<div>I'm glad you spoke out. I could not agree with you more. In fact, I took an internship which is the basis of my ability to school full time.</div><div>Still seems weird for as old as I am to be an intern, but like I said previously I have never exactly lived by normal societal routines. Many I talk to wish they had either the guts or the ability to change their path so completely. My work environment turned out a little different than originally anticipated however and changed the outcome of my learning experience. Some ways better, but worse in the technical area. This has become the basis of my search to focus specifically on technical skills rather than the "fluff" I am finding with regular academia. To those who have posted today I am indebted for your insights. The beginnings of surrounding myself with smart people :)<br>
</div><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 10:40 AM, Topher <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:topher@codeventure.net">topher@codeventure.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<div class="im">On Tue, 22 Feb 2011, Ben DeMott wrote:<br>
<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
In the words of one of our programmers that went to ITT<br>
<br>
"I went to school, spent 42,000 dollars, and learned almost nothing. Now<br>
I'm out of school, and get paid to learn actual skills"<br>
</blockquote>
<br></div>
I quit reading this thread a while ago because I used to work in higher ed, and I got tired of talking about it a long time ago. But I decided I have something to say. It has nothing to do with any specific school, so I'm not really answering the original question at all, just rambling.<br>
<br>
In my opinion college should be reserved for learning things you can't learn elsewhere. You want to be a doctor? Go to college. Lawyer? Go.<br>
<br>
Otherwise, learn it elsewhere. Personally I don't learn well alone, from books etc. I learn MUCH better from people. I still recommend getting it elsewhere.<br>
<br>
If you can code a little, get an internship at a coding shop, and have them show you the ropes.<br>
<br>
If you're decent with networking but want to be awesome, find a networking guy or shop and find out what it would take for them to teach you. Maybe you pay them, maybe you work for free, maybe they like brownies.<br>
<br>
Tech groups have really exploded in Grand Rapids recently. GRLUG is a good resource, and is becoming an even better one. GRWebDev started at a sprint, we'll see if it stays big. The drupal group, the wordpress group (that I still need to start) etc. Go to those, make friends, there are very smart people that go.<br>
<br>
In my opinion knowing smart people is a big key to success.<br><font color="#888888">
<br>
Topher</font><div><div class="h5"><br>
<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<br>
I would absolutely recommend GRCC over ITT, and if you want to further your<br>
education at FERRIS you can.<br>
A school is all about it's professors. If you there are truly independent<br>
and original professors that know how to teach - and have ACTUAL real world<br>
experience in their field - it doesn't matter what school you go to you will<br>
learn more than you ever could from individuals that are only teaching a<br>
course so their college can offer it to students.<br>
<br>
On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 10:14 AM, mooselikebriard <<a href="mailto:moosebriard@gmail.com" target="_blank">moosebriard@gmail.com</a>><br>
wrote:<br>
Davenport is close for me. I live near Kalamazoo and that<br>
campus is close to where I work which of course only matters if<br>
the particular program is taught there. I am looking into that<br>
matter currently. I surprise myself that I never considered<br>
Davenport previously.<br>
<br>
<br>
On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 10:00 AM, Michael Mol <<a href="mailto:mikemol@gmail.com" target="_blank">mikemol@gmail.com</a>><br>
wrote:<br>
Dagny's right.<br>
<br>
(And not just because she's my fiancee; if you want the<br>
paper, 3-in-1<br>
can be a good way to go. I don't recommend Ferris for the<br>
-in-1,<br>
though. I tried that, and then discovered their class<br>
scheduling for<br>
my degree program was very inflexible)<br>
<br>
On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 2:57 PM, Dagny Scott<br>
<<a href="mailto:parsleyfirefly@gmail.com" target="_blank">parsleyfirefly@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
> One thing I might add: GRCC's Associate's in Network<br>
Administration has a<br>
> LOT of the same classes as Davenport's Info Security<br>
degree. I believe they<br>
> also have a 3+1 deal where you spend 3 years at GRCC and<br>
one at Davenport.<br>
> This would by far be your cheapest option, and GRCC has<br>
some very good<br>
> instructors, many of whom currently work in the fields<br>
they're teaching.<br>
><br>
> Dagny<br>
> On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 9:45 AM, Michael Mol<br>
<<a href="mailto:mikemol@gmail.com" target="_blank">mikemol@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
>><br>
>> On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 2:34 PM, Steve Romanow<br>
<<a href="mailto:slestak989@gmail.com" target="_blank">slestak989@gmail.com</a>><br>
>> wrote:<br>
>> > 44k is quite expensive.<br>
>> ><br>
>> > For that kind of money, I personally would not<br>
consider it. I would do<br>
>> > GRCC or Davenport first. A lot depends on your<br>
resources of course, but<br>
>> > dont gamble future earnings with a buttload of<br>
student loans.<br>
>><br>
>> I spent five years at GRCC taking anything and<br>
everything they had<br>
>> that was interesting. I worked as a tutor in their<br>
computer apps<br>
>> department the whole time. They have perhaps five<br>
courses in their<br>
>> computer apps department which would be relevant.<br>
>><br>
>> If you wind up in their CO232 course, you're almost<br>
guaranteed to rub<br>
>> elbows with interesting folks; most of the people I<br>
remember running<br>
>> into there were into Linux out of personal interest.<br>
>><br>
>> However, I'd strongly recommend cert programs over even<br>
those five<br>
>> courses.<br>
>><br>
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