From: Howard C. Berkowitz (hcb@gettcomm.com)
Date: Sun Jan 05 2003 - 01:51:46 GMT-3
At 10:30 PM -0500 1/4/03, Hal Logan wrote:
>I think another issue that comes into play is the fact that
>certification candidates are looked at by many organizations as just
>another group of consumers, and none of these companies are willing to
>accept the fact that the certification arena isn't what it once was.
>IPExpert's prices are prohibitively expensive for many candidates who
>aren't already working in a mid-level or senior level capacity.
This was pretty much always the case for live classes as well, with
the variation that peoples' employers paid for the training.
And I agree that vendors might get creative, and some actually do.
Some, for example, bulk discount to Cisco Academies. Since Cisco VARs
are the people that HAVE to have certified people, site licensing to
them makes sense.
Consider this as well. People that can put out good study materials
tend to be fairly well known, and have strong networking skills. If
they can't make what they consider enough from a training business,
they are relatively well positioned to give it up and go back to
general consulting, presales, etc. Few of the technical people I know
in the training product business (as opposed to classroom
instruction) depend on those products for their entire income.
Again, while I honestly don't know what form the discussion would
take, I think this list is a good place for open, non-salesy
discussion between buyers and sellers to determine real value and
creative marketing. Telling a vendor you can't afford their pricing
is a less persuasive argument than figuring a way they can get
adequate volume from lower pricing.
>It seems
>like the days when you got your IE and the job offers flowed in are
>pretty much gone... I know when I get mine I'll get drunk that night and
>go to work the next morning for the same salary I had before I got my
>number, plus I'll be recovering from a hangover. (If I fail this next
>attempt, then I get the hangover without the IE number)
I think that's much more sophisticated economic analysis that was
seen at Enron and Worldcom!
>High priced
>study material could be considered an investment a couple years ago, but
>nowadays it could be a while before you see a return on it.
>
>The fact is, the climate has changed, and the training companies need to
>change with it. It seems to me like a company that's going to be gestapo
>about enforcing their EULA could offer some kind of bulk discount for
>the people who don't have employers or fat bank accounts backing them
>up.
>
>Hal
I haven't seen most training companies be very gestapo-like. In this
case, there was an in-your-face situation that had to get a response
in public. By public, I mean starting on the vendor's own support
board.
Somebody might have a copy of the latest IOS but not SMARTNET, but
they've joined STUPIDNET if they flaunt that to Cisco.
.
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