Monthly Archives: May 2008

Cerco IT Training – claim the average salary for an IT support professional is £37,000

Posted by David Hurst on May 26, 2008 128 comments

[UPDATE: since writing this post, there have been many comments below, including several from the Managing Director of Cerco himself. It's well worth reading all of them.

ALSO, since writing this post, Cerco have amended their TV advert so that it no longer claims the average wage of £37k. Steven Emden, MD of Cerco, has given me the link to the new advert which I have agreed to post here. His dedication to Cerco's company reputation is certainly refreshing in this day and age. Here is the advert: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6DKF8S5ou4.

Whether or not the contents of this page solely motivated the decision by Cerco to drop the average salary, I don't know, but there is certainly plenty of evidence here to show the power of the consumer opinion on the Internet.]


Original post:

I’m fed up with seeing this company advertising on TV and implying that the IT industry is overpaid and easy. They claim the average salary for an IT support professional is 37 grand! Yeah right. This is no more than a useless statistic engineered to sell their training. I know lots of IT support professionals, most of whom being MCSE and MCSA qualified with many years’ experience, and none of them makes £37k. I just had a quick look on Monster, and there are jobs in central London for “senior IT support” at just £25k, which for London is a pittance.

Frankly, IT support people are generally pretty overworked and underpaid in my experience. Yeah, you can make good money in IT… if you’re good and you have loads of experience. Your average Windows network support guy / gal is going to be lucky to see north of 20 grand. If you’re not already in IT and Cerco are telling you that one of their training courses is going to open up a big money job for you, forget it.

Let’s do another test, this time with TotalJobs.com. Putting in a search for IT Support within 100 mile radius of London reveals 4,495 jobs (as of today). Let’s now apply a salary filter so it will only return jobs paying more than £35k per year. Now it returns 2,066 results, a large number of which get returned despite not actually having any published salary. Put the filter up to £40k, and there’s 1,599 jobs, and again loads of them don’t actually have a salary entered (and I’ll bet it isn’t £37k on offer). Of the jobs that are left that are genuine, the skills listed are Java, J2EE, Oracle, UNIX etc. – the kind of stuff you won’t be learning on a beginner’s training course with Cerco.

Cerco’s course (according to their website) is 20 days. Yep. Just 20. They allow 1 day for “Advanced networking and TCP/IP”. How can you learn anything other than rudimentary basics of TCP/IP in one day? The kind of stuff they are teaching might enable someone to get a junior helpdesk or IT support position, but I reckon £37k would be 5 – 10 years of hard work away.

What I find particularly amusing is that Cerco’s online test on their website only works in Internet Explorer. Because of course everyone uses Internet Explorer right? Surely we ought to expect better from a company offering IT training for others?

[UPDATE: the Cerco quiz does now work in all browsers. You can take the quiz here: quiz.cercotraining.co.uk]

And how much does their magical huge-salary-producing 20 day course cost? Well, they don’t publish the price on their website (presumably they’d rather get you on the phone and do a sales pitch on you), but a search of various training forums reveals the astonishing figure of £4,000!!! You don’t even get a recognised qualification.

Cerco also have an Advertising Standards Agency adjudication against their claims of being able to place their trainees in the workplace.

If you really want to do some IT training, shop around online or speak to your local college or adult training centre. Often there are government subsidies for such courses. But, the best way to learn IT disciplines is on the job and in your own time. For example, if you want to learn basic HTML, you could pay for a 2 or 3 day course and learn less than you would be able to glean from a good book costing £20 – £30. I’m a firm believer in self tuition with books. I have a great library, and I refer to back to it regularly. A much better investment than training in my opinion (with the exception of certified training like MCSE, Zend etc.). And, if you can’t pick up these skills on your own from books, then I’m sorry to say that I don’t believe you will be earning 37 grand as an IT support professional any time soon…

Manchester United – Champions League Winners … just

Posted by David Hurst on May 22, 2008 2 comments

I tuned in for the second half and the inevitable extra time of the Champions League final last night. If ever there was a game that had 1-1 draw and penalties written all over it, it was this one, and sure enough…

The game is being described as “fantastic” in the media, but I thought it was pretty average actually. The players looked almost scared to shoot in the second half, and many possible chances went begging. In the end, they might as well have tossed a coin and spared everyone the bother.

