I am computer literate and in love with IT but i would want to earn some living as a struggling student thru ICT, probably computer Engineering.
pls how and where do i enroll to be a very good System engineer.
i know of NIIT, Aptech, Karox, but they are too expensive for me now,
i would appreciate ur urgent response.
Thanks.
`dapo.
08025853863.
University of Ado-ekiti.
But i`m Lagos based.

computer engineering is too broad a term and the hardware aspect of it involves designing and/or fabricating hardware, while the software side involves designing and coding software. now i assume this isnt what you have in mind, probably what you want is to have some insight on how to assemble, configure, troubleshoot and maintain systems: in essence, a computer technician.

in that case, what you need are the basics. the best approach is to develop familiarity with the various components (hardware and software) of a computer system and knowing what each does, what happens when a component fails, how to tell the symptoms, and what to do. in this case, error messages wont be greek to you because windows one way or the other often tells you what ails it.

here are a few tips:

1. know the relationship between hardware and device drivers

2. be familiar with terms such as chipsets, IRQs, firewalls, ports, boot, bus, bios, cmos and just about any word or acronym that crops up frequently in computer talk. for a newbie, this helps.

3. learn the structure of DOS and a few DOS commands to be familiar with the command prompt because its a very powerful administrative tool. for example the recovery console is something you can hardly do without when you start maintenance.

4. if you plan on going into networking, learn about TCP/IP, NAT, NIC, MAC address, routing, packets, DHCP-Static IP, ping, crossover and patch/straightthrough CAT cabling (although MDX technology is making the difference irrelevant, read up on MDX too!), switches, routers, hubs, crimping, latency,  etc. this may sound like a mouthful of techy jargons but its really rather simple once you cultivate the interest.

there are lots of sites on the web where you can get help with all the above terms and more, so ignore those NIITs and CCNAs for now and scour the web. you can start here:

1. www.techtutorials.net,

2. www.onecomputerguy.com

3. and www.google.com

but the best advice i can give you is to really read a lot, get your hands dirty on some computers without fear of breaking them (if you do break them, then you have discovered one way NOT to maintain a pc.) and apply all you have read. also, don't be too arrogant to ask questions here or in other forums, cos someone always knows better and has the answers.

i wish you goodluck.

cheers.

thankz 2 Neoteny

I can train u with a good arrangement. I have 15yrs experience in it and have been trainning ppl like u. u can reach me thro my email add sabmack2001@yahoo.com

Mr Neoteny, Computer engineering or what have you is not only a theoretical analysis as u have stated nor just a mere word of mouth. u know its easy to use mouth to play football but geting to the field, u discover its not so easy. so whay not encourage the young man to go for a well and a comprehensive practical training so as so be so competent and confidence of himself, to learn is to know. If your analysis is right, nobody will be going to school, everybody would have been reading and passing. one luv