, like say MS programmer qualifications for an ASP programmer, could help, but for me qualifications only count if your prospective client/employer knows of the qualification or the body that administers it and they carry some weight.
The little I know about web design and development is self taught, like everbody else.
A degree does seem to carry some weight, no matter what its in. My degree in 'sonic arts with applied programming' hasn't proved too relevant in the real world (must admit I'm not terribly surprised). But the fact that I've got a degree in something, anything, seems to make some difference. I keep the fact that I actually spent three years getting computers to make funny noises to myself.
Spend time on tutorials, work code examples, learn while doing.
That course is probably so out of date it's pathetic.
I signed up for a community college course in ASP.NET, hoping that an expert would be teaching it. I did the MS tutorials first, bought a book, worked the examples, and had some specific questions going into the class.
The instructor, in the first few minutes of the class, told everyone he didn't know ASP.NET either, hadn't built a web page in years, and couldn't figure out how to configure the student machines to run .NET. I stayed out of courtesy for the rest of the class, and demanded (and got) a full refund the next morning.
Learning happens individually. Classes are designed to facilitate learning. If you have the incentive, you don't need the class.
I would say that wouldn't be a very good course for you though. If you have a bunch of the basics then advanced office won't help and there will only be a few of the courses that will help.
I am all for taking courses to get a jump on it but you really have to look for one where you will benefit from all the courses not just a couple.
I've found courses can be good and can be bad. It's depends on lots of factors. Lately, I've tended to use the over-the-web courses and found them inexpensive and very good.
Richard Lowe
Exactly! This is the difference between university education and other types (or is supposed to be). It gets a little different once you start graduate work though, because that is much more like a real job (albeit a research related one) but it's still focussed on how to learn what you need rather than the exact skills. It's a great way to learn how to create and finish a whole project from scratch, something you don't often get in smaller courses.
My boyfriend has a masters degree in computer science and learns new languages and techniques as and when he needs them, building on his knowledge of how different language types work etc. But this can be difficult to put on his CV: "I've never used the language you are asking for but I'm sure I can learn". His flexibility is great for his current job but there will be other jobs where they want someone who already knows what to do.
At the same time skill-based courses are a great way to start something new, e.g. learning HTML and webpage design in a classroom before going off to make pages. Taking courses by correspondance or otherwise can be a great way to add to your skillset and learn something not directly associated with your current job. And it gives you tangible proof that you have experience in whatever it is.
A lot of it depends on your learning style and the skills you're looking for. And also why you want those skills in the first place. If it's a career thing then what will the jobs you want be looking for? It may even be worth talking to a careers advisor or recruitment agency in your area as they know what people are looking for. If it's a personal thing then what's the best way for you to learn what you need to know? Some people like the structure and interaction of a classroom.
As for qualifications, I have a Masters degree in digestive physiology (mouse guts). Or I'm assuming I will after my thesis gets marked :)
I know nothing and I do nothing :(
I just once read a book by the head of OUīs press department.
My post count is 669 yeah. Now thatīs a qualification :)
i have a domains / web hosting site where everything is "anonymous" so no mention of qualifications or anything. the site makes plenty of sales without any problems.
i have other sites including web design etc. i make no mention of my qualifications or of any staff qualifications online (we all have BA(Hons) / BSc(Hons) or higher), yet i get plenty of enquiries. this is probably due to having a portfolio that demonstrates our skills. the only place we mention any qualifications is in emails or on letters etc. we often informally close deals without the client knowing any of us have any formal qualifications.
people are often impressed by formal qualifications though
- "i didn't know you had a degree!"
- "errr .... yeah .... didn't i mention it when you signed the contract 6 months ago?"
if you want qualifications, get a degree - it'll last you for life. if web design doesn't work out for you, you'll still have your degree and it'll be good for many other jobs.
My qualification is that I drew the short straw at a meeting where someone said, "We really need to figure this stuff out."
But this place has really helped me sharpen my act. I sound like I know what I'm doing!
On the other hand, I find building web-sites interesting and (relatively) inexpensive. Also reading these great forums. One day my hobby might actually pay off...
My post count is 669 yeah. Now thatīs a qualification
Did you learn from the best? ;)
I've thought about going to the OU for some net/comp related pieces of paper but I'm not going to. If I head back into education again, it will be within the 4 walls of a university alongside other young and poor students :)
I went to collect twice to get the equivalent of a 1st year in a degree for Business admin and another for ITec.
And hey, now i know how to query microsoft access ;) aint done it since. I skippd most of my college last year and was hitting WW hard.
One student debt paid off later, im back to square 1! Know a bit more though :)
I dropped out of my honours year because i couldnt do the dissertation subject i wanted (and i am lazy... :)).
Because i was doing a joint degree that noone else was doing, i wanted to combine the two subject areas. I came up with an idea to set up a site that displayed different adverts when someone logged on; based on what they had purchased before.
I retrospect, i dont think i would have been able to do much with it (meant dealing with DB's, querying, themes, etc, all of which i still have little clue about!).
But i proposed this to my marketing lecturer and he said, "good idea, but i dont have the technical knowledge to mark it. Go to the IM department".
So I went to the IM department and they said, "good idea, but we dont have the marketing knowledge to mark it....".
So I was outta there to get a job! :)
On top of this ive done a couple of one day courses (advanced access, excel) but most of what i know is from on the job experience or here and other online places!
JOAT :)
I graduated back in 1980 and have run my own company since 1984. All my SEO- and computer knowledge I have picked up by taking different courses and by long term experience over the past 20 years. ;)