What I don’t understand is the confusion surrounding the future of Cristiano Ronaldo. Manchester United say he’s staying, all the Spanish media say he’s heading to Real Madrid, and Cristiano himself doesn’t seem too sure. I don’t get it. Is the kid seriously thinking of leaving the club and manager that have helped make him what he is? Alex Ferguson has a proven track record in developing youngsters, and he has certainly had an impact on Ronaldo, who when he first played in the UK seemed to be able to do nothing but step over the ball at every given opportunity.

Perhaps he subscribes to this nonsense that Real Madrid are the biggest club in the world. Absolute rubbish. Manchester United are both bigger and better, and most importantly, are actually consistently winning trophies. If he stays put, he has the opportunity to be the next Ryan Giggs.

Speaking of Ryan Giggs, what a player! As a Liverpool fan I’m not prone to waxing lyrical about Manc players, but Ryan deserves special respect. Surely he will go down in history as one of the worlds greatest. Understated, professional, with sublime talent to boot, I only wish (as do most of the nation) that he chose to play for England instead… (cue vehement protests from Welsh people).

I also cannot comprehend the mentality of Roman Abramovich. First of all he gets rid of one of the world’s finest managers, then he brings in a virtual unknown who turns out to be brilliant, and now apparently Avram Grant is leaving too. Pathetic that any manager’s job should be under threat after such a short period of time, especially when Chelsea have performed excellently this season. Clearly, Roman doesn’t have as much business acumen as one might expect for someone of his financial standing. Manchester United have proved that it is best to stick with one guy and let him develop the team. They’ve had their ups and downs, but there’s always been more ups than downs.

Despite my Merseyside persuasions, I have to conceed that Man Utd thoroughly deserve their success this season. They have played exceptionally well, so congratulations to them. Commiserations to Avram and Chelsea – it was close!

The SV650 has arrived

Posted by David Hurst on May 21, 2008 2 comments

Once again I’m being accused of suffering from a mid-life crisis. I prefer to think of it as fulfilling one of my life’s ambitions. I’m still a few quid short of Ferrari ownership, so I instead decided to finally get my bike licence and buy myself a proper motorbike.

I did my CBT a week or so ago, and then made the mistake of going to ‘browse’ at the bike shop with a loaded wallet. End result: I’m now the proud owner of an immaculate red Suzuki SV650S. I can’t ride it yet (other than a quick spin round the car park), but I can look at it. Which is nice. Not.

So, with the bike sat outside the kitchen window taunting me, I have little choice but to try and pass my test at the first time of asking next week. Anyway, I thought this might prove to be an interesting(ish) series of blog articles, as I imagine there are plenty of wannabe bikers out there just like me.

A couple of years ago I got as far as taking my theory test, and as you only get two years from the date of your theory pass to pass your practical, I’m up against it. In fact, if I don’t pass first time it’ll be touch and go as to whether I manage to get another test date before the theory expires! Talk about pressure…

With the government set to toughen up the bike test later this year, now seemed like a good time to get off my arse and get the job done. I’m taking the Direct Access route, which means I do my training on a big bike and once I pass, I can ride anything I want.

I chose the Suzuki because it has excellent reviews and is a forgiving machine suitable for more inexperienced bikers like myself. I probably paid a bit over the odds for it as I bought it from a dealer, but it comes serviced with a new chain, new MoT and a warranty. Insurance is also surprisingly cheap at just £66 per year for TPF&T. With fuel economy bettering 50MPG and low tax, cheap motoring beckons.

