Can anyone tell me whether the following trainging group is worth
joining?

http://tinyurl.com/2zwj6z

or

http://www.techprosgroup.com/LANWAN/LANWAN1.php?gclid=CK_TjKPhppICFRZciAodzilPLw

BTW, at a local college, I have taken the first class of MCSA and am
taking the seocnd class of MCSA. I will be taking Cisco classes ta the
same college in Fall.

I am wondering whether I should join the above group where they have
8 weeks remote training class via stages - I will provide what they
said in email below - so that after I finished those exams, I will
have jobs related to the career path I am pursuing.

This is what they explained to me in the email after initially sending
me a pdf file explaining basically the same thing - I don't believe
that I can study for these 4 certificatiosn in 8 weeks as they stated
unles I already know the material:

<<<<<<<<<<
Stage 1 is 8 weeks remote (4 certifications: MCP, MCSA 2003, MCSA
Messaging, & CMNA)

Stage 2 is 8 weeks remote (4 certifications: MCSE 2003, MCSE
Messaging, MCSE Security, & CCNA) - The 2 week full immersion hands-on
boot camp is after Stage 2.

During these first two stages, training is done by remote access with
a secure internet connection. Our program is structured in a way that
candidates can study from home as well as sustaining their current
job. You will be connecting your desktop to our virtual servers
through a remote desktop connector and will be engaging in hands-on
training (managing 3-4 servers, building networks from the ground up,
working with active directory/exchange servers, and doing what
administrators do on a daily basis). You will also have access to our
online resource center at all times where you will be doing your
conceptual learning through e-books, study materials, etc... We expect
our candidates to at least put in about 10-12 hours a week on the
remote servers to get their hands on training. I have attached a
document that will show you the network administrator remote training
schedule along with the private virtual LAN times for enterprise hands-
on remote training.

Stage 3 is where paid internship begins. At this time, you would
terminate from your current employment to further your career into
IT. Upon successful completion of your training, Tech Pros Group will
assign you to a regional Microsoft/Cisco consulting partner for one
year paid internship or direct placement. This means that we will
place you into an internship in your nearest metropolitan area (On the
application, you can choose up to two desired internship locations).
During this stage is where interns are paid on a sliding scale. This
information/scale is on the disclosure document. Once the one year
internship is over, most of our candidates tend to stay with that
company due to their history and choose to negotiate their salary,
benefits, medical, etc... [The internship is a contract-to-hire, full-
time position for one year].

Regarding the full immersion hands-on camp, that will be held in our
facilities here in Irvine, California. We will provide you the
training, materials, lodging, and meals; however, you will responsible
for your transportation over here.


I will break down the total cost to you (Your responsibility before
starting stage 1) :
$95 - Application
$295 - Registration and Setup of Virtual Servers
$165 each - 3 Enterprise Lab Guides
$49 - Shipping/Handling

This comes out to be a total of approximately $934. The cost of stage
1 is on the bottom of page 11 on the disclosure. The reason we have
the hard cost is to prevent any losses from candidates who do not
finish the program or end up deciding not to move forward with a
career in IT. During this stage you will be receiving over $4,000 in
training services and be fully certified in MCP, MCSA 2003, MCSA
Messaging, and CMNA. Once you move on to Stage 2, our company then
invests over $20,000 into you because this stage prepares you for the
internship/placement phase. At this time, 100% of the training costs,
along with registration and setup, shipping fees, and training
materials are paid for by our company. This is possible because by
then, we will have a more solidified relationship and you will have
shown your technical proficiency.

Regarding your concern with stage 2, Tech Pros Group provides
everything from materials, application fee, server cost, background
check, and training. The only cost you have in stage 2 would be the
certification examinations and your transportation over to California
for the 2 week boot camp.

During stage 1 and stage 2, there are between 10-12 Microsoft/Cisco
exams ranging from $125-$250/each. This is paid directly to the
testing center and is taken in your metropolitan area through Pearson
VUE or Prometric.

The candidates will need to pass the following exams:

Stage 1 ($125/each) CMNA - $250

MCSA
70-270
70-290
70-291

MCSA Messaging
70-284

Stage 2 ($125/each)

MCSE + Security + Messaging
70-285
70-293
70-294
70-298
70-299
70-350

CCNA (640-802) $150


Best regards,

Recruiting manager

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

By the way, initually when we talked, he explained to me that they get
compensated by the consulting firm who would place me for a job
(internship).

So, what I do not understand is how this TechPros group can guarantee
anyhting about internship.

RE: Training group for mCSA, MCSE, CCNA, etc. by ChrisMorales

ChrisMorales
Tue Jun 17 20:06:00 CDT 2008

I think you misread their guarantee claims! I just enrolled with them and
began my stage 1 a little over a week ago. First, this is not your typical
training program. You were correct in your earlier assertion that you pretty
much already must know this material in advance.

What I find disingenuous about the process is that they don't inform just
how brutal the whole program can be for someone like myself who hasn't had a
job in the IT industry for over 5 years! Even with my recent graduation from
college, as the old saying goes, if you don't use it, you lose it! Well,
long story short, they have over 1,000 pages of material to review in the
first 2 weeks that are geared to prepping you for your written CMNA exam.
Even if you pay for this exam, they do not guarantee you will pass it! That
is left up to you, and believe me, I'm having serious doubts as to just how
capable I actually am of passing any of the other stated certifications!

In a nut shell, if I don't do well in the Stage 1 of the program, I'm out
over $1500 and with no guarantee's that I will have any certifications! I
should have known better, especially when it sounded to good to be true! I
could have spent less than half this amount with a similar on-line
certification preparation group called QUICK CERT, and get this, QUICK CERT
has a money back guarantee that if you do not achieve your desired
certifications they will reimburse the entire cost of their programs.
Because I'm affiliated with the government I received a 50% discount offer!
That was the program I should have went with, but being the stubborn person
that I am, I picked the harder less practical choice.

Wish me luck! If the first 2 weeks are any indication of what to expect,
then the last 6 weeks will probably be the worst of my life!!!!

Anyone else out there attempting to get their IT certifications without
having to chop off your hands in order to do it? I'd be interested in
hearing your story!

Peace Out!

Chris