Pc Pro Schools review: Money Making Scam!!! 17

the place i was working for closed down so 4 of us went to pc productivity (which later turned into pc pro schools) for the 6 month training course. there were about 20 people in our class. 4 dropped out early and out of us 4 that went together, nobody became anything to do with IT. 2 of us work construction, 1 does welding, and the other does vinyl graphics.

this place is a [censored]hole. its all about the money for the owner. even the "teachers" would talk about how much cash hes making. hes homes all over and has a very nice car collection. he himself knows nothing about IT. hes a business man. ive tried to talk other people out of going there but the radio ads just sound so promising.

I am aware people are going to have bad experiences no matter which form of education you try to get. One issue people are having now with PC Pro Schools is the fact the economy is bad and people jsut aren't getting jobs.

Another thing is is it possible you aren't looking for an entry level job? I'm sorry but a person with no experience is not going to get a mid level job in the IT industry with no experience and just 4 certs from PC Pro.

I am attending PC Pro in Brookfield now, my first lab was yesterday. I had an interview for an entry level position and I have the impression I got the job. It's a 15-16 dollar an hour job, 84 hours every 2 weeks. Pretty good if you ask me.

The jobs are out there, nothing is guaranteed, and here is the kicker. No one was promised a high wage. Pay attention to wording, don't let advertising fool you. They aren't lying when they say you can make up to 50, 000/year even commercials have a fine print that says something along the lines of "50, 000 average after 3 years"

The only complaints I find online about PC Pro Schools are from disgruntled ex-students who failed at getting a job in the IT field.

It's 100% on you to get a job, and sell yourself. PC Pro offers the tools. The job I interviewed for was set up by PC Pro 2 days before class started. I gave my resume to their career department, and they recommended me for this job at a local hospital. My experience just leads me to believe that you just didn't drive yourself to make something of this, and your first reaction is to complain about it. Good Job there.

Also, you're last paragraph really ruins your credibility. Honestly good luck in your career of choice, but don't blame your failures on others, look in the mirror and tell yourself that you are the one who drives the successes and failures in your life, and then drive yourself to do more.

Amazing...you said you went to PC Productivity? Then you were in an 8 month program that offered you the opportunity to become an MCSE...check the salary figures on those folks bud...big money. I graduated in '06 and after a little over two years I'm making over $50, 000 a year. Your posting alias shows your immaturity, as does your lack of success. Thyis is a professional work environment...act like one and you might succeed. Don't blame PC ProSchools for your shortcomings.

Actually it was narrowed to a six month program...so check your facts next time you open your mouth. And...they do not offer MCSE or any of the newer certifications you need any longer-they are a scam about making money-not success.
I am certain I will make more when I get my masters degree-and degrees, not certifications, are what employers want. That shows dedication-not six months of rush-through-it training.

Hey there Sean...I just want to reply to your comments. You are right on some of your points. There are a lot of positions out there that require a four year degree, however I.T. is not one of them. I.T. is a specialized industry and certifications show employers that you know what you're doing. A degree shows employers that you have learned the material but it does not show them that you can do the job! If your looking to get into business then get your four year degree. If your looking to get into I.T. then don't waste your time on a tech school or college where you have to take classes that don't pertain to what you're there to learn. If you look at a two year school, over half of the courses are classes that don't apply to computers. To get into a solid entry level position you need certifications. Also, best of luck getting that Masters Degree! I think you should consider taking some grammer courses before you move on to your Masters!

Dear Sean,
I actually did know my facts before I opened my mouth. When the school was known as "PC Productivity" they had an 8 month program that offered not only the MCSA, but the MCSE as well as A+ certs. I personally know students who have walked out of that school making $60, 000 a year and loving what they do. Does it happen for every student? No. But I do know that one of those students had a Masters in Computer Science and couldn't buy a job. After she got her certs she had a job before she graduated. However you choose to go...good luck.

Sorry to say but I.T. is starting to require degrees not to mention additional experience...and certifications do not necessarily mean that you "know" what you are doing either. The specialty certifications were outdated and the hands on experience did not help since it didn't last that long. Some colleges do offer degrees directly for computer science, or programming, or whatever else you want really. And yeah, some of those classes will not be direct computer classes but some of PC ProSchools curriculum was not either.

Oh and by the way, there is nothing wrong with my grammar (you should learn to spell PC Grad it is Ar not Er) and I am almost done with my Bachelor's already.

