CIW Master designer Course HELP!

super-rikay · #1 10-Apr-2008, 12:56 PM

hi there, this is my first post. ive just finished college and im looking to do the Master designer course. ive phoned both computeach and Advent and ther course costs around £4700. i was wondering was there any other way i could do this course and the examinations by some how buying the course materials learning them my self and then taking the exams without computeach or advents 'help'

i owuld really appreciate some help on this as i have no idea where to start or to look for books and then to do the exams. thanks Ricky

**hbroomhall** · #2 10-Apr-2008, 01:00 PM

Hi and welcome to CF!

Yes - read the many posts here about how to do this yourself without laying out a huge amount of money!

Note that having CIW will not automatically get you a job. You need a *good* portfolio that you can show to prospective employers.

Harry.

super-rikay · #3 10-Apr-2008, 01:06 PM

thanks for your quick reply harry, i understand about the portfolio, i need to learn the skills to become a web designer and i was wondering if this course would suit me. i'd say i can use photoshop to a highstandard and also have some basic knowledge of dreamweaver. i dont really want to pay £4700 to do this course if i can get the study materials for alot less and then just pay for the exams seperate. what would you reccomend? should i buy the course materials without the help of advent or computeach?

i just found this cd on ebay would this help me?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Master-CIW-Des...QQcmdZViewItem

thanks i appreciate your help

**hbroomhall** · #4 10-Apr-2008, 01:22 PM

As far as I understand it you don't need a 'course' to get these certs. Basically 'all' you need is to take and pass the various exams.

Now, obviously, to do this you must have the knowledge. There are plenty of books available on the Foundations part, for example.

The CDs you mention are mock-exam questions. I'd suggest you investigate those when you are closer to taking the exam.

Harry.

super-rikay · #5 10-Apr-2008, 01:37 PM

ok thanks for yor help harry, much appreciated. would some one be able to post a link to the monst recent exams offered by the CIW for this course and il try to find books or similar reading material on them. thanks

**hbroomhall** · #6 10-Apr-2008, 02:02 PM

OK - your first lesson is about something called 'Google'!

A most amazing search engine. It came up with this as the first non-sponsored link.

Harry.

super-rikay · #7 10-Apr-2008, 02:34 PM

haha thanks harry

super-rikay · #8 10-Apr-2008, 03:04 PM

hi there did a lil search i was wondering if this material would be any good for the CIW Master.

http://www.ucertify.com/certificatio...-designer.html

it cost £73 and you have all the course materials for the 3 exams. i think anyway. thanks apprecaite the help!

**BosonMichael** · #9 10-Apr-2008, 03:17 PM

Looks to me that eBay link probably offers braindumps, which are illegal collections of test questions from the real exam - using them can get you decertified for life. Did some digging and saw this on one of their product pages:

Quote:

“

Practice Questions and Answers with Explanations are available in PDF format, a world renowned format for e-books and quality IT Certification Brain dumps.

”

**BosonMichael** · #10 10-Apr-2008, 03:19 PM

Quote:

“

Originally Posted by super-rikay

hi there did a lil search i was wondering if this material would be any good for the CIW Master.

http://www.ucertify.com/certificatio...-designer.html

it cost £73 and you have all the course materials for the 3 exams. i think anyway. thanks apprecaite the help!

”

UCertify is known for their unethical behavior. The decision is up to you... but I'd recommend avoiding them.

You shouldn't shoot for the "cheap stuff". Typically, you get what you pay for, and sometimes not that. If you want high-quality stuff, make an investment in your career and buy high-quality stuff. It's far better to have one product that absolutely does the job rather than three bad ones that don't.

super-rikay · #11 10-Apr-2008, 03:21 PM

ok thanks any one know if this product is anygood?

http://www.ucertify.com/certificatio...-designer.html

thanks

**BosonMichael** · #12 10-Apr-2008, 04:15 PM

Quote:

“

Originally Posted by super-rikay

ok thanks any one know if this product is anygood?

http://www.ucertify.com/certificatio...-designer.html

thanks

”

Okay, now you just look like you're spamming for UCertify - which is precisely the unethical behavior they're known for.

Mitzs · #13 10-Apr-2008, 05:03 PM

Try this

http://www.amazon.com/CIW-E-Commerce...7846679&sr=8-1

And this

http://www.amazon.com/CIW-Internetwo...7846679&sr=8-2

Now both these books say from 02, but I don't know anything about the exams. If they been updated then you will need newer books. Just make sure what you work with is updated material for that exam. Sybex makes pretty good books though. Just google around and search though amazon. I got the adobe web premium suite myself and am doing self studying. I will be going for the adobe certs myself.

thecatsmother · #14 10-Apr-2008, 05:20 PM

This is the official source for all the CIW training materials for self-study in UK. It comes to £900, including exam fees.

The Amazon books are out of date (the current exams are version 5), and the Ucertify material is only practice questions and explanations of the answers. If you don't understand how it all fits together, that's not much use to you. It might get you through the exam, but you won't actually understand the material. I have some of the Ucertify stuff, but it's very much used as an additional study resource, not a replacement for proper study.

Hope that helps.

dmarsh26 · #15 10-Apr-2008, 05:49 PM

No need to pay silly prices loads stuff like this about...

http://www.w3schools.com/

After all where better to look for how the webs built than on the web ?