On Nov 12, 2007 10:39 PM, Tanner Currie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Last I checked it was like $3000. For that money why
> don't you just buy the O'Reilly book, get yourself a
> T1 line, a few peices of digium hardware and a SIP
> phone, have some fun and send off a few emails when
> you get stuck instead of trying to cram everything
> down your throat in 5 days... Tanner

I agree that not everyone is willing to pay for the bootcamp, and
would encourage anyone who has the time to build their own lab and
TEST TEST TEST -- it's the only way you'll get good with Asterisk --
lots of hands on experience is necessary.

However, I'd counter your statement by stating that many people find
the 5 day full immersion of Asterisk, along with the ability to come
in every day and ask an instructor (and the whole class) a question is
an invaluable commodity. Some people don't do this as their full time
job, and Asterisk is just another tool that they need to know -- so
coming home at night after a full days of work isn't always practical.
It's nice to be able to set aside a full week and focus on the tool so
that when you get back to the office you already have the foundation
to build upon.

It's a question really of how quickly you really need to get up to
speed. If you've got 2-3 months to spread the learning out over, then
your approach is certainly the right way to go -- that's how I got
started doing this full time. I couldn't find a co-op job for the
first 2 months of my 2nd co-op term at school, and spent 10-12 hours a
day using Asterisk at my parents house. What I learned in that time is
essentially covered (and more because Asterisk has matured) in the
bootcamp.

If I sound biased, it's probably because I am because I've seen this
program mature from the very beginnings -- the late nights at Steve's
house writing slides, then the early mornings in the class either
teaching a few modules or helping students with their labs and
answering questions -- it's been a great experience, and I love seeing
the lights turn on in students heads when they "just get it"!  That's
a wonderful feeling. I remember the first time I "just got" the
dialplan, and understood how everything fit together. If people leave
the class with that same feeling, then mission accomplished.

-- 
Leif Madsen.
http://www.leifmadsen.com
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/asterisk

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