My one reservation in all of this is the safety aspect. It doesn’t matter how good a rider you are, any berk in a car can fail to see you and end your life. Being a family man, this (and the horrific videos to be found on YouTube et al) remains firmly at the forefront of my mind. I have purchased, and will wear, a bright neon yellow vest. When people see them, they automatically think “police” and slow down, and that has to be better for me. I don’t care if I look like a twat – as long as my insides stay on the inside, I’ll be happy. I’ll also be driving sensibly within the speed limits. I have my Fiat Coupe if I want to tear about.

So, stay tuned for my biking story as it develops. Next installment: the CBT.

Turbocharger vs. Supercharger – what’s the difference?

Posted by David Hurst on May 19, 2008 12 comments

I got asked this the other day, and after fumbling through my answer, I thought I’d better do some research. Having completed said research, I am ready to impart my new-found wisdom to the masses…

Basically, both turbochargers and superchargers do the same job – delivering compressed air to the engine. Why? Because if the air is compressed, you can get more in, and if you get more in, the fuel burns better, and if the fuel burns better, the engine goes faster. Make sense? Good. Here’s the key difference then:

A turbocharger has a turbine that is fed by the exhaust gases of the engine. These gases cause the turbine to spin, which powers the compressor.

A supercharger is belt driven by the engine.

Because of these differences, a turbocharger becomes more effective as the engine load increases. This is why you get a sudden burst of acceleration in turbocharged cars at about 3,000 RPM. This also has the added benefit of being more fuel efficient. The downside is the turbo lag issue.

Looking at my car as an example, which is a Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo, it generates 220BHP. The normally aspirated (or none turbo charged) version generates 154BHP. That’s some difference that the turbo makes! If you are driving at low RPMs and the turbo isn’t fully effective, then you can see that the performance gap is pretty huge. Simple solution: if you want to drive fast, keep the revs up.

The supercharger is connected to engine speed not engine load. The faster your engine is running, the faster your supercharger will run. The benefit is that you don’t have to build up exhaust gas pressure to get the supercharger going – it’s always on. So the upside is no turbo lag. The downside is the increased fuel bills, but then if you can afford the average modern car fitted with a supercharger then fuel bills probably aren’t much of a concern.

The two chargers sound different too. A turbo whistles as the engine revs pick up, whereas a supercharger makes a distinctive whine that is ever present.

I’m no mechanic, so if I have anything wrong, please submit your corrections below.

Who is David Hurst?

Posted by David Hurst on May 19, 2008 4 comments

I’ve found myself asking this question quite a bit this week as I’ve been watching my Google rank for “David Hurst” slip a little. Clearly, with only 1 Google top spot up for grabs, and a whole bunch of us David Hursts competing for it, it’s inevitable that my site wouldn’t stay number 1 forever. Unlike these other chaps, I don’t have the time or inclination to actively market my personal blog in Google. I was interested though to see who exactly I share a name with. So, for those with time to spare, here’s my rundown of five David Hursts, starting with myself:

David Hurst – PHP / MySQL, REALbasic & Javascript Developer
Yep, that’s me. I build websites and software for my company Higher Sites Limited. I also give of my time to the Connecting Somerset Technology for Business programme, where I run workshops and seminars on practical search engine optimisation. I’ve been doing this stuff for 11 years, and that’s pretty much millenia in Internet terms.

David Hurst – Actor
I never saw any of his films, and he doesn’t seem to have done much since the 1980s. Is he still alive? Was he any good? I don’t know. Interesting that he was born in Berlin to Austrian parents. I had always thought Hurst was an English name.

David Hurst – Wedding Photographer
Fairly new to the Google top ten for my name is this chap, who by the looks of his portfolio, knows his photography. Very nice.

David Hurst – Owner of Onrec.com & Public Speaker
This David Hurst set up an online recruitment website that appears to be a directory of other recruitment websites. Pretty useful if you’re looking for a job I guess. He doesn’t look anything like me, by the way.

