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Hi Mary Anne,
As a recent graduate in a year long Certificate program, I agree with the
great suggestions people have offered to you for course inclusion. I'm
curious who the program is designed for, career changers, young people out
of high school?
Either way, I believe the real issue is what can truly be learned in a 6
course program...
What I'm finding after completing a Certificate at Northwestern, is that I'm
not currently marketable, period. There's simply too much for a newcomer to
learn to reasonably expect to work after 12-18 months in school, unless it's
a Master's program for currently employed professionals, etc. Particularly
now, the bar is much higher. If you've been in the field for 5+ years, are a
tool wizard, know Oracle/SQL, can interview SME's, design online training
courses, tap dance with a plate on your head, etc., you're employable.
Am I crying in my beer? Not at all, I'm working every day creating my own
projects, looking for friends with startups, looking for volunteer projects,
networking, etc., whatever is at my disposal. And I took advantage of my
student status to stock up on (relatively) cheap "student" priced software,
so I have toys to play with. Eventually I'll prevail.
But there is a learning curve, and it's a stretch to fill in the holes. The
most valuable thing I got was working on group projects; there were
latecomers to the party and everything else you encounter in the real world
on a deadline.
I'd revisit the whole Certificate idea, or narrow the focus to one aspect of
the profession--web specialist, graphics, etc.
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