Training

[carlosLondon]

Good morning

I am thinking of taking a break after my contract finishes, and I was thinking of going to India for 4 - 5 weeks. I've thought that I could do a training course in there, get a certification and then enjoy the beach/do yoga/whatever for the rest of my stay.

Now, I've been searching the forums and I cannot find much information about this - is there any company you'd recommend? I've found some mixed reviews about Koenig, so not sure about them, so if you have any recommendation I'd really appreciate it.

About the certification itself - I've been developing using ASP.NET for 7 years, SQL for 9 years, so I was thinking of maybe getting something for MVC or WPF/WCF or maybe even some SQL certification (SSAS, SSRS and SSIS). considering Sharepoint as well.

Quite open minded, really.

Summarising:

1) any recommendation of companies sorting training abroad? I prefer India, but can consider other locations.
2) any certifications you recommend?

Thanks a lot
Carlos

ps.- I wasn't sure if I should post this on General or here, so I went for this one...let me know if I should move it!

[northernladuk]

Have you had a look at the job sites or had a look around while you have been in contract to see what tech would add value or have been in demand and also had a look at the frequency of roles that come up with that tech and the rates? I can understand asking around but I would very much rely on research. It's your business and your future so need to shape it to suit you and your market I would have said. What do you think are the emerging markets, which can leverage your existing skills and so on.

You might try glancing at IT Jobs Watch, Tracking the IT Job Market buy be aware this is all scraped data so will include fishing stuff and inflated rates that don't reflect the actual.

Once you have an idea you can then research the training.

Are you expecting to pay for this through the company?

[DirtyDog]

My experiences with Koenig in Goa were all positive - may have changed since 2007 though.

Apart from the machines being a bit old and in a building which had seen better days, the course itself was good, led by a competent trainer, three of us in the class (we'd arranged it that way, and knew each other). Fantastic hotel, Koenig arranged drivers etc for us (and we then got them to drive us out to some places in the evenings).

Downside of doing training somewhere like this is that you miss out on seeing anywhere, really - given the choice of staying near the hotel, lounging on the beach, having a massage, drinking mojitos and spending the day studying in a small office (and they will work all weekend if you need to), it's sometimes hard to motivate yourself.

They offered us the chance to study for the final exam on the Saturday and Sunday, but we got them to arrange the tests for the Saturday morning so we could have the rest of the weekend on the beach.

[carlosLondon]

Yeah, I can see a lot of demand for wcf, wpf and mvc on the .net side, more and more sharepoint and lots of BI, so you're right, I just have to decide what I want to do. tbh I was planning a break and then I thought I could add a certification on top.

I don't think I can claim the training as expense/pay through my company, but I will check with my accountant. Maybe I can claim for the flights but not the training?

[carlosLondon]

Have you had a look at the job sites or had a look around while you have been in contract to see what tech would add value or have been in demand and also had a look at the frequency of roles that come up with that tech and the rates? I can understand asking around but I would very much rely on research. It's your business and your future so need to shape it to suit you and your market I would have said. What do you think are the emerging markets, which can leverage your existing skills and so on.

You might try glancing at IT Jobs Watch, Tracking the IT Job Market buy be aware this is all scraped data so will include fishing stuff and inflated rates that don't reflect the actual.

Once you have an idea you can then research the training.

Are you expecting to pay for this through the company?

and thanks for the link!

[DirtyDog]

I don't think I can claim the training as expense/pay through my company, but I will check with my accountant. Maybe I can claim for the flights but not the training?

It's going to be all or nothing. Make sure you read up on the expense rules around training before you decide whether to claim it or not.

I claimed mine.

[carlosLondon]

My experiences with Koenig in Goa were all positive - may have changed since 2007 though.

Apart from the machines being a bit old and in a building which had seen better days, the course itself was good, led by a competent trainer, three of us in the class (we'd arranged it that way, and knew each other). Fantastic hotel, Koenig arranged drivers etc for us (and we then got them to drive us out to some places in the evenings).

Downside of doing training somewhere like this is that you miss out on seeing anywhere, really - given the choice of staying near the hotel, lounging on the beach, having a massage, drinking mojitos and spending the day studying in a small office (and they will work all weekend if you need to), it's sometimes hard to motivate yourself.

They offered us the chance to study for the final exam on the Saturday and Sunday, but we got them to arrange the tests for the Saturday morning so we could have the rest of the weekend on the beach.

thanks. I want to have a couple of weeks after the training to enjoy the area :-)

[cojak]

Just a note to any would be spammers out there - I'm only letting recommendations through from those who are already moderated.

HTH.

[DirtyDog]

thanks. I want to have a couple of weeks after the training to enjoy the area :-)

Do it before - then you are already over any jet lag before you throw yourself into the course. Have a couple of days afterwards to relax as well.

When I went, the law was that if you arrived on a charter flight, you have to leave on a charter flight. I flew into Goa on a charter flight and then on the way home was booked scheduled. Got to Mumbai:

Immigration: You flew into Goa?
Me: Yes
Immigration: Charter flight?
Me (now sweating as I'm in Mumbai, with no hotel anywhere else and the charter flight isn't for three more days): Yes
Immigration: Good holiday?

So I got away with it. My colleague flew in scheduled, and when he got to the airport in Goa to fly home on the charter flight, was denied boarding. He'd asked the holiday company about it, and they assured him it was going to be OK, but then he had to watch his family fly direct home to Manchester, while he had to pay to go from Goa to Mumbai to London to Manchester. First Choice eventually stumped up the cost of the flight home for him, as he had emails from them confirming that he would be OK to fly back charter flight.

Also, if I was going again, I'd be tempted to go to Shimla rather than Goa.

[piningforthefjords]

Anyone used the Koenig outfit in Dubai...was tempted to look at this at the end of my current contract?