David Hurst – Author
His book is called “Crisis & Renewal: Meeting the Challenge of Organizational Change”. I’m guessing from the mis-spelling of organisational that this David Hurst lives stateside. I must confess I haven’t read his book…

All in all, we’re not a particularly thrilling breed are we? So, if you’re still reading and haven’t drifted into a coma, let’s just have a quick look at what the names mean:

David
David is a name of Hebrew origin, rather famously owned by King David of Israel, an ancestor of Jesus. It is generally thought that the name means “beloved”.

Hurst
Hurst is an old English word meaning a wood or small thicket of trees.

So, David Hurst = Beloved Wood.

A fresh rant about the sad state of Britain

Posted by David Hurst on May 18, 2008 3 comments

It’s been a goodly while since I had a proper rant. Talk of programming and websites can grate upon one occasionally, and I have found my website a rather effective form of stress relief, and somewhat less migraine inducing than my other stress relief technique of banging my head rhythmically upon a hard surface. The burning question du jour is of course what in fact I should rant about. No-one has really upset me this past week. Well, no-one that I can rant about here without it getting back to them anyway.

I don’t have to look far to find something to moan about though. If, like me, you have a pre-disposition to being something of a grumpy old fart, then we are at least living in the right place. Britain is a hole isn’t it? What a dump. So, so many things to have a good rant about that it seems a shame to pick only one. So I won’t.

Let’s start with tax shall we? We’ve all got to pay it. Death and taxes and all that. What I would be particularly keen to know is, what extra am I getting from Ilminster Town Council to justify the 12% hike in their share of my council tax this year? In fact, since I have been married (almost 8 years now), which is about as long as I can remember, council tax has risen significantly above inflation each year, whereas the level of service we receive has dropped similarly significantly.

The one thing I do care about is that the council picks up my rubbish on time, but clearly that is far too difficult a task. The recycling collection is a joke. They won’t take cardboard, or plastic. They won’t even take your paper if you put it in a plastic bag in an effort to prevent it from turning into pulp in the rain and blowing around the estate. What they will do instead, is leave a plasticky tag on your bin telling you that they basically can’t be arsed to do any real recycling. They probably won’t even recycle the tag if I leave it for them. What they will do is park their stupid truck in the worst possible place, a place carefully chosen to cause as much disruption and inconvenience to everyone else as they possibly can.

These self-obsessed do-gooders (doing very little good) are more interested in pushing their environmental agenda down our throats, rather than actually taking our recycling and doing something about it. Yeah, we get it. We want to recycle – you just make it awkward for us. So instead, we hugely increase our carbon footprint by lugging all our card and plastic packaging to the recycling centre ourselves every week.

Speaking of carbon footprints and driving cars, what the heck is going on with petrol? Price of oil going up my ass. Here’s what’s really happening: all the garages whack on an extra penny per litre every fortnight, and we carry on buying petrol. Then because the government sees the petrol companies turning healthy profits, they think they will dip their filthy fingers into the pot as well, and whack another 2 pence per litre in fuel duty onto the price we pay. Are these people so stupid as to think this is a sensible policy for reducing congestion on our roads? Come on! You’ve got to be kidding?!

We all have to drive our cars, and there will come a point when people simply won’t pay the price any more. Gangs of wild middle aged businessmen will roam the motorways looking for tankers of fuel to rob and sell on the black market. A whole industry of illegal biofuels will spring up, and the government will have absolutely no control.

Ignore the fact that cars amount to less than 5% of carbon pollution in this country. We, the drivers, are the soft target.

I sold a part of my company recently, and received a payment for my shares. I have paid tax on my income through the company. The company has paid tax on all the employee’s incomes, including mine. The company has paid tax on its own income. Whereas the government has done absolutely nothing to support our small business, which makes a valuable contribution to the local economy along with all the other small businesses. The tax breaks promised for filing returns online have never materialised. What a surprise. So, I have earned some extra cash for all my hard work – all those late nights and 70 hour weeks. Will I get to keep all this money? Of course not, Mr Greedy Taxman has his fingers poised over my pocket ready to take his “share”.

