Survey on Continuing Education for Network Computing Professionals

Survey on Continuing Education for Network Computing Professionals

Network Education Center feedback at decisive.com
Mon Aug 5 21:36:23 EDT 1996


This survey is on behalf of an education center dedicated to the needs =
of network computing professionals. We are asking your input to help us =
create better education/training programs for you and your company. Your =
responses will be completely confidential.


If we receive your completed survey by Monday, August 12, 1996, we'll =
automatically enter you in a contest for a prize of $1,000; one winner =
will be chosen from among those who complete the survey.  Thank you in =
advance for your help.=20


(Authentication marker -- ~3%e%INTCADX%8%1%1476%5CTJVlfE%6394& -- do not =
remove.)=20


To respond, create a reply e-mail message that contains the survey.  =
Some e-mail systems require you to manually copy and paste the survey =
into your reply.  Make sure the reply contains the *entire* =
authentication marker, including what looks like garbage.


To answer a question, type an x between the brackets, like this:  [ x ]. =
 For fill-in-the-blanks, type between the brackets like this:  [ your =
response ].  Please make no other changes to this survey.


 1.  If for any reason you do NOT want to be contacted in the future via =
e-mail, please indicate after the first question by placing an "x" =
within the brackets. You will be omitted from future e-mail surveys.


   [  ]   a)  Please omit me from future e-mail surveys.


 2.  What is your company's PRIMARY industry or business?


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Aerospace
   [  ]   b)  Communications carrier (telco, broadband, internet)
   [  ]   c)  Financial services
   [  ]   d)  Healthcare
   [  ]   e)  Manufacturing: computer/software
   [  ]   f)  Manufacturing: non-computer
   [  ]   g)  Government/military
   [  ]   h)  Publishing/media/advertising/public relations
   [  ]   i)  Transportation/utilities
   [  ]   j)  Wholesale/retail: non-computer
   [  ]   k)  Education
   [  ]   l)  Entertainment
   [  ]   m)  Computer reseller/retailer/VAR
   [  ]   n)  Systems integration/consulting
   [  ]   o)  Other, please specify... [    ]


 3.  What is your job function?


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  IS/MIS/Data processing
   [  ]   b)  LAN/network systems
   [  ]   c)  Internet/Web
   [  ]   d)  Intranet (in-TRA-net)
   [  ]   e)  Data communications/telecommunications
   [  ]   f)  PC/microcomputer/information center
   [  ]   g)  Systems analyst/applications development
   [  ]   h)  Systems engineer/integration
   [  ]   i)  Other computer-related, please specify... [    ]
   [  ]   j)  Executive/corporate office
   [  ]   k)  Financial/accounting
   [  ]   l)  Engineering/R&D
   [  ]   m)  Sales/marketing
   [  ]   n)  Other administrative, please specify... [    ]
   [  ]   o)  Consulting (computer related)
   [  ]   p)  Training/education
   [  ]   q)  Other professional, please specify... [    ]


 4.  Please check the statements below that describe your involvement =
with networks.


   Choose all that apply:


   [  ]   a)  I manage networks.
   [  ]   b)  I design networks.
   [  ]   c)  I install networks.
   [  ]   d)  I troubleshoot/fix networks.
   [  ]   e)  I train or support network users.
   [  ]   f)  I initiate the evaluation of new network technologies.
   [  ]   g)  I evaluate or specify brands of network products.
   [  ]   h)  I ensure that networks meet specific business or =
organizational objectives.


 5.  What is the scope of your involvement with networking in your =
organization?


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Entire organization or enterprise
   [  ]   b)  Entire work location
   [  ]   c)  Multiple departments at more than one location
   [  ]   d)  For a single department only
   [  ]   e)  Other


 6.  How many servers do you have installed in your organization?


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Over 50
   [  ]   b)  10 to 49
   [  ]   c)  1 to 9
   [  ]   d)  None


 7.  How many LANS do you have installed in your organization?


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Over 25
   [  ]   b)  5 to 24
   [  ]   c)  1 to 4
   [  ]   d)  None


 8.  How many microcomputers/workstations are connected to LANS in your =
organization?


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  500 or more
   [  ]   b)  25 to 499
   [  ]   c)  1 to 24
   [  ]   d)  None


 9.  How many employees do you supervise?


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Up to 3 people
   [  ]   b)  4 to 10 people
   [  ]   c)  More than 10 people
   [  ]   d)  None


 10.  Do you yourself have responsibility for networking =
education/training provided to employees in your company?


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Yes
   [  ]   b)  No
   [  ]   c)  Don't know


 11.  What is the annual budget for education/training for yourself and =
those you supervise?


   Please enter the amount within the following brackets. [    ]


 12.  During the last 12 months, where did you or those you supervise =
receive education/training for networking?


   Choose all that apply:


   [  ]   a)  In-house
   [  ]   b)  University/college
   [  ]   c)  Seminars
   [  ]   d)  Internet
   [  ]   e)  Other
   [  ]   f)  No education/training on networking was received




NOW WE WANT YOUR OPINIONS ABOUT A POSSIBLE EDUCATION CURRICULUM ON =
NETWORKING TECHNOLOGIES. For each of the following 10 course =
descriptions, please indicate your level of interest.


