Friday, I sent emails off to the CEO's of Red Hat and Cisco, asking for a donation of software and training material for my computer class. Today I heard from someone at Red Hat, explaining that while they do not give away their Enterprise software, there are sources for software that approximate the Red Hat experience, namely fedora.org and centos.org. She mentioned that while the software may be a bit out of date compared to Red Hat, it should fit our needs all right.
She was not sure if training materials could be provided, but she will check on that. I have not heard from Cisco yet, but there is time.
I have downloaded Fedora and will put it on my laptop to play around with it at a later time.
I have been crunching some numbers lately, on how much just the classes would cost to produce. There are two sets: One where I pay the members, and one where I don't. I figure if we go by a straight salary of $200/week for each member, times a consistent 20 members training for six months, over the period of a year the costs will be $208,000 just for their salaries, plus the other expenses, including my own salary. I'd be happy making $25,000/year. Then there's the cost of the office, which I haven't looked into yet. Then there's the cost of the computers, assuming I can't get them donated.
If I go the way of paying the members, I'll need someone to handle payroll, either outsourced or in-house. Then there are taxes.
I suspect in the long run I'll need to forgo paying the members until we can prove that we can produce certifications. I'm not happy about it, but I'm realistic enough to know that people won't donate to pay homeless people. I want to get the party started, so I'll make sacrifices. I plan to explore other means of getting money into this start-up and I'll throw ideas out there from time to time.
Feedback will be appreciated!
Showing posts with label Red Hat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Red Hat. Show all posts
Monday, July 11, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Project Five-Star: The First Class
In the last blog I went over how I would like Project Five-Star to progress. The first stage is to get office space large enough to hold the first skills training class. Then we would need computers, both to work with and to work on, because the first training class will be to get A+ Certification.
A+ is a world-wide recognized way to show that you have computer hardware and software skills. It is either required or preferred when applying for computer jobs. In this job market, there will be more applicants that are certified in A+ than those that are not, so it is to the advantage of anyone trying to get a computer job to get that certification.
A+ is broken into two categories: Hardware and Software. As such, the first training class will also cover both hardware and software. Now, to be honest, I don’t have any computer certifications, but I’ve been working with computers, both hardware and software for most of my life. I would take the certification, if I had the money to spare, which I never seem to have. So after gaining an initial donation of money and computers, I’ll be taking the certification exam for each of the classes. I’d also like to be a certified trainer, but that can wait.
Once the proper certifications are met and the computers that we’ll need are procured, comes the recruitment. I’d like to train 10 men and women at a time, four hours a day, five days a week; two classes per day. It will be hard on me, to be sure, as in addition to the classes, I’ll be handling any administrative functions until Project Five-Star can afford its own staff. But to me it’s worth it, even if only half the classes passes.
The final project for each student in this class is to put together a computer from the parts, diagnose any problems that crop up and install Windows®. Once I’m satisfied that they can pass the Comptia test, we will use Project Five-Star funds to arrange the test and let each student take the exam. Those that pass will be allowed into the next class.
The second class (out of 3) is Red Hat Linux Administration. I’d like to arrange with Red Hat for a copy of their software and a license for 10 computers. The class will install the software on the same computers as Windows®, learning how to dual-boot in the process. Then they will learn the ins and outs of administration and basic system security. When I am satisfied that they are ready to take the certification exams, Project Five-Star funds will be used to pay for the exams. Those that pass will be allowed to take the final class in the series.
The final class in the series is Cisco training. They will learn how to set up a network using both Windows® and Red Hat Linux, and Cisco routers and Network Interface Cards. Once I am satisfied that they will pass certification, Project Five-Star will pay for the exams.
Now, during this time each member will have been considered as working for project Five-Star, as all members will once the whole system gets into place. I cannot estimate how long the process will take at this time, but let’s say six months for all three classes. That’s six months of experience that the member will be able to claim on a resume.
The classes will be recorded on video, and broadcast live on our web site, as a way of showing to the world that we’re making progress and that we’re open and above board.
A+ is a world-wide recognized way to show that you have computer hardware and software skills. It is either required or preferred when applying for computer jobs. In this job market, there will be more applicants that are certified in A+ than those that are not, so it is to the advantage of anyone trying to get a computer job to get that certification.
A+ is broken into two categories: Hardware and Software. As such, the first training class will also cover both hardware and software. Now, to be honest, I don’t have any computer certifications, but I’ve been working with computers, both hardware and software for most of my life. I would take the certification, if I had the money to spare, which I never seem to have. So after gaining an initial donation of money and computers, I’ll be taking the certification exam for each of the classes. I’d also like to be a certified trainer, but that can wait.
Once the proper certifications are met and the computers that we’ll need are procured, comes the recruitment. I’d like to train 10 men and women at a time, four hours a day, five days a week; two classes per day. It will be hard on me, to be sure, as in addition to the classes, I’ll be handling any administrative functions until Project Five-Star can afford its own staff. But to me it’s worth it, even if only half the classes passes.
The final project for each student in this class is to put together a computer from the parts, diagnose any problems that crop up and install Windows®. Once I’m satisfied that they can pass the Comptia test, we will use Project Five-Star funds to arrange the test and let each student take the exam. Those that pass will be allowed into the next class.
The second class (out of 3) is Red Hat Linux Administration. I’d like to arrange with Red Hat for a copy of their software and a license for 10 computers. The class will install the software on the same computers as Windows®, learning how to dual-boot in the process. Then they will learn the ins and outs of administration and basic system security. When I am satisfied that they are ready to take the certification exams, Project Five-Star funds will be used to pay for the exams. Those that pass will be allowed to take the final class in the series.
The final class in the series is Cisco training. They will learn how to set up a network using both Windows® and Red Hat Linux, and Cisco routers and Network Interface Cards. Once I am satisfied that they will pass certification, Project Five-Star will pay for the exams.
Now, during this time each member will have been considered as working for project Five-Star, as all members will once the whole system gets into place. I cannot estimate how long the process will take at this time, but let’s say six months for all three classes. That’s six months of experience that the member will be able to claim on a resume.
The classes will be recorded on video, and broadcast live on our web site, as a way of showing to the world that we’re making progress and that we’re open and above board.
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