Is this an option??. I have built a LOT of sites with Umbraco and would really like to get certified however I don't think I could learn much more than I already know by attending the level 1 school.
$1850 is way to expensive for someone like me without the backing of a company to pay for it.
I agree with Skiltz. Looking at the agenda for the course coming up in Auckland I really couldn't justify the cost as someone who is already pretty confident with Umbraco.
It seems that at the moment course attendance serves as a psuedo practical test for certification as the exam at the end is quite short. Please correct me if I am wrong.
I think I recall someone mentioning that there are plans in the future to develop a more in-depth exam that can be used independently of the couse?
The certification exam is 10 random questions and you are allowed to miss 2 questions in order to pass. That can be good or bad. It requires a broader knowledge of umbraco "just in case" you are asked the question.
At codegarden this year they discussed providing certification options without the class but I don't know if they have made any final decisions.
There's no current plans of providing certification tests outside the course. We believe it's much better to expand the availability of the courses worldwide.
The course serves as a part of the certification test as attendees solves 10-14 excercises along the way and combined with the last random multiple choice quiz it's a great screener.
We've had a lot of people joining the training who considered them selves experts and only attended because their company sent them. Even the most skilled of them ended up learning quite a few tricks with the majority being surprised how much smarter they could build sites.
I'd say that the productivity increase you'll experience combined with the leads and confidence you get from potential clients is well worth the cost (which is lower than competitors course fees btw).
I like attending courses and even courses where I was proficient beforehand I have recieved some benefit. There is usually some trick or method that you aren't aware of and the contacts you make are just as valuable. And you get some time away from your job which is great when you're an employee ;)
But now that I am self-employed I could not justify taking 2 days of projects for a course where I am 90% familiar with the material for a certificate none of my customers are aware of.
I'm not knocking the course - I'm sure it will be great for some people. I just wanted to let you know where I am at.
Some ideas that might make it more attractive to others in my situation:
- have a preview of one of the more advanced sections of the course
- offer a money-back guarantee of some sort. Very subjective and I'm not sure how you would word it.
- Reduce the price in NZ. A 2 day SQL programming course costs about $1200 here
Thanks for your feedback. The price may seem high but you need to consider the value of what you are receiving from the certification. There are a number of developers who have signed up and paid for the course who are self employeed and have taken the step to formalise their commitment to using Umbraco through the certification process. You may "know" the material, and I can say that one of the developers who
is attending is in the same situation. He has been using Umbraco for
around 2 years and has worked both in the UK and NZ as a contractor but
has chosen to get the certification just to boost his CV when applying
for both contract positions and helping with picking up direct work. I can also speak from experience on this.
Something else may not have considered is that the course is 100% tax deductible in New Zealand. You can either pay the tax man, or get a certification that will have number of benefits that outweigh the costs.
I mean Wow. A small car costs less, as well as a masters degree in NZ costs much less per course. Coming out of that would at least allow you to develop your own CMS. Come to think on it is this by any chance an hourly rate from a consultant? In that case why not go for the monitored exam only option? Unless your consultants really need the work. This is also a course that has a wide entry so trained professional software engineers can be lumped in with beginner developers at level one so it is a shame there is no check or step up option to the advanced level instead.That isn't to say that $1350 is a lot better than $1850, perhaps if there were also some details to help identify course content.
I know this is an old topic... but unfortunately I am experiencing the same. I wanted to attend the training, and asked my bosses for the company to sponsor it. But it's just too expensive, even with the 30% discount currently (actually just ended yesterday). I was able to deploy our site to production and is working really well, but I wanted to learn about best practices directly from Umbraco and not just by browsing the forums/community which is hard to do unless you are searching for specific solutions to problems. Having a formal training would really help solidify my knowledge and hopefully make it a lot easier to resolve common problems. The training price point is really just a blocker.
I'd agree that the cost of the course is prohibitive - particularly since I am based in South Africa where no courses are offered and I would have to fly to another part of the world in order to attend. (add on flights, accommodation etc. and considering the Rand vs Euro/dollar/pound exchange rate it's just not an option for me)
I've been working with Umbraco 7+ solidly for 3 years now (after a break of a few years having worked with v3 and 4 a few years before that) and have built many sites, extended Umbraco, built packages and property editors, customised the backoffice etc etc...) so am pretty confident with Umbraco but also acknowledge that there are things I don't know and may be doing other things in a non-optimal way.
Would Umbraco HQ consider running a course in South Africa, or an online course where physical attendance is not required ?
I am from Canada and I was thinking of doing the same thing.
Unfortunately it costs me $5348 to get all training :(
this is the bundled version.
If I take the online-north american version, I have to pay $1782/course.
And what happens if you fail the exam? Do I have to pay up again?
I've done 2 site in umbraco 4, 2 sites in umbraco 6, 1 site I upgraded to umbraco 7 and now 2 sites in umbraco 7 plus my personal site is umbraco 7. And countless times I have done customizations (especially hacking into the back office).
I would love to know where my knowledge is at by taking a test and maybe get certified.
Umbraco Exam without attending Training?
Is this an option??. I have built a LOT of sites with Umbraco and would really like to get certified however I don't think I could learn much more than I already know by attending the level 1 school.
