ADVENT COMPUTER TRAINING WARNING !!!!!

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After having read the forums about Advent Computer Training I would like to state I have actually started an MCSE course with advent Oct 2006 , I was promised a placement as I enquired about the lack of experience I have in IT , also in the brochures it states they help you prepare a professional CV also not true , and as I have read and agree every email sending details of job vacancies either want experience in the field or moving to another part of the country or pay 13,000 pa after stating starting salaries are 26000, I complained about Advent and was offered £370 refund out of over £5000 fees ,I would advise anyone thinking of doing and IT course to buy the books that microsoft supply and other companies at a fraction of the cost Advent charge and still gain the qualifications if willing to learn . I am sorry this is so long but I feel very strongly I was mis-sold this course and would like to stop it happening to anyone else , I am now A+ MCP MCDST and stiil no employer will touch me , I hope this topic has helped many people make their minds up .

 

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Finally a post where I can show people what I said was true.

I am sorry for you mis-fortune mate, I have been warning people on here for a while but some people keep telling me I am talking crap bit I knew I wasn't.

What are you going to do now?

unfortunately qualifications don't gaurantee a job.

 

Yeah a while back i was considering going to a TP but then found this place.. and its saved me a hell of a lot of £££££ much appreciated guys.

P.S Sorry you found out the hard way..

 

That's not true! GBL you must be talking utter crap

markcarty - sorry to hear you had bad time!

 

Maybe for an MSCE required role , but as you say , you dont have an mcse do you ? You are mcdst , which is 1st-2nd line at best. Starting salary for 1st line would be anywhere from 10k up. ( maybe even less )

If people get £££ signs in there eyes with the idea that they read a few books , pass a few exams and then a company will find you a perfect job earning twice as much as your on then I say they are the fools.
Come on how niave can people be. Seriously !!!

Can I ask .. how hard are you pushing for a job or are you relying on Advent to do it all for you. I donty ever remember anyone saying they will FIND me a job only that they will point me in the direction of suitable vacancies ( this they have done - not very well but never the less not mis-sold. ) The minute I passed my first ( 271 ) MCDST exam I contacted them , they helped me with my CV , but again I also googled and used alot of other free sites to give me tips and pointers. I then signed up to as many job sites as I could find , jobserve,hays, etc etc on the day of passing my MCDST i wasnt even back from the exam and I had an answer phone message from Hays about a job. I went to see them and ended up with a 3 month contract job that payed about £100 a week less than my previous crappy job. ( This has now been extended to 7 months )

The way I then viewed this was " Great experience , something for my CV , some cash in the bank to pay for the course, make some contacts in IT , first rung of the ladder done " all that kinda stuff.

I never for one minute thought my first job would be well paid , that doesnt really happen in life unless you bull**** an interview in which case 9 out of 10 times your found out by your boss or colleagues and sent on your way , or generally just regarded as the tool who knows nothing but is being paid more. Either way you dont last long or enjoy your time.

Hmm i seem to be defending advent alot here ..
I just think that people are quick to vent when they are pissed , but if you have realistic expectation , research what you wanna do and how to get there and then NEED the support of a training provider ( alot dont and self study ) I personally did and would not change the way I am training.

I hope that people who wanna go with advent are not put off by the ravings of a few pissed off people , and research the subject , if anyone wants to send me a pm Ill happily give some honest advice. ( What you get , what they did well and what they didnt do well , things to watch out for that can increase cost etc )

III

 

Good post, balanced and honest.

 

You may have been missold the course - I can't speak to that. But with the A+, MCP, and MCDST, you've got the entry-level certifications that employers like to see from an entry-level candidate. So don't blame the certifications: you've got what you need for an entry-level job.

If you're being turned down for jobs due to a lack of experience... perhaps you've set your sights too high, and are applying for jobs that require experience. Certifications are not a substitute for experience. Entry-level jobs do not require experience. By definition, an entry-level job is a job in which you ENTER the career field. Thus, if you're entering the field, you have no experience. So I'd suggest that you set your sights a bit lower and apply for ANY IT job... even if the salary isn't to your liking. In time, you will build that valuable experience, and you'll be able to apply for those jobs that require it.

 

Hi I have also started the MSCE course just under a year ago Well i say started ! I got offered a job from a company with in 2 weeks of getting the course but this job was not sent via advent !
Since i got the job i no longer needed the course ! I was also told by advent i would be sorted out with a job with in 3 months of starting the course i have all the e-mails still printed out in black and white and signed!
I have phoned them many times asking for a re-fund as i have not even opened the 1st book or been to any classes !
they say somone will phone me back but no one ever does !
they also never reply to e-mail's

I am so angry with them i dont even need to course i have paid them 5,000 GBP and i have not done anything and they wont re-fund me because they said i have to ask with in 14 days of starting !
Well i had not even got the 1st lot of course work with in 14 days

If i dont get a e-mail from them i will be seeking legall advice and taking action against them if anyone els has any information were i can build a case against them would be very greatfull

I dont see why they wont re-fund me atm i have paid for thin air !! and 1 5 grand book its a joke !

