Tech Training Schools Going Bust

superflippy writes "The Associated Press reports that many tech training schools which opened during the last few years are now shutting their doors. During the dot-com boom, there was the perception that a few months of computer training could lead to a fabulous job. Now, it seems all these schools have produced are unemployed people with student loans and dubious certifications."

Comments

Too many of them

[l810c]

This is just a result of the dotcom bubble burst. Companies these days are looking for (in order):

Outsourcing to India
Cheap College Grads (Although there are too many here also)
Experienced (more expensive) College Grads
And *maybe* a few scraps left over grads of these half ass tech schools

There is still definitely a place for a few of these schools for people wanting to add a skill or become more advanced in a skill, but the days of taking an 8 week course and then finding a tech job are over. I actually know a couple of people that went to these type schools 5 years ago and now have great tech jobs.

Re:Too many of them

[pilgrim23]

I recall that back in the early 1990s there were many schools that specialized in technical training for those with non-mainstream cultures. An Example: A particular school opened up in Shiprock Arizona teaching all sorts of tech skills to the Navajos: "just sign here and we gaurantee to take all your money and what's more you will also get a free lifetime of debt!" As soon as the loan guarantees were signed and the monies delivered, the school closed up shop and moved on. This was something of a local scandal back then, but I think it was repeated in basic form throughout the country with other local populations. This latest schooling blight is just another form of the same. As long as the lure of student loan money is there, the shysters will come.

Re:Too many of them

[IthnkImParanoid]

At the risk of being a "Me too!" poster, I agree. When I was in my senior year, I was taking a fourth-year microcontroller class, and it was painfully obvious my lab partner hadn't coded at all in his life. He would start a condition check with an "if", then indent once more for the "else if", then once more for the next "else if" until, ten "else if"s later the condition was occupying three lines on the text editor.

He wasn't a Comp Sci. major because he liked coding, that's for sure.

Re:Too many of them

[Prof.Phreak]

Honestly There needs to be Tech schools out there that have 90%+ Failure rates of students that Just don't have the aptitude to work with computers.. But the only problem then would be to get students into the school and fill up the classes so they can make money....

I've been teaching at one of them schools for almost 4 years; and you wouldn't believe how hard it is to fail anyone (or to suggest they should seek another major, or [as I usually like to tell students] to switch schools - I also teach in a real college).

On one occation, the `director' actually changed my final grades! (yep, plainly edited the final roster).

I've heard stories of instructors being fired for what amounts to IMHO `telling the truth' to the students.

These schools are evil money sucking machines that pray on the mistery of others and screw up the lives of just about every student they come across (recruit already messed up folks [many not even high school grads], promise lots of stuff, leave them with TONS of loans). I really hate that school (on moral grounds), but hey, work is work, and I'd rather be employed than not.

Oh, yeah, and I wish they'd go under! I've been wishing for that since the first few weeks of me working there.

You can't teach talent

[Crashmarik]

Passion for the work doesn't come out of a crackerjack box. An MCSE or any "Certification" from a vendor, is just a manufacturers way of saying you have digested their propaganda. If you are looking to get rich quick while only working a few hours a week try No money down real estate.

It should come as no surprise that the people who went for these courses are now getting burned. The schools were unscrupulous but then again so were the majority of their students. Both parties were trying to sell sows ears as silk purses.

Ten years.

[Phs2501]

This seems like as good a time as any to mention Peter Norvig's Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years, an interesting look into the "NOW NOW NOW" attitude that is present in the computer industry (and the insane number of "Teach Yourself $skill in \d+ (days|hours)" books out there). This attitude is a part of what these tech training schools represent, and probably a reason why it hasn't worked out so well for them.

It also has very good advice for becoming an accomplished programmer.

Re:You have degrees working for you. WOW!

[kfg]

The BSCS and Phd. CS guys that I've worked with always seemed like they were trained for research instead of getting the product shipped.

As it should be. The mistake was hiring scientists when engineers were wanted.

A doctorate is a research degree. By definition.

You don't hire an architect to hammer nails, and if he applies you have to realize he's going to need training as a carpenter.

KFG

Re:Tech Schools

[Tassach]

Ahh... another zoomie.

There are some good tech schools and some bad ones. I went through AF programmer tech school in '89, and it was, IMHO, pretty much a waste of time. IIRC the 12 week course consisted of: 2 weeks intro to basic computing concepts (basically the OSI network model), 3 weeks of pseudocode, 4 weeks of Cobol, 2 weeks of assembly, and 1 week of ADA. As far as I can tell, the purpose of this "training" was to weed out the people who couldn't understand the basics like looping and control structures. My real training happened once I got to my permanent duty station, where I was fortunate enough to work with some *brilliant* people who taught me how to develop good software. (Thanks Capt. Block!)

In general I'd say you are right, there are probably more good tech schools than bad ones. Mine happened to suck. My cousin went through Navy nuclear power school and got a great hands-on education in basic electronics and applied physics. I had some friends who were F-15 crew chiefs who got a great education in aircraft mechanics, and dated a girl who was trained as an air traffic controller a year out of high school.