They want me to go to this training… what are my chances?

[billd]

It’s literally called “VMWare vSphere 4.1 Ultimate Bootcamp” – it’s 5 days of intense training in advance VMWare setup, configuration, troubleshooting, etc. etc.

The kicker – it’s FIVE days of INTENSE training – and each day is TEN (10) hours, working even straight through lunch time – no break.

Now,. a person who had, well, issues in school, ya all know the thing, right? Lucky to make it through school, NOT because you weren’t smart, but because of ADD or AD/HD – distractions, interruptions, etc.

Those were shorter days, you got a lunch break, study periods, and so on. You didn’t go literally 8am to 6pm straight through with no stopping.

What are my chances of success?

Further – this is an advance course – I contacted the instructor and he said you first needed to be up to a certain level and have had some experience and training. This is not a “VMWare 101” class, it’s for folks who are already administrators, and have hand-on experience setting it up from scratch. I’ve only ever used the graphical interface to make minor changes to existing configurations.

What are my chances…….??

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[Stephen]

I think you already know the answer to this.

If by “they” you mean your employer, I would suggest talking to your manager and tell them that you’ve contacted the instructor and he’s informed you that you were not experienced enough for the course and he suggested you gain more experience before trying the advanced course.

If you go I would imagine it may be a pretty miserable experience.

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[Curlymoe115]

If the instructor told you it is advanced then I would go to him and present your current skill set and ask him to make an honest evaluation of your chances. 50 hours spread over weeks is different then 50 hours spread over days. If you are already at the advanced skill set then you are simply upgrading your skills but if you are just a novice you are not likely to be able to catch up with everyone else in such a short amount of hours. This is even before you look at how a ADHD mind is going to be able to handle being chained in without any chance to escape for 10 hours.

I have been in a few of these workshops and they are extremely intense with people who are very focused and they will resent if you are constantly asking questions about information they feel you should already know, and if you clam up and don’t ask anything but you flounder through and don’t get everything accomplished you have wasted your time and money. So think carefully, and look at doing some learning on your own and take it the next time when you feel a little more confident.

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[billd]

Thanks. I spoke with my team leader, who actually went to the boss and they decided to have me do some more short and/or basic training.

I was concerned in no small part because it was nearly 4K of tax money…… and it could have been wasted. Not totally, I know I’d have learned, but what value for the money?

And for me, who can’t sit in a chair for more than 60 minutes, or get through a 9 hour work day, how would a 10 hour intense rapid-fire training do if I wasn’t quite up to snuff?

I explained to my team leader than I really DID want further education. Face it, in IT you either keep up or might as well leave. And it’s stuff I WANT to do, but I need to be realistic on 2 fronts – my current level of skill and experience, and ADD complicating things.

A shorter course, say 2 or 3 days, 6 or 7 hours, yeah……..

I honestly DO want to further my skills and education and some of this virtual world is exciting – especially when you find you need more space on a server, and adding that space is only 6 mouse clicks away, no screwdrivers required!

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[Author]

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