Need a New Technology? Part 2: More Training Resources
I received such a positive response from my post on Laid off? Need a new technology? Free Microsoft Training and Education that I decided to follow up with this brief post.
In my previous "Need a new technology" post, I discussed how you can learn ASP.NET or Silverlight for free and all the different methods of obtaining free training, from the free development tools provided by Microsoft, to the free forums and free web cast events, and more.
But in this post, I'd like to discuss sites that I use that are invaluable, I think, for training as well as on-the-job work. However, these are not free sites, but well worth the cost. I get nothing from these reviews, so they're all from the heart:
Experts Exchange
Experts Exchange: This is a site where you can ask questions about all kinds of topics. The members earn points and status for answering your questions. The zone topics range from Microsoft, Internet, Gamers, Digital Living, Virus & Spyware, Hardware, Software, Developer, Storage, Operating Systems, Database, Security, Programming, Web Development, Networking, and a ton of sub topics under each.
I receive more reponses, as well as timely responses on Experts Exchange, than on any other forum. EE has a free trial period and you can answer questions to earn points in order to ask questions. I know some members who never pay because they answer questions. I personally would rather pay the minimal fee and spend my time earning money, than answering questions. I ask questions about all kinds of things and am very happy with the response.
I ask questions about ASP.NET development mostly, but also SQL queries, SQL Server, IIS6, IIS7, Visual Studio. Firefox, IE, CSS, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Word, Excel, Javascript, Linq, .NET Framework, and even my dishwasher!
As with many forums, you can get lame answers, especially with some who are trying to earn the points, but don't know what they're doing. But that only happens occasionally, and for the most part, you'll typically get someone with a great answer who'll stick it out with you until your problem is resolved. They also have a method of uploading your project to another site for your helpers to look at your code. Then once resolved, you may later delete that project. Anyway, check them out.
If you work at a company in the IT biz, talk to your boss, s/he'll save a ton of money and time by purchasing an EE account for their employees. (I suppose that could back-fire if you're such a hot-dog you want to get the Genius rank and spend all your time answering questions on your bosses dime, rather than asking questions, but do as I do and use it as a resource only, and it will be well worth the money.)
Learn Visual Studio
LearnVisualStudio.net isn't quite what the domain name implies, it's much more. This site consists of a video library covering numerous topics such as Linq, VB, C#, Ajax, Silverlight, IDE, Web Service, Web Controls, Visual Studio, Crystal Reports, Windows Forms, ADO.NET, DataBinding, OOP, Configuration, Deployment, Security and many more. Just check out the video library. On the home page, toward the bottom, you'll see some links where they offer some printable "Cheat Sheets." These are very nice.
At LearnVisualStudio.net, you find a topic, which is typically a series of videos, then you may download the zip for each video invidividually, or scroll all the way to the bottom for a complete zip set of the entire video series. Then I just play the video right out of the zip file by clicking it. But if there is also source code involved and you may download that as well.
There are also some free videos you may watch without paying.
I bought the life-time membership for around $140 and it has been an invaluable tool. The price is minimal. I like to watch the videos while I'm treadmilling, or waiting for something to install or compile or what-not on my development machine. (I have a box on the right for emails, web browser, watching my videos, Word, Illustrator, Photoshop, etc. And on my left I have my development box. It is entirely for web site development only with only applications for that purpose.) When I'm doing something that requires I be brain-dead, I can watch a video.
The most recent video series is on LINQ to SQL. Now, who knows enough about that to call themselves a guru? Not many, too new. But these videos get you up to speed.
Now their sister site, (or would it be their brother site), is TrainingSpot.com. I haven't made my way through all the pertinent videos on LearnVisualStudio.net, so therefore I haven't even looked at TrainingSpot.com until today. But if you're more of a techie, check out this site. It covers SQL Server Integration Services, Analysis Services, Reporting Services, Migration Assistant, SQL Server 2008, Transact-SQL, and Sharepoint.
Nannette Digresses
Just do me a favor, if you do purchase this or your boss does and lets you watch during working hours, get a decent set of headphones so your cubical mates don't have to listen to your tinny-staticy-noise while they're trying to concentrate. (Nannette's pet peeve when working in a cubical. Okay, nail-clipping and loud gum-chewing and chatting on speaker-phone gets to me too. ;) Fortunately, out of 9 years, I've only worked outside the home in a cubical environment for a total of 19 months. But I digress.
BrainBench
Okay, for my final recommendation, Brainbench.com. Brainbench provides aptitude tests and certifications in numerous technologies, including .NET Programmer, Computer Programmer, Database Administrator, Web Developer and much more.
What I like about BrainBench, is that you can see where your skill levels are on a given topic. For instance, I can study a new technology, go to BrainBench, use their recommended studies for a given topic too, then take a test. Upon completion of the test, I can see where I stand in relation to others who have taken the test. Am I pretty knowledgeable or is there more I need to learn. Their test results tell you what topics you did well at and what topics you failed miserably; thus indicating where you need further study.
Then when you're done, you can even download a little icon indicating your certification to put on your website and link back to your test results, so future employers can see how well you did.
This is also a pay site, but Brainbench also offers several free tests.
Okay, those are my top 3 recommendations for pay sites. But don't forget, each of them also offers limited, free services.
May your dreams be in ASP.NET!
Nannette