With the high cost of higher education and the amount of MOOC's available for learning, is there such a thing as an IT apprenticeship or something like a developer or SA apprenticeship?<p>Skills for machinists, welders, etc. all have apprenticeships. Would it not make sense to have them for IT as well. Where you could learn under a "master" for a period of time equivalent to a 4 year degree. Does this exist?
I'm apprenticing a junior sys admin right now. He's been with me for 2 years now. It's not a formal apprenticeship, but I took him out of the help desk (where he worked on Windows) and now he is a solid junior Linux sys admin. This was on an Ops team of two (and now three).<p>May sys admins I know have juniors they are apprenticing in a similar fashion. This is a fairly traditional way to make a sysadmin (on the job training).
If there isn't, there really should be. Traditional University education does a really poor job of preparing people for IT as well, further exaggerating the need for it. I think some of the trade school programs have OK curriculum, but I can't say for certain either way.<p>The shop I work at was actually talking about it, but we don't have the time to train someone.