Now ITpro...I also will bet that some of those students you knew who are making 60 grand a year are also not working with computers and they are also probably older. And as far as the student you knew who had a Master's in computer science who couldn't buy a job - I have to say that is fabricated somehow. I know someone who is 22 years old, has a bachelor's in computer science (working on his masters) and has already been in some contract jobs where he lived in foreign countries, as well as in the U.S. And when PC ProSchool placed people for jobs in my city and class they placed them somewhere that wasn't even help desk, it was customer service for a fortune 500 company. Only one person actually found employment working with computers...and guess what - he replaced the TA who I thought was the most horrible teacher I ever met at my school when that TA transferred to another state.

I feel like I need to add something here. I went to PcPro back in 2007. They didn't teach MCSA or MCSE. The main focus for the school was for you to get you SCA(completely useless, even the help desk job I worked at said it was useless), MCP, and MCDST. They made you pay extra to take the exams to get your MCSE or MCSA. The student that had the best job in the feild when we left was me. I worked as a help desk personal at Convergy's in Appleton. The job paid $10 an hour, and I didn't need those certifications. Now to let you know, I worked at McD's while attending the school, and was making 11.12 an hour. I recently(as in last month) called up all but two of my classmates to see how there success went. Out of the 21 of them, only 3 had a job even remotely in the feild, and the one that made the most money was making around $12 an hour. I live in Green Bay, which is where I went to the program, and $12 an hour isn't all that great. Some of my friends work at Humana and United Health Group and started off at $13.50 an hour, and none of them went to college.

My personal opinion is that the school was a waste of time, a waste of money, and that if you are thinking about attending to save your money and go somewhere else. When you go into an interview for a job a Schreiber Foods(big company in Green Bay), and the interviewer says that Schreiber doesn't respect the information taught at the school, thats usually a bad sign. This has also happened to me at two other interviews at companies that are very low scale.

I was considering attending the Brookfield PC Pro Schools program. Actually attended the orientation a couple times. After doing some research, I found the Waukesha County Technical College offers up-to-date programs for a small fraction of the steep price PCPro offers.
I'm not sure if PCPro has updated their cert programs yet, but the last time I visited a few months ago, they were still offering XP configuration and MCSA courses for the Server 2003 environment. This was a major turn off considering 2008 is the latest technology. I decided to skip the PCPro route.
For about one-tenth of the price and an extra 6 months time (1 year total), I'll be A+, Server+, Security+, Network+, MCTS and MCITP certified.
If you actually have a success story from PCPro, congratulations. However, if you're considering paying 30K for something that can be done for 3K (or $500 worth of books), do yourself a favor and take the time to do the extra research.

counter sue them!

Alright so PC Pro schools is a pure scam!

Put it this Way, I am a student at WCTC who is accredited in a Network Specialist program, they offer the latest coursework and not just Windows XP...

Certifications will only prove that you can pass a test, nothing more. Don't believe me? Go ask the professionals. They are nice to have on a resume but really don't do much more than that.

When you think about it your paying upwards of $30, 000 @ PC pro, just to get a few outdated certs. Or you could spend half that and goto WCTC and work with instructors who have worked in the industry, who won't ### you. Not only that but you get a 2 year Associates Degree, but wait it gets better! You can transfer your credits to a major 4 year school, I am currently looking at attending Carroll University next year for my Bachelors of Science in Information Technology. Carroll is obviously more expensive but not as much as PC pro schools!

Full time student will pay about $23-30k a year. FOR A BACHELORS DEGREE!

My advice, goto WCTC get a 2 year degree.

As for older dislocated workers, there are plenty of older people in this program who are in the same boat as you.

STAY AWAY from PC Pro schools!

I went there in 2005 and every student I was in class with made it through to the end of the classroom/lab experience; then certifications were to be taken. This was 100% FUBAR! (7 Certs to become a MCSE) ...not a one of us were certified for any of the seven.

$25, 600 (plus interest since then) and 9 months of hard learning; all while working a full-time job! Was I stupid? I suppose so yet not that stupid... I/we were lied to and scammed the whole way and that's that!

I then ASAP called "Contact 6" (television) ...they said, "They'd check into it." - they have a record for getting to the bottom of these type of things; they promised yet they dropped the ball on following through (I bothered them for a year; I still have the email I sent them).

What is 12 times 25, 600.00 plus interest? $300, 000.00+ approximately.

*All of my classmates hid their heads in the sand and I was left to do all the work myself trying to get some kind of retribution (a freaking year of my time) yet not a one helped nor would join me to get a lawyer.

This was and remains the worst school I've ever attended ...I am still to this day very angry (1/2011) that these people have not been successfully taken to court.