 13.  A Network Technologies course covering circuits and fibers; =
modulation and modems; LANs; WANs; frames; cell switching; wireless; =
satellites; connection-oriented and connectionless service; =
characteristics of each technology; addressing; media access; =
comparisons.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very interesting
   [  ]   b)  Moderately interesting
   [  ]   c)  Somewhat interesting
   [  ]   d)  Not at all interesting


 14.  A Network Interconnection and Internetworking course covering =
interconnection technologies; repeaters, bridges, and routers; internet =
addressing; address binding; datagram forwarding; techniques to =
accomodate heterogeneity (e.g. encapsulation and fragmentation).


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very interesting
   [  ]   b)  Moderately interesting
   [  ]   c)  Somewhat interesting
   [  ]   d)  Not at all interesting


 15.  A Network Protocols and Protocol Design course covering protocol =
layering; problems protocols solve; loss, reordering, corruption, =
congestion, duplication, and replay; techniques such as framing, =
checksumming, sliding window, and retransmission; focus on the transport =
layer, but cover other layers.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very interesting
   [  ]   b)  Moderately interesting
   [  ]   c)  Somewhat interesting
   [  ]   d)  Not at all interesting


 16.  A Routing and Routing Protocols course covering packet forwarding; =
route propagation; vector-distance and link-state algorithms; spanning =
tree.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very interesting
   [  ]   b)  Moderately interesting
   [  ]   c)  Somewhat interesting
   [  ]   d)  Not at all interesting


 17.  A Distributed Programming and Applications course covering =
client-server paradigm; socket API; middleware (e.g. RPC and CORBA); =
building a server; multithread server execution; protection and =
authorization; example applications.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very interesting
   [  ]   b)  Moderately interesting
   [  ]   c)  Somewhat interesting
   [  ]   d)  Not at all interesting


 18.  A Network and Protocol Performance Evaluation course covering =
throughput and delay; measuring and tuning protocols; instrumentation of =
protocol stacks; traffic analysis; self-similar behavior.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very interesting
   [  ]   b)  Moderately interesting
   [  ]   c)  Somewhat interesting
   [  ]   d)  Not at all interesting


 19.  A Networking and Protocol Support for Multimedia Applications =
course covering high-speed networks; resource allocation and performance =
guarantees; protocols for audio and video; techniques such as =
compression and delayed playback.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very interesting
   [  ]   b)  Moderately interesting
   [  ]   c)  Somewhat interesting
   [  ]   d)  Not at all interesting


 20.  An Advanced Server Design and Implementation course covering =
implementation of concurrent, parallel servers; large-scale designs; =
proxy servers (e.g., SLIRP); techniques such as buffering, replication, =
caching, and application gateways.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very interesting
   [  ]   b)  Moderately interesting
   [  ]   c)  Somewhat interesting
   [  ]   d)  Not at all interesting


 21.  An Advanced Routing course covering policy-based routing; =
multicast; mobility; inter- and intra-layer encapsulation; longest =
prefix forwarding table lookup algorithms; virtual LANS.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very interesting
   [  ]   b)  Moderately interesting
   [  ]   c)  Somewhat interesting
   [  ]   d)  Not at all interesting


 22.  An Advanced Network Applications course covering EDI; electronic =
commerce; advanced Web techniques (e.g. Java).


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very interesting
   [  ]   b)  Moderately interesting
   [  ]   c)  Somewhat interesting
   [  ]   d)  Not at all interesting


 23.  What would your level of interest be in taking a group of these =
courses as a coordinated curriculum?


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very interesting
   [  ]   b)  Moderately interesting
   [  ]   c)  Somewhat interesting
   [  ]   d)  Not at all interesting




THINKING ABOUT THE CHARACTERISTICS AND BENEFITS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF =
EDUCATION PROGRAMS that could be made available for networking =
technologies, please indicate which of the following would be important =
to you.


 24.  A course curriculum leads to an advanced college degree.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very important
   [  ]   b)  Somewhat important
   [  ]   c)  Not very important
   [  ]   d)  Not at all important
   [  ]   e)  No opinion


 25.  Each course generates a document of professional certification.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very important
   [  ]   b)  Somewhat important
   [  ]   c)  Not very important
   [  ]   d)  Not at all important
   [  ]   e)  No opinion


 26.  Course curriculum leads to an overall certification.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very important
   [  ]   b)  Somewhat important
   [  ]   c)  Not very important
   [  ]   d)  Not at all important
   [  ]   e)  No opinion


 27.  Course is available at your place of work.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very important
   [  ]   b)  Somewhat important
   [  ]   c)  Not very important
   [  ]   d)  Not at all important
   [  ]   e)  No opinion


 28.  Course is available at a local university or college campus.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very important
   [  ]   b)  Somewhat important
   [  ]   c)  Not very important
   [  ]   d)  Not at all important
   [  ]   e)  No opinion


 29.  Courses available at an industry event you already attend.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very important
   [  ]   b)  Somewhat important
   [  ]