Devry University vs. ITT Tech

[GroundZero3]

Just call the school in Seattle to get confirmation

[MitaDC]

Alright so I need to find out the benefits of each school; that is the main thing. My parents want the best school and I want to know which would be better for what I would like to do.

[MitaDC]

umm I think this would be classified as a bump... yep it is ok . . . bye now

[CRS6785]

I actually start my fourth quarter at ITT Tech in Greenfield this next week. I've had both positive and negative experiences with the school. First the negatives...

- The online classes...I have nothing positve to say about those, lol. Trying to learn math in an online course for me was a disaster, luckily I knew quite a bit of math before hand.

- The way they handle grades and schedules really annoyed me. They almost seem real disorganized and sloppy in this aspect.

- I've had to switch classes for the next quarter because of a certain teacher that I was supposed to have again. I couldn't stand this guy, and don't know how he got hired. He was even asking for my help during the class at one point ( It was a Visual Basic GUI class dealing with database related programming ). This is more of a general problem that can happen at just about any school though.

- The books...they are bad. One quarter I didn't even get my books till the fourth week into the class. Also, they are poorly done with apparent typos and bad labs/projects.

Ok, the positive...

- The teaching style their seems pretty laid back and personal. It's easy to find a teacher to talk to about something and get personal help about it fairly quick, theres also a lot of math tutors and other people available often to help you.

- They make it pretty easy to schedule you school around your work schedule, or at least make it flexible.

- They have a career services area where you can go at just about any time durring school hours to get help with all sorts of things. They help you get a resume together, give you job leads, mock interviews and things like that. I haven't actually used it yet, but I might check it out soon since I'm switching jobs soon.

- They have a ton of labs available at all times. Since it's an IT school, your constantly surrounded by that sort of computer/techie enviornment. Also, starting real soon they are going to start including a laptop along with your enrollment...and they are adding a wireless network to our school soon (Better late than never I guess), not sure if they have at other locations.

I'm sure I could think of more to write down eventually, but those are the thoughts that first came to mind. Good luck with your decision.

[Derek Smalls]

$80k for ITT??? It's "only" $40k here in Woburn. That's for an associate's degree, which I think is expensive, especially since schools like Yale are having major discounts in tuition if your income is not excessive.....

[implexant]

Don't go to ITT for sure. Have a friend going there and he's not getting a good education. Devry is yet another sub-par University. You could pay less than $56,000 for an education at Bob Jones University, and you'd get a Bachelors Degree. $56k includes living expenses and tuiton. Plus, they have a student work program where you can knock even more off the price.

Bottom Line: Don't go to either. Seek other alternatives.

-Chris

[athlonxpguy]

Just ask this question...

Is paying $50-$80,000 going to be wise to get a entry level position paying $20-$30,000/yr?
You will not get a network admin job just by going to school. You would be best to go for something like Server+ or finish the MCSE. Then get into a large company on their helpdesk and work your way up from there. There is no shortcut. Experience is what they demand now.

[implexant]

I'd agree with athlonxpguy. Experience is key. And then again, everyone wants a degree as well.

You know, I was thinking a bit about Devry and ITT this past evening, and honestly, I couldn't say I'd hire you if you attended either. At least, nothing above a help desk position. And most certaintly nothing in management.

Take the time and money to get a Bachelor's Degree from a real University and get some experience too. A MCSE or MCSA wouldn't be a bad idea either.

-Chris

[stadifer]

I thought I would chime in on this thread. I more or less have completed my associates in the CNS program at ITT Tech. It is a good overall school but with a few black marks as you would have from any institution.

Perhaps the greatest problems ITT suffered from was the in-fighting some of the administration has. I recently witnessed (from a distance) a corporate re-shuffle because some people had problems with others. In the class up until recently the books produced by NIIT (a small company owned by ITT I believe) were absolutely horrible. Fortunately ITT recently made the switch to Microsoft Press, real CCNA books, and other various major publishers to handle their texts. With the book problem solved the ITT curriculum should improve ten-fold based on that. Beyond these issues the most frustrating is some of the following...

- ITT Admin (here in Portland at least) force some instructors with no background in certain topics to teach various general education classes. Fortunately in each case the class would lodge complaints and the problem was quickly rectified. This problem appears to be mostly with the general education courses. As I understand it they are all being moved to internet based classes which in my experience is a much improved environment.

- Some instructors seem to not care at all... They'll give good grades and break some rules. Although when you get to the true tech classes this is not such an issue. I identified the instructors that really make you work early on and transfered to their classes where possible.

- Without having an entire class work together to lodge complaints with the administration about campus short comings not much will happen.

Now despite what I just stated I do still believe that ITT is a good school for people currently working full time, that are changing careers, do not have the flexability to take day classes, and need more hands on experience then theory. I fall under the hands on and work full time class. When I attended the local junior college I found plenty of the problems ITT suffers from there also. The most frustrating thing with the junior college was the scheduling and advisors that simply do not work with you (same problem at ITT but the course is set in stone before you ever arrive). Also, when you factor in extra fees for books and lab costs at the junior college tuition was nearly the same as what I was charged at ITT.

I would not suggest ITT for someone that isn't very motivated and eager to learn. It is true that much of the learning you will do at ITT Tech is conduct by yourself and in groups with fellow students. But this isn't any different then a traditional college, although, my teachers at Clark College did "teach" a little bit more. But like a community college, 4-year, or any other private institution if you do not apply yourself you won't go anywhere. Many of the people that complain about ITT simply did not apply themselves to the course work.

In closing... ITT is a stepping stone and way to get an education for those of us with a limited schedule and are either already employed in the field and want a promotion or have a change of career. Regardless of what college you go to you won't know everything there is to know about your degree unless all you do is study, study, study, study, and even then you won't know it all. But degree or no without in-field experience and some certification you will have to start out with that $12 an hour helpdesk job unless you find a company willing to roll the dice.

Personally have 6-years experience in web and network admin. I plan on picking up some certifications (hopefully including a focus on a CCNA and Linux) and once getting established and some of those student loans paid off returning to a "major college" (like Portland State University) to get my masters degree.

Sorry about the length but I'm a little tired of seeing people bag on ITT when it isn't as bad as so many make it sound. Like I said before many people probably didn't go the extra mile to make their education at ITT worth the money they put into it.

[njolakoski]

I agree with Implexant on this one, I would go to a somewhat known college or something of that type, a teacher while back was telling our class, "If this person graduated from Purdue University and the other Person graduated Ivy Tech, both in computer engineering, both finished top of there class, who would they pick, they would pick the person from Purdue University, because it a University, and well known, and more praise to it. I agree with him too.

I'm not bashing, ITT or Devry since there are like 6 devrys in my area and like 4 ITT schools, but im not bashing them, just stating something I heard