Other CompTIA certifications - CTT Certification and Entry Level Jobs

Author

CTT Certification and Entry Level Jobs

dlj189

2003-05-28, 4:59 pm

My question is "How much weight does the CTT carry in the work force when no other experience, nor formal technical training is present". Will I be able to get a decent job? Should I get some other certification to go with it?

Consider my background:

2 years ago I was asked to teach a college level Computer Science course by a friend that was a major player in the CS department at a local community college.
He said they needed someone to teach this class due to a last minute teacher resignation.I was not interviewed by anyone, nor my resume requested, nor any credentials requested. I did not have any teaching experience, nor any college level classes in computer science. I was completly self educated in Computer Science. I did have an Associate's degree in Fine Arts from the same school.

So I said yes, I would do it because it sounded like a challenge and alot of fun.
I had to write original lecture material, create student activities, create a grade book, create alternate media, gather props, learn the book, create tests, in only 1 week, then start teaching class. No one even called me to see if I was doing ok.

On the first day of class I could not log into the system to show my powerpoint presentation that went with my orientation lecture because I had not been issued a username and password. Fortunately I had ordered a vcr/TV combo to use to show a related video because I thought I should have a backup plan for some relevent content in case I became too nervous to speak the lecture.
It was a real circus act, but I did it, and loved it!
Those students did not know the difference. In fact, I got really high marks from them on the exit evaluations, and everyone passed the course too.

So I thought, great, a new career and I inquired about opps for the following semester with the department head, but got no response. She was pleasant in the halls, but just ignored my requests for info. She never called or came by to check on me until the end of the semester when she had to do an exit survey of my classroom teaching style.

Since that time, I have not been able to get anyone to even interview me for anything related to teaching on any level, even though I successfully taught a semester at a well known community college.
Not even Gateway or CompUSA.
What do I need to do to get an interview in this field? Will the CTT be enough? Do I need something else. I'm a little advanced in CS knowledge to go back to college for it now.
What should I do?

Supertech

2003-05-28, 8:00 pm

First off, If you are really from Afganistan, then none of this probably applies.

In the US, you are not qualified to teach. At an accredited school, in order to tech Associate level classes, you need at least a Bachelor's degree. You must have a degree higher than the level you are teaching. Technical schools usually require extensive indusry experience.

I think you will find the CTT+ pretty tough if you do not have some formal training or a lot of training experience.

Academia is a pretty snobby bunch. It's all about the paper.

dlj189

2003-05-29, 12:53 pm

Oh, I see-I accidentally showed myself as being from Afghanistan, sorry. I'll fix it. I am from Houston, Texas.

I know that all the accredited community schools require a certain level of education for me to be able to do that again. I am ok with that. I have entertained the idea of getting my current degree in Fine Arts changed to CS, since most of the core classes are the same, but I was really more interested in just taking some certification tests asap and getting to work.

I know public schools require a bachelor's degree. The pay is much too crappy to spend $ on college degree, anyway- so I'm ok with that too.

I was giving the background story for those who might interested to know why I was even considering teaching since I had no teaching degree or a CS degree. I really thought, that when I agreed to teach the class, that it would be so impressive on my resume (a person with no degree and no experience even being allowed to teach a college level CS course, you know) that I would not have any trouble getting an entry level job as a trainer, or maybe a trainer's assistant to start with. Apparantly there is something about my resume that is getting it filed in 13, becuse I do not even get called for interviews. Maybe it's jsut too hard for an employer to believe that I really did that. Maybe since I do not have any CS either they assume I do not know how to do anything, even though I have plenty of self taught CS skills.

I could likely pass the A+, and the MOUS too, but there are so many A+ certified people out there already, but this may be my only option to quickly prove some content mastery.

I really wanted other CTT's or technical trainers to give some opinions of whether I sounded like the kind of person who could succeed in this technical training Biz, and also offer some suggestion on what content area to focus on so I could get a decent entry level job as a technical trainer in any capacity soon after I pass the CTT.
I do not think I will have much trouble with the written test or the video.

Any additional thought or referrals to other sources of information are appreciated.

