If Wishes Were Horses
Ahhh, it must be springtime because the scams are bursting out all over. On one MT message board alone, I have counted no fewer than six threads this last week or so from starry-eyed MT wannabes hoping for advice on school choice, or thinly-veiled propaganda promoting lousy schools that apparently feel the need to get out there and stir the waters from time to time and remind people they're still an option. I suspect as badly as things look for MTs in general right now, the numbers of potential students is looking even worse, so I suppose it should be no surprise. This has always been a cyclical thing, besides, and there is truly an actual flow of "seasons" where various scenarios play out routinely--not just bad schools that never quite go away, but people trolling with "special" information that they're not willing to post in public--but anyone interested is welcome to shoot them a PM and they'll gladly share. (What they don't say is that this probably involves a "bargain" price and doesn't amount to a pinch of hooey.) I suppose if I were to check the local hotel schedules, there would probably be steady bookings for correspondence course seminars, too.
I've already ranted ad nauseam about the matchbook schools and other predators, but what still amazes me are the seemingly unlimited numbers of willing victims--especially nowadays (people still want to become MTs?) When you see someone asking advice about a particular school (invariably one with a lousy reputation), 99.9% of the time, they don't really want to hear anything that doesn't validate the decision they've already made--to opt for the cheapest route possible and hope for the best. All it takes to succeed is hard work and desire, right? Nope. You can't learn what isn't taught--or what is taught badly. You can't learn if you're grading yourself. You can't honestly believe that a handful of practice reports truly prepares you in the same way as completing a couple thousand with an actual certified instructor giving feedback on each and every one.
The biggest irony is that most of these information seekers have not only already forked over their tuition, but are also well into the course--if not already done. Yet this is when they choose to pop their heads up and ask advice on the wisdom of their choice. Logically, does it make sense to wait until you're a week away from your final exam to ask, "Is this a good school?" or, "How many grads of School X have managed to get jobs?" Almost invariably, though, they don't really want an answer. They want validation. Try to answer with anything approaching reality and you are denounced as a meanie, a killjoy, or (LOL) trying to prop up another school's reputation by tearing another's down. The outrage is misplaced, I'm afraid. It's scary to realize you've bought a pig in a poke. I suspect all they really want is for someone to reassure them those rose-colored glasses will indeed serve them well and their original plan will indeed come to fruition. . . or maybe I have it wrong and these are simply attempts to get out there and "network," so they don't have to work any harder on the job search than they did on the schoolwork.
To succeed more than ever--there are dues you simply must pay. There are no shortcuts, and false economy is not going to make it easier. Caveat emptor ("let the buyer beware," for those of you who missed Latin 101) is best employed before you act, people. Once you've committed your nonrefundable time and money into something like this, there's no point in even asking. If you're that offended by unvarnished truth, it is much less painful if you seek it before you've committed to something. Sadly, once you've chosen not to exercise your option to be a careful shopper, there is no one to blame for your locus poenitentiae ("buyer's remorse") but yourself.