$1850 is way to expensive for someone like me without the backing of a company to pay for it.
Thanks,
Matthew
I agree with Skiltz. Looking at the agenda for the course coming up in Auckland I really couldn't justify the cost as someone who is already pretty confident with Umbraco.
It seems that at the moment course attendance serves as a psuedo practical test for certification as the exam at the end is quite short. Please correct me if I am wrong.
I think I recall someone mentioning that there are plans in the future to develop a more in-depth exam that can be used independently of the couse?
Cheers
Paul
The certification exam is 10 random questions and you are allowed to miss 2 questions in order to pass. That can be good or bad. It requires a broader knowledge of umbraco "just in case" you are asked the question.
At codegarden this year they discussed providing certification options without the class but I don't know if they have made any final decisions.
There's no current plans of providing certification tests outside the course. We believe it's much better to expand the availability of the courses worldwide.
The course serves as a part of the certification test as attendees solves 10-14 excercises along the way and combined with the last random multiple choice quiz it's a great screener.
We've had a lot of people joining the training who considered them selves experts and only attended because their company sent them. Even the most skilled of them ended up learning quite a few tricks with the majority being surprised how much smarter they could build sites.
I'd say that the productivity increase you'll experience combined with the leads and confidence you get from potential clients is well worth the cost (which is lower than competitors course fees btw).
Niels,
I like attending courses and even courses where I was proficient beforehand I have recieved some benefit. There is usually some trick or method that you aren't aware of and the contacts you make are just as valuable. And you get some time away from your job which is great when you're an employee ;)
But now that I am self-employed I could not justify taking 2 days of projects for a course where I am 90% familiar with the material for a certificate none of my customers are aware of.
I'm not knocking the course - I'm sure it will be great for some people. I just wanted to let you know where I am at.
Some ideas that might make it more attractive to others in my situation:
- have a preview of one of the more advanced sections of the course
- offer a money-back guarantee of some sort. Very subjective and I'm not sure how you would word it.
- Reduce the price in NZ. A 2 day SQL programming course costs about $1200 here
Cheers
Paul
I'd love to go its just to expensive.
Hi Paul and Matthew.
Thanks for your feedback. The price may seem high but you need to consider the value of what you are receiving from the certification. There are a number of developers who have signed up and paid for the course who are self employeed and have taken the step to formalise their commitment to using Umbraco through the certification process. You may "know" the material, and I can say that one of the developers who is attending is in the same situation. He has been using Umbraco for around 2 years and has worked both in the UK and NZ as a contractor but has chosen to get the certification just to boost his CV when applying for both contract positions and helping with picking up direct work. I can also speak from experience on this.
Something else may not have considered is that the course is 100% tax deductible in New Zealand. You can either pay the tax man, or get a certification that will have number of benefits that outweigh the costs.
Peter
Checking out the updated price is a shock.
I mean Wow. A small car costs less, as well as a masters degree in NZ costs much less per course. Coming out of that would at least allow you to develop your own CMS. Come to think on it is this by any chance an hourly rate from a consultant? In that case why not go for the monitored exam only option? Unless your consultants really need the work. This is also a course that has a wide entry so trained professional software engineers can be lumped in with beginner developers at level one so it is a shame there is no check or step up option to the advanced level instead.That isn't to say that $1350 is a lot better than $1850, perhaps if there were also some details to help identify course content.
I know this is an old topic... but unfortunately I am experiencing the same. I wanted to attend the training, and asked my bosses for the company to sponsor it. But it's just too expensive, even with the 30% discount currently (actually just ended yesterday). I was able to deploy our site to production and is working really well, but I wanted to learn about best practices directly from Umbraco and not just by browsing the forums/community which is hard to do unless you are searching for specific solutions to problems. Having a formal training would really help solidify my knowledge and hopefully make it a lot easier to resolve common problems. The training price point is really just a blocker.
Hi All
I'd agree that the cost of the course is prohibitive - particularly since I am based in South Africa where no courses are offered and I would have to fly to another part of the world in order to attend. (add on flights, accommodation etc. and considering the Rand vs Euro/dollar/pound exchange rate it's just not an option for me)
I've been working with Umbraco 7+ solidly for 3 years now (after a break of a few years having worked with v3 and 4 a few years before that) and have built many sites, extended Umbraco, built packages and property editors, customised the backoffice etc etc...) so am pretty confident with Umbraco but also acknowledge that there are things I don't know and may be doing other things in a non-optimal way.
Would Umbraco HQ consider running a course in South Africa, or an online course where physical attendance is not required ?
Thanks,
I am from Canada and I was thinking of doing the same thing. Unfortunately it costs me $5348 to get all training :( this is the bundled version.
If I take the online-north american version, I have to pay $1782/course.
And what happens if you fail the exam? Do I have to pay up again?
I've done 2 site in umbraco 4, 2 sites in umbraco 6, 1 site I upgraded to umbraco 7 and now 2 sites in umbraco 7 plus my personal site is umbraco 7. And countless times I have done customizations (especially hacking into the back office).
I would love to know where my knowledge is at by taking a test and maybe get certified.
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