Dee

dlj189

2004-07-26, 12:40 pm

I have contacted the community colleges, libraries, community centers, churches, high schools, etc regarding forming clases based on the IC3, and have received some positive replies, even after stating my only credentials as CTT CBT mastered/VBT prep in progress, and 10 years experience building and using PC's.
Passing the CTT CBT seems to be getting their attention.
It still does not get CompUSA's attention though, but I don't care anymore. They charge too much for their first time user classes anyway. I took one that came free with my camera purchase just to see what level they were teaching on, and I could not believe how much others had paid for so little information. I felt sorry for them.

Passed CTT CBT in March 2004. Plan to take the IC3 tests, then submit CTT video using IC3 content, then apply for IC3 cert instructor credential. Want to teach continuing ed type courses for end users, not train more technicians. Too many already.

Sound like a good plan? I know I won't be making my first million off this plan, but I hope to be "making a difference" in my small part of the world soon.

Do you think the IC3 cert on my CTT VBT app, and my choice of IC3 content for the video will be good enough for the video graders to pass me? (assuming everything else on the video is in passing range?)

Thanks for your help.

abraves

2004-07-26, 4:29 pm

Hey hey....watch it now. All of people in academia aren't snobby. LOL Just messing with you. Have a great one Supertech!

BJ

quote:
Originally posted by Supertech
First off, If you are really from Afganistan, then none of this probably applies.

In the US, you are not qualified to teach. At an accredited school, in order to tech Associate level classes, you need at least a Bachelor's degree. You must have a degree higher than the level you are teaching. Technical schools usually require extensive indusry experience.

I think you will find the CTT+ pretty tough if you do not have some formal training or a lot of training experience.

Academia is a pretty snobby bunch. It's all about the paper.

abraves

2004-07-26, 4:37 pm

hmmmmmm.....sounds like you are at a crosspath in a career choice to me. I think it is very impressive that you taught a college level course being that you did not have a degree or anything in that particular field. I commend you. Thats great! Unfortunately, even though employers may be impressed with this prior teaching experience, their hands are tied. They can't make an exception or do anything about it.

There are options out there. Technical Schools often do not require any type of college degree. They offer programs such as Electricity, Carpentry, Computer Systems, etc. They are looking for experience. However, anything in the Public School system and you are going to need that B.S.

You have a couple of options. Being that it seems you don't want to waste the money to go back to school, you could always go ahead and find a regular helpdesk or computer job and get your experience and go for that Technical School down the road.

Personally, it sounds to me like you have developed a gift and a desire to teach. If this is the case, go for it. If that means having to go back for 2 more years of school, go for it. The general consensus is that teachers do not make anything. Where I am from, starting teachers get 33K....keep in mind thats ONLY for 9 months. Lets say they taught summer school...they are up to about 38K..and lets say they did 1 sport or 1 after school activity..thats another 3K....that puts them at 41K starting out still having all the vacations students get and a month for summer. Not too shabby I don't think. If teaching is something you think you want to do, I say go for it.

Last, if you need any advice or want further explanation, you can shoot me an e-mail or a message. I just made the switch from the corporate world into the education world. Take care and hope this helps some.

quote:
Originally posted by dlj189
I have contacted the community colleges, libraries, community centers, churches, high schools, etc regarding forming clases based on the IC3, and have received some positive replies, even after stating my only credentials as CTT CBT mastered/VBT prep in progress, and 10 years experience building and using PC's.
Passing the CTT CBT seems to be getting their attention.
It still does not get CompUSA's attention though, but I don't care anymore. They charge too much for their first time user classes anyway. I took one that came free with my camera purchase just to see what level they were teaching on, and I could not believe how much others had paid for so little information. I felt sorry for them.

Passed CTT CBT in March 2004. Plan to take the IC3 tests, then submit CTT video using IC3 content, then apply for IC3 cert instructor credential. Want to teach continuing ed type courses for end users, not train more technicians. Too many already.

Sound like a good plan? I know I won't be making my first million off this plan, but I hope to be "making a difference" in my small part of the world soon.

Do you think the IC3 cert on my CTT VBT app, and my choice of IC3 content for the video will be good enough for the video graders to pass me? (assuming everything else on the video is in passing range?)

Thanks for your help.

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