*FYI: I successfully went to two schools afterwards. I am now a Certified Medical Assistant as of 12/2010 (gpa 3.80) as well as right after the 100% “fail” at PC Pro Schools I got certified as a "CNC Machinist" (3.60 gpa)... too bad the economy went bad. $30.00 an hour 5 years ago to $12.00 maybe 414.00 now-a-days!

So apparently …I am smart and was just taken advantage of!

If anyone ever gets a class act lawsuit going "I'm in… no matter what it takes!" ---- rujunkmale@hotmail.com (just say the school’s name in the subject; I’ll get it)

oops... $14.00 not 414 ...at the very end!

For any computer certication:

Step 1: Go to Barnes and Noble, purchase CompTia Book on which certification you want.
Step 2: Study the book for 1 month.
Step 3: Buy the Vue/Compia Voucher to take the test for $350.00
Step 4: You've passed the test.

Look you didnt have to spend $25, 000 on a school that had to hold your hand to pass a test. By the way, that looks awesome on an IT based resume when you had to spend time to go to a school to pass ONE of the most simple and basic Microsoft Certifications. Only certications you should be going to school for in IT is the CISCO high-end certs. You're wasting your time in the field if you need a school to PUSH you through a certification.

Saw this and as a PC Pro grad I had to add my two cents...

First off, yes the advertisements sound great and promising. Justin telling everyone that if you're a PC Pro grad you can have a great promising future, make lots of money, and never have to worry about your future. This is obviously bogus because after being through the class you realize that they don't do anything for you. I say this because part of their entrance interview before any of the paperwork gets signed they tell you a lot of things about what they offer. One of these things is job placement. They boast about a 90+% job placement in every local market that they have a campus. This was one of the selling points to me. I had a scholarship through the company that made my tuition almost nothing so the extra reinforcement plus possible new knowledge I thought would be benficial. We get through the class and before the class ended I had taken all my tests and achieved my MCSA cert.

Now comes job placement time. During job placement they tell you they're going to offer you assistance on building a valuable resume. As you start to ask questions you are blocked by the response, "Sorry but I'm legally not allowed to tell you what to put on your resume." Isn't this contradictory to what you told me when I started the class? Well, at least I know I can count on MS Word and Google to help me with my resume and to find the right words to use. Next is the actual job search. What's the first job they refer me for stating that I'm a perfect fit for this client? A temp agency. Hell yeah! Like I couldn't just go apply to one of those on my own! They need to refer you to the temp agency to get the good placement percentage. Luckily I had a regular full time job that was just starting to go south, so I was still good at the time. Since then I have been transferred at my company to a position in the IT department utilizing my certifications. Only took me about a year and some change, literally with no help from PC Pro. Out of the blue I get a call from them asking if I found a job in the IT field and when I told them that I had, they asked me for a fax number so they can send me a form to fill out stating that they found me my current job. Ummmmm... what? Why would I condone this? I had the job all the way through the class, and on my own applied and interviewed and accepted the offer. What did that school do for me? Nothing. Why would I, a supposed professional, lie on your behalf and say that you did great things when really you just sat there waiting for me to make my own move?

Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about the money I spent because the money does go towards the school's time, the teachers, the server that they have on site, your books, testing fees, etc. My complaint is the lies and the deceptions. They go above and beyond fine print and flat out tell you that they have a statistical percentage and are lawfully required to keep that percent, then after the fact tell you that even sending you to a temp agency counts as placement. Technically you are not guaranteed a job even at a temp service! My point here is, if you are only going here on the off chance that they'll find you a job don't waste your time. Spend the money on the books, pass the tests yourself, and then enroll yourself in a temp service. You'll end up with the same result but for less overhead cost and less time invested in the results.

I aIso went there! We aboundtold that stuff about job placement and all the certs, the teachers talked about the owner like a rat! They did fire or made the people that brought you in quite or be fired! One of the big pionts they kept pointing that we would start from $14 bucks on up to $17 boy you couldn't hit it on the head more about salli mae! It's a scam and there's nobody to say diff! Out of at least 150 people 1 that we heard of got a job because of who he knew! So if you don't like my grammer but I'm not here for this to find me a job! So back off you ###ters! And leave us punked IT ers alone!

I attended PC ProSchool in 2009 and I really wish I hadn't. I felt it was a waste of money in the long run. But it was my choice to enroll. What really irritates me, however, is the fact that it cost me $15, 000 to attend and it cost a classmate of mine $9, 000. He said he enrolled the day before classes began. I guess they needed the bodies so they lowered the price as the start date came closer. That alone tells me it's all about profit and high numbers. It should be the same fee for the same classes. That explains why we were all told not to discuss things like tuition amongst ourselves.