There con artists !!!!

 

Geeze, I'm glad few days ago I actually declined the MCSE course from Advent, I know it sounds smug, but due to this site help me make my mind up, it seems like Advent do have a bad review.

 

I've seen these guys "Advent" talked about on this site a lot. Figured I'd check their site so see what exactly what this "thing" is.

Well after looking it over, and deleting a huge reply I intended post. I've decided ...
This is crap: All they are selling is books you can get yourself.

 

I can see this is quite an old thread, but thought I would give you expereience.

Advent were one of the better training providers I have worked for, ok it was sometime ago now, but this shouldn't have changed much.

Now you enrolled on this course in good faith and we ready to start your venture into IT. Then all of a sudden you get a job. This is no fault (a good fault) of Advents. If you didn't get the job you would have still pursued the course and studyed hard

If you were outside your 14 day cancellation period, you have no chance of reclaiming your money. The T&C's will state this.

This whole episode is not Advent's fault. I know it may be a bitter pill to swallow, but you enrolled on the course with good intentions. if you bought a champagne flight on concorde (when it was still flying) for £5k then returned home to find you were made redundant, do you think you would get a refund.

I know its a strange analagy, but its all I could think of.

My advice would be to do the course as you have paid for it, otherwise its money down the drian I'm afraid.

 

My 2 cents after experiencing them,

I must admit its totality different to yours

Okay you posted is in 2008, so i guess you did'nt get more than the A+ and 271 and 272 with in two years.
Did you stick to the time plan and goals given?

They don't promise anything or guarantee. This is in print!

They do ask you if you are prepared to move before you start.
They even ask me if I would work in Europe

I said no to both and have been offer interviews with two companies less than 30 miles from me
and i currently told them i wasn't interested in employment due to illness.

Did you go to the workshops that's the main chuck of the costs, if you add up materials in cost it all works out.

They told me 26k after 4-5 years which is about right to gain experiance, I know two other advent people that walked into 16K jobs after A+ or MCDST and got them through advent.

Its is true I have been offered this service several times.

 

That's crap its not just books that you can buy, it includes software, on-line services, workshops, free retakes (even when second shot offer is no longer available, 3rd, 4th etc shots if you need them) , phone support, there own workbooks and study guides.

If you don't like them fine, but at least get the facts right

 

Hi guys just to update you !!

Advent have finally got back in touch with after 2 weeks of calling and e-mailing them !!

They have still said they wont give me my money back !! butttttt

They said they will extend my help from 2 years - 4 years !!
They also said i can changed to any course i want to do !
And if i go for a cheeper course i will get my money back

 

Sorry to be so blunt, but you must be a mug to believe the crap they spout. Same as the driving instructor training courses.

 

I was studying Advents MCSE course until today when I received an email basically saying they were unable to continue my training due to not having secure funding aka 'gone bust' and would have to give up my training, I paid £4950 for the course which has 6 months left on it, I haven't taken a proper exam yet and not so many months ago they said they would just extend my course period as it wasn't costing them any money to do so! Im currently waiting on someone to ring me 'like this is going to happen' to talk about them transferring me to some other company to continue my course but I don't fully know how they can do this!

If anyone has any ideas about what to do or if anyone else offers similar qualifications - without all this silly 'read a book pass an exam' type of thing the info would be great! I spend pretty much all my time on PC's (I have 4) after coming home from work playing with stuff and experimenting so i can get better at IT, I far prefer the hands on type of learning which has become more apparent from this course; I feel like i've been taken for a ride! Chances of getting any money back like said are almost non existent I would think, I know I can do a lot on a computer I just have no current qualification to prove it.

Thanks a lot, adam

 

Bad luck mate, I would go to the citizens advice and see if they can help. You may be able to get something back on the grounds that you were doing the mcse course and since your not a systems engineer you shouldn't be doing the mcse in the first place.

Looking around the net it does seem like they are out of business so getting your money back is slim to none as there will be bigger credidtors who advent will owe money to and your debt will be at the back of the pile.

 

Whats silly about it ? Surely its a far lower risk way to get the certifications ?

Self study can be hands on, you just buy the kit and put it together in your own house. Many people here have home labs, some have whole networks, clusters, virtual infrastructure, SAN's etc.

£5k buys a lot of hardware, software, books, CBT's, exam vouchers, webcasts and a lot of stuff can be got for free. If it doesn't work out you can at least sell the stuff !

If you really do need tuition then there are local colleges, universities and the OU.

If you are as good with computers as you suggest why not just get an examcram and sit the exams ?

 

it was 18 months ago and I must say I was naive to some extent i just wanted a new career as my job was horrible at the time, i hated going to work and earned hardly anything so i wanted a job i was good at and would pay better. it seemed all well while was well but now it certainly was overpriced and they were trying to offer too much to such a broad range of people im not surprised they went bust. i have spoken to quite a few people that gave it very good reviews but times have changed with the lack of money in this country. tough balls tells the tale.