I did a calculation the other day that if I lived in America and earned the same money that I do now, converted at today’s exchange rate, I would be over $600 better off per month. That’s more than £300. And that’s before I go and fill up the car…

Americans are moaning and bitching about paying $3.79 per gallon. I filled up yesterday at £1.14 per litre, which equates to $8.45 per US gallon. Americans waste huge amounts of fuel with their crappy high displacement engines that manage less HP per CC than the average European lawnmower, and yet they still get to pay petrol prices that we haven’t seen in the UK for upwards of 15 years.

It’s not like my rant has a purpose either. I have no political inclinations. No human government will ever cure the world’s ills, and Britain has not just been flushed down the toilet – it’s been through the sewage works and is floating out to sea like the turd it is.

So, it doesn’t matter to me which mentally deficient retard is in power – just so long as someone can hook me up with some cheap petrol.

Rant over. For now.

Debian / Ubuntu very slow to resolve DNS (slow DNS resolution or lookup)

Posted by David Hurst on May 6, 2008 11 comments

I had this problem the other day: two websites using identical code to collect RSS news feeds from identical sources. Website A loads its pages in about a second, whereas Website B takes up to 10 seconds. Go figure.

After I had thought about the problem for a while, and checked the codebase was identical, I decided the problem must be due to the server. Website A runs on a Red Hat Fedora machine, whereas Website B runs on a Debian server. It finally dawned on me that the server has to resolve the DNS for each RSS feed address, and I concluded (incorrectly) that as the two servers are on different networks, there must be a problem with name servers on the network. I tried swapping the name servers around in my network configuration, and even trying different servers – all to no avail.

A bit of Googling finally revealed that Debian switches on IPv6 by default, and then uses this before it uses IPv4 for DNS resolution. This problem won’t just be affecting servers, it will affect anyone using a Debian linux distribution, and this includes the very popular Ubuntu. So if you have slow website response on websites with external sources, or you are fed up with sitting waiting for your browser to resolve each address you type in, here is the solution:

There is a configuration file called “aliases” here: /etc/modprobe.d/aliases

In there you will find a line like this: alias net-pf-10 ipv6

Change it to: alias net-pf-10 off ipv6

Reboot the machine. If you are running a server with BIND, double check that your BIND server has come back online.

Done.

What I don’t understand, is why Debian should default to this configuration. IPv6 is a while away from widespread use, so why not at least provide an option in the install script for the OS so the user can make their own choice?

eBay – it’s a seller’s market

Posted by David Hurst on May 6, 2008 1 comments

It’s about time I had another rant about eBay. It still amazes me that people put up with their crap, and here’s my latest experience:

I’ve been looking to buy a motorcycle. I found something local and perfect for my needs on eBay. I messaged the seller, looked at the merchandise, made my bid. The auction was due to finish today and I was the high bidder – yippee. I had the cash ready and I had agreed delivery terms with seller should I win the auction. But lo and behold, when I logged in this morning, no trace of my bid whatsoever in the My eBay screen. So, I checked my email and it turns out my bid was cancelled because “the item is no longer for sale”. Presumably the seller did a behind the scenes deal with another eBay punter. So, I am back to square one.

Had I, the buyer, failed to meet my obligations, I would receive an eBay strike and negative feedback. But it would seem the seller can do whatever the hell he or she wishes. I can’t think of an auction house anywhere where bidding would be stopped because the seller got a better offer elsewhere, so why should this be the case with online auctions?

eBay have this big graphic on their home page at the moment: “Your pound goes further with eBay”. Rubbish! If you do manage to successfully purchase something, beating all the last minute bid snipers, and without being conned in the process by one of the many crooks operating on eBay, chances are you will have paid over the odds for your item. There are very few bargains on eBay, except in the busiest categories.

I could write a better auction website in my sleep. The problem is getting people to use it. Will the sellers come if there are no buyers? Will the buyers come if there are no sellers?

So we’re stuck with eBay then? Not at all! I think I’ll go and quietly scour the classifieds in the local press and see what I can find – I bet I get a better deal that way anyway.