Heya. I'm currently involved with Linuxgruven so I felt the need to respond to this thread. I normally just scan thru the site. At any rate, This is my take on the whole thing. First off, I am not currently employed by Linuxgruven. I responded to an ad in the newspaper in November and went to an interview. After a short interview where my resume was scanned and the interviewer pitched the job at me (it almost felt more like I as interviewing him), I took an amptitude test which was required before any offers were made, to make sure you weren't a total dolt. After I passed the test, I was told the "deal". Get the LCA, and get a job. I was presented with the option of paying $2,500 for a 4 week, 80 hour course to prepare me for the exams. After going thru many details with the interviewer, I told him I'd have to call him back in a few days. Before I left, I expressed my concern that it sounded "too good to be true", in a sense, and that I was skeptical about the legitimacy of the whole operation. He then encouraged me to check into the company in any way I felt necessary, recommended the BBB and other resources. After I could find no evidence that the company was scamming people, after 2 on-the-spot tours of their office, and after corroborating facts about their clients, I agreed to sign up. This is where it's important to pay attention. I was given an "official" employment offer. In it, it was stated that "employment is dependent on achieving LCA certification". It also gave a list of ways to prepare for the certification, one of which was "Self-Study". I opted for their course. When I brought in my check, I was given a signed offer stating everything I had been promised. In it I was guaranteed a full refund of ALL Costs of certification (including course, testing, and all others incurred costs) after 1 year of employment. Signed document in hand I handed over the check. I took their class the first 4 weeks of January, so I just finished last week. I was slightly disappointed in the content of the class, it was not neearly as technical and in-depth as I had hoped. It was geared more towards the not-so-technically-inclined that made up a majority of the class. I do intend to take this issue up with their office manager. I'm taking my first test on monday. I get 2 shots at each Linuxgruven test for free. All in all, I've been involved with Linuxgruven for 2 months now and I have seen absolutely *no* evidence that they're operating illegally or immorally. I, obviously, cannot say for sure right now, as I still have yet to pass the tests and be hired. I was offered all the promises made to me in writing before I paid one cent, and they made an effort to make it clear that CERTIFICATION WAS REQUIRED, NOT THEIR COURSE. They don't care if you can pass the LCA without the course, as long as you pass the LCA. They also do not require you to take their Linuxgruven certification tests. So, you could self-study, take the SAIR tests, get certified and hired at Linuxgruven, without paying Linuxgruven one single cent. Anyway, this is getting long-winded. I will say this, I don't think I'll truly believe that there isn't some sorta catch until after I'm actively working for the company. I've still got small doubts inside me. But like I said, I've seen absolutely no evidence of any sort of bad practices on their part in the 2 months I've been actively visiting their office. The only thing I can say they may be doing that I would question is offering this to some people who are questionably knowledgable in technical aspects in general. There were some people in my class that I sincerely doubt have any hope of passing the tests, so I think they may avoid some pissed off people by making their aptitude test harder, to avoid some of these people making it thru the filter and paying for the course. Please feel free to email me with any comments/flames/etc, as, like I stated earlier, I don't really get the chance to do much more than scan this site. (damdaman6715@yahoo.com)
If I run across this topic after my exams I'll be happy to shed more light on the subject if at all possible.
Elad
Slashdot Mirror
Heya. I'm currently involved with Linuxgruven so I felt the need to respond to this thread. I normally just scan thru the site. At any rate, This is my take on the whole thing. First off, I am not currently employed by Linuxgruven. I responded to an ad in the newspaper in November and went to an interview. After a short interview where my resume was scanned and the interviewer pitched the job at me (it almost felt more like I as interviewing him), I took an amptitude test which was required before any offers were made, to make sure you weren't a total dolt. After I passed the test, I was told the "deal". Get the LCA, and get a job. I was presented with the option of paying $2,500 for a 4 week, 80 hour course to prepare me for the exams. After going thru many details with the interviewer, I told him I'd have to call him back in a few days. Before I left, I expressed my concern that it sounded "too good to be true", in a sense, and that I was skeptical about the legitimacy of the whole operation. He then encouraged me to check into the company in any way I felt necessary, recommended the BBB and other resources. After I could find no evidence that the company was scamming people, after 2 on-the-spot tours of their office, and after corroborating facts about their clients, I agreed to sign up. This is where it's important to pay attention. I was given an "official" employment offer. In it, it was stated that "employment is dependent on achieving LCA certification". It also gave a list of ways to prepare for the certification, one of which was "Self-Study". I opted for their course. When I brought in my check, I was given a signed offer stating everything I had been promised. In it I was guaranteed a full refund of ALL Costs of certification (including course, testing, and all others incurred costs) after 1 year of employment. Signed document in hand I handed over the check. I took their class the first 4 weeks of January, so I just finished last week. I was slightly disappointed in the content of the class, it was not neearly as technical and in-depth as I had hoped. It was geared more towards the not-so-technically-inclined that made up a majority of the class. I do intend to take this issue up with their office manager. I'm taking my first test on monday. I get 2 shots at each Linuxgruven test for free. All in all, I've been involved with Linuxgruven for 2 months now and I have seen absolutely *no* evidence that they're operating illegally or immorally. I, obviously, cannot say for sure right now, as I still have yet to pass the tests and be hired. I was offered all the promises made to me in writing before I paid one cent, and they made an effort to make it clear that CERTIFICATION WAS REQUIRED, NOT THEIR COURSE. They don't care if you can pass the LCA without the course, as long as you pass the LCA. They also do not require you to take their Linuxgruven certification tests. So, you could self-study, take the SAIR tests, get certified and hired at Linuxgruven, without paying Linuxgruven one single cent. Anyway, this is getting long-winded. I will say this, I don't think I'll truly believe that there isn't some sorta catch until after I'm actively working for the company. I've still got small doubts inside me. But like I said, I've seen absolutely no evidence of any sort of bad practices on their part in the 2 months I've been actively visiting their office. The only thing I can say they may be doing that I would question is offering this to some people who are questionably knowledgable in technical aspects in general. There were some people in my class that I sincerely doubt have any hope of passing the tests, so I think they may avoid some pissed off people by making their aptitude test harder, to avoid some of these people making it thru the filter and paying for the course. Please feel free to email me with any comments/flames/etc, as, like I stated earlier, I don't really get the chance to do much more than scan this site. (damdaman6715@yahoo.com) If I run across this topic after my exams I'll be happy to shed more light on the subject if at all possible. Elad