[gabehabe]

OK, living in the UK, it seems pretty hard to find quality training within the programming industry. However, I came across this link recently and I personally think it sounds really promising.

Since I'm still pretty new to all of this, I thought I'd ask here to get opinions of those of you who are programming professionally... Do you think that this sounds reasonable?

http://www.msstudent...hip-program.asp

The basics:

• No experience necessary
  
• The main language is C# of which I know a little, but I already understand the fundamentals of programming. (Which is much harder than learning the syntax for a language)
  
• Employment from day 1
  
• Starting salary of £15,000 (approx. $30,000)

It sounds really good to me, but I'm kinda thinking "if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is."

It says that it is only 25 days of training:

• Introduction [1 day]
  
• MCAD.Net [20 days]
  
• MCSD.Net [5 days]

And I know that that's 26 days, but the first isn't counted, since it's only an introduction

What do you think?

This post has been edited by gabehabe: 12 June 2008 - 09:25 AM

[mensahero]

That indeed is GOOD.. and it do look like its true.. well if there's something like that in my country.. ill probably go for it.. lmao:blink:

that made me think.. is it free? how much will it cost? will it be face 2 face.. or online learning? lmao.. to lazy to explore the site..

Seems like.. you'll be a pro in just a month or less..

This post has been edited by mensahero: 12 June 2008 - 08:04 AM

[gabehabe]

I'm not sure how much it would cost, but I really don't care... If it's good enough to get me into work from day 1 with a £15,000 salary, then I should be able to pay for it with ease anyway

And yeah, it probably would be face-to-face, since it's on a campus in Birmingham, which is like England's second capital... it's a 45 minute train ride away, but with that kind of salary I'd be able to get driving lessons and a car in no time.

</optimism>

I still think it sounds too good to be true though... There must be some catch, right?

This post has been edited by gabehabe: 12 June 2008 - 08:10 AM

[gabehabe]

UPDATE:
I applied the other day for a 1-to-1 thing, and I got a phone call about an hour ago!

I've got an interview at 3pm tomorrow... wish me luck!

[Ellie]

Best of luck with it. The interview should give you a good chance to suss it out a bit more too (not that I want to sound off-putting, but I do share your cynicism of things that seem too good to be true!)

[gabehabe]

Thanks, Ellie

What would everyone recommend to wear? Would a suit be too much? I'm thinking trousers, casual shirt and shoes/black converse...

0H N03Z! PLZ H3LPZ M3H!

[Tom9729]

The only catch is that you have to name all of your unborn children after past/present Microsoft execs.

That basically means you can only have male children.

[gabehabe]

Not really. I could just have girls and name give them men's names.

[Ellie]

I would think just a shirt and smart trousers and shoes would be ok. That's my usual interview attire. Once I actually get the job I revert to jeans and T-shirts mwahaha.

[no2pencil]

A common scam in the states is a place seams too good to be true, & they promise you the world on a platter, but when it comes time to do the work, they want you to pay for training. Then you'll never hear from them again. So if they want you to fork over any cash, I say walk.

[gabehabe]

haha, I've already gone for that

Thing is, it's kind of a training thing, so I don't know if it would be like a casual college type thing or suits...

It's basically 30 days training, thrown in with a job straight away.

I should be OK, but I'm reeeeally nervous

@no2pencil:
They do say they want payment for the training, but they also promise to put you in work from day 1. We'll soon see, my interview is in less than 5 hours.

On the plus side, it's part of a college thing... there's other companies offering training courses in that centre.

Also, I saw them advertising in the job centre, which is definitely official


I think I'll be OK though, I can usually spot a scam... and they do offer a job placement on day 1, so if they start to ask for payment before hand, then I'll start to find it fishy


Another encouraging point!!!
It's right next to the university...
GOOGLE MAPS FTW!

Plus, it's easy for me to get lost, but it's a straight line from the train station! w00t!

This post has been edited by gabehabe: 26 June 2008 - 03:10 AM

[gabehabe]

Right, I'm off... I'll post up how it went later

[gabehabe]

It went really well, but it could have gone better.

Bit of a story here:

• The printer wouldn't work to print my CV, so I had to go to the library
  
• Got to the train station, just saw the train pulling away
  
• Went to the bus station, the next bus wasn't for ages
  
• It started to rain
  
• My hair went a bit curly... I like to have straight hair [no, I'm not a woman]
  
• Went to the train station [again]
  
• Got the 2 o'clock train [interview at 3]
  
• Managed to get to Aston [the town] on time
  
• I phoned a taxi
  
• The taxi driver was late, so I had to phone the company to apologise that I'd be a bit late
  
• The taxi driver had gone to the wrong train station.
  
• Started walking, and saw Connexions [that's like a careers advice thing for teenagers]
  
• The woman behind the desk was friendly and phoned a taxi.
  
• The taxi was late
  
• The taxi driver had to ask for directions
  
• Got there 20 minutes late

How did it go?
They don't have any programming positions at the moment, but they have some positions to do networking... I'm interested

The stats:

• 1 month of training
  
• Straight into a job with £15k p/a ($30k p/a)
  
• After 12-18 months, motivation is that salary goes up to £18k p/a ($36k p/a)
  
• THEN you have to pay... no2pencil, I think this sounds fair
  
• It can cost between £2k - £10k ($4k - $20k)
  
• After another 12-18 months, salary could go up to £30k p/a ($60k p/a)

I haven't definitely got it yet, but it looks really promising

I'll keep you all informed as events go by

EDIT:
Oh yeah, after all that I could do MCSD and MCAD for free! WOOHOO!

This post has been edited by gabehabe: 26 June 2008 - 10:35 AM

[Ellie]

Public transport in this country really sucks and when you really have to be somewhere, it all starts going wrong.

Still, sounds good. Be sure you want to do networking though, as I'm sure you could find somewhere else for the programming if that's what you want.

I would advise pinning them down on the exact costs of the training before you sign up for it though (if you haven't already) £10,000 would be very expensive for essentially 1 month of training and a job finding service I think, but it might be that much only if you fail stuff/mess up somehow.

Did they give you any example jobs? I'd be interested to know what they have lined up for people.

Anyway, I am glad it went well, and wish you the best with it. Keep us updated

[no2pencil]

gabehabe, on 26 Jun, 2008 - 01:34 PM, said:

It went really well, but it could have gone better.
[*]THEN you have to pay... no2pencil, I think this sounds fair

Yeah, your right, getting money up front & then having to pay some of it back works out best. The scams I've heard of are the other way around. The situation is 1st you pay $400, then we give you the world.

I say, Google search the hell out of the company. If it feels safe, go for it!