How to choose an IT course in Israel? Part One.
I realize that this post could be interpreted as an advertisement, so I will not mention or even cite the Tel-Ren experience. I will be as objective as possible.
Unfortunately, I see a lot of absurdities and even nonsense, which are often spread by "experts" who often have nothing to do with the industry, and do not even bother to explain their views.
So how does one choose the right course in high-tech?
Let's start in order.
1. The final benefit of the course
The main criterion for a course is its final benefit, which is either a job in your chosen profession, a promotion in your current job or the possibility to work as a self-employed person.
To see if the course is useful, you can request a syllabus and go through the main sections of the course.
Even if you don't understand in detail what you are talking about, you can go to job search sites (e.g. www.drushim.co.il) and search for current IT professions. If the number of vacancies is small (less than 100 - 150 ), the meaning of learning this course is not or almost not, because most likely the supply here exceeds the demand.
2. Total number of hours of the course
The total number should be sufficient to master the material. To check, you can compare the programs of several similar courses or ask competent people already working in the profession.
To discuss the programming course syllabus and clarify the details, go to the programmers' forum and ask if there are enough hours to learn a particular programming language.
If the course has many sections, it is not always good - and I recommend checking each of them separately. Often the program includes many sections, and a little time is allocated for each. It turns out that you will learn everything "on top of everything" and nothing at all.
Only your class hours should be counted in the total number of hours, and independent work and project work should be counted separately.
3. Practical work or an internship
It is very difficult to find a job at the end of the course without an internship in real projects or companies. Let's face it, it's almost impossible.
The internship or practice should be negotiated with you when you enroll in the course, it is desirable even to include them in the program in a separate section.
I emphasize - the internship must be in a real company or project! Training projects will not be counted by employers as experience, because their task is to give you the opportunity to master the training material and no more.
4. Course fees
If you want to compare the prices of different courses, simply divide the total price of the course by the number of hours and print the cost per hour - this is the main indicator.
Sometimes they try to mislead you by offering a "cheap" course and not telling you the total number of hours. In fact, a "cheap" course is obtained by significantly reducing the number of training hours, which will inevitably lead to a loss of money and complete uselessness of the course.
There are situations when a particular institution is flooding you with discounts, but in fact the cost of the course is set at such a level that you can seriously consider it only after all the discounts.
In order to avoid these tricks, just ask how much the course will cost you after all the discounts and promotions. And it is better if it will be written on paper.
To be continued . . .