Firebrand Training recently conducted a survey to get the IT industry’s view on the long-debated topic of whether classroom-based training is better than self-study. After collating results from 952 IT professionals, the report concludes an overwhelming 87.2% of respondents are of the opinion classroom-based training gives you a better chance of passing your exams, compared with self-study.
When asked why self-study was worse than classroom-based training, 59.5% of respondents reported that self-study material alone was not sufficient in preparing for a professional certification. Ease of distraction and the lack of a certified instructor were also highlighted as popular reasons as to why self-study is a poor substitute for classroom-based training, with 75.8% and 71.5% of respondents selecting the detractors respectively.
You can also find the full results from Firebrand Training’s “Classroom Training vs. Self-Study survey” on the Firebrand Blog: http://blog.firebrandtraining.co.uk/2013/12/it-professionals-prefer-classroom-based-learning.html
Yes boot camps probably do get you better prepared to pass the exam, by leaning you towards what questions your going to get. I prefer to spend a few months actually reading about the topic, practicing, getting confused asking around and really understanding it – so that after Ive passed the exam i actually know what I'm on about.