1) The Training. This is almost all self taught ( fact). You are using the web and other written material to learn your subject. The subject is SQL UNIX and your chosen module. You are faced with a bill of £20,000 for this training - which is utterly ridiculous. I chose to do this course though because without doing it you are not eligible for ....
2) The Job ... You are 'guaranteed' a job with one of FDMs high profile clients I was told. I was told that I would train for a certain period ( the truth is that you train until FDM sign you off and that is at their discretion) and then I would get a placement. After 2 years ( of pretty poor pay ) my CV would be 'gold-dust'. Well not exactly. I was lucky enough to get a placement ( many didn't - I have no idea what criteria are used for 'selection for interview' is based on).
You have absolutely no control over what work you do, who you do it for, where it is you live/work or how long you do it for. This is not an exaggeration. If you are found a temporary placement that is totally not what you want and would not be something that you would even consider normally, you still have to do it. You can't leave because FDM will charge you £20,000, as they are keen to remind you.
3) If you get a placement and therefore stay for 2 years, at the end of that 2 years you are out of the door with your crummy mixed-bag work experience CV and debt that you've built up by renting a room here there and everywhere servicing FDM clients. "There doesn't appear to be a lot of direction in your career path" is something that you may hear when being interviewed.
4) The clients ... How this works is a hundred or so of you attend 'training' every day while some girls phone around every company known to man for something for you to do. If they find a possible placement you are sent to an interview ( they are not real clients, you have to get the job like you would through a temporary recruitment company). If they can't find enough placements - and they take on way more people than they get placements as they don't have to pay you - then they get rid of you after making you attend their office for 6 months or so.
5) The sell. Girls attending your university telling you that this is the biggest I.T. employer in Britain, & how FDM have won more awards and medals than Jessica Ennis. Firstly they are not an employer, they are a middleman between you and the company that you work for. As for the awards that they've won ... I have no idea how this has happened.
How anyone can objectively say that this is a good deal worth 5 glassdoor stars is beyond my understanding.
It really is the very last resort and should only be contemplated if you are absolutely desperate and are prepared to close your eyes and throw the dice. If you do consider it, run the idea by your parents, a friend etc and see what they think
Someone earlier on this survey mentioned 'bait and switch', which is EXACTLY what this is.
