CCNA MCSE & Prince2 course provider reccomendations?

[qwertyasdfg]

Evening All,

Unfortunately I have been unemployed for the past couple of months and it's got to that stage where it seems that I could benefit in attaining a few IT qualifications to help me secure a new job in this industry.

Whilst searching for courses I have found that their are many many providers out there offering training but the prices are extremely varied between provider to provider, for example a CCNA bootcamp course is ranging from £850 from one provider to around £3000 for the most dearest provider I have found, same kind of thing with Prince2, online training can be had for as little as £199 whereas course led training is from £500 to £2000.

At the end of the day, cost is a primary factor in choosing the right course but I also want to find a recommended provider who is endorsed and maybe even ultimately be able to offer me all the courses I am interested in doing for a packaged cost.

Has anyone on here had any experiences with any learning institutions in London that they would recommend?

Any advice on this subject would also be much appreciated.

 

[spud1966]

end of the day go for any thing you like @qwertyasdfg
your worth it big time and never think ya not dude . ya old/school

 

[Him Her]

You don't say what your background is?

CCNA is heavy going if you're starting from scratch, Prince 2 is heavily administrative and it would be easier if you had some Project Management experience.

Personally, I would take a look at MCSE online (such as here - Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer MCSE Online Training Course (23793) - course details on reed.co.uk). Typically around £400, still quite hard going starting from scratch but a good start.

Check it out before you sign up - I've never used them before. Also, it depends how you learn best, some people are okay with distance learning while others prefer classroom-based. I'm old-school - locked in a room with a load of kit and documentation then let out when I'm done

 

[oneman]

If you have the motivation and ability to self-learn there is a ton of material that you can download and teach yourself.

For MCSE a couple of reasonably powerful will allow you to build a couple of virtual machine and setup your own virtual network.

For CCNA again there are virtual switch apps which allow you to mess about the commands though you can pick up second hand equipment pretty cheaply these days.

Finally I would also look at A+, N+ and Server+ if you don't have much IT experience. I would consider these entry level qualification and give you a good introduction to desktop and server support.

 

[qwertyasdfg]

Thanks for the advice.

Background wise I have been a Manager in the hospitality industry for the past 5 years prior to which I have been an account manager for various blue chips and SME's, experience which I can tweak on my CV in order to try and secure a project manager role.

My IT experience is self taught, more of a hobbyist but I have had experience as a network administrator way back in 2003 supporting a 400 user contact centre.

I would probably pick up more in a class room led type of environment if I'm honest as I can get distracted quite easily, so I don't think the distant learning thing is for me!

 

[jfish]

with Prince 2 you do the foundation course then the practitionar .. I passed the foundation one but never did the other as not really into PM stuff .. prefer to get my hands dirty as they say with building infrastructure rather then managing the whole project behind it,

 

[qwertyasdfg]

Which company did you use in order to attain your Prince2 foundation or did you do it via a work based on the job scheme?

 

[jfish]

Which company did you use in order to attain your Prince2 foundation or did you do it via a work based on the job scheme?

did it thru work and it was in Harrogate I had to go but for the life of me cant remember the place this was in 2006 so a long time ago. A friend of mine did the Practitioner course then had to go to UMIST to sit the 3 hour written exam.

 

[skinz]

Which company did you use in order to attain your Prince2 foundation or did you do it via a work based on the job scheme?

Hello mate

@qwertyasdfg

My misses has just done the prince 2, was spread over 3 days with accommodation and food. Cost was £600 for the foundation and then the practitioner exam with instructor led training. Check out firebrand training, the site is in Wyboston, just outside London between Luton and Milton Keynes. Mate as you already know she does not have a project management background and she passed it. give me a shout if you wanna have a chat.

 

[qwertyasdfg]

Hey Skinny Man,

Thanks for the advice, I approached firebrand but they went OTT with their quote as soon as I told them that the DWP were going to pay for it, which is wrong in so many ways, they were asking for £1850+Vat which is just ridiculous.

I found the University of Westminister doing it for £795 and another company offering ITIL and Prince2 Foundation and Practitioner for £1050, so I have opted for them.

Firebrand also quoted £3250+Vat for the CCNA which was just nuts whereas training square are offering CompTia A+, CCNA and MCSE 2012 server for £3000, so I am trying to secure funding for this course to start with as it is more important in helping me secure a new job in IT than a Prince2.

Will give you a buzz later!

 

[fitzybhoy]

Just my tuppence worth.

Depending on how much of hurry you are in, perhaps FE might be a better option. I've just finished 4 years at uni doing a networking degree. At the end of every year you get a project to do, which incorporates some sort of project management, which increases in intensity every year. Additionally part of the networking degree, requires planning, design and justification at all times.

Of course everywhere is different, but I only done a dedicated PM module in 3rd year and TBH most of was geared towards programmers and IT business managers, with only a small section on Cisco PPDIOO.

Since finishing I've found that most infrastructure jobs are short-term contracts and the full-time gigs are notoriously difficult to get.

Don't mean to be all negative, but since looking for a job I've found that employers want experience more than anything. Perhaps you should do a crash course in tech support starting at the bottom and working up the ladder from within. I've just started in IT 3 months ago and everyone tells me once you can prove experience, doors will open.

Good luck.

 

[adama]

I'd say that FE is absolutely pointless in this field. The content of the course is always out of date, and it's a pretty steep waste of time and money.

IT is a field which respects aptitude and experience, it tends not to put too much stock in academics.

I'd also say that the CCNA is pretty close to worthless too, unless you want to work in soul-crushing hell holes with clueless HR depts. who have to rely on cert acronyms. If you're interested in this stuff in general, you can teach yourself the content of the CCNA in a few weeks from a couple of books. It's not difficult. It also doesn't cover 25% of the things you'll need to know in the real world. The CCNP isn't really that much better, either.

I'd tell you to try really hard to get your first job in the area you want to work in, you'll learn more in the first 2 weeks than you will in 6 months on any overpriced course.

(source: network architect for a uk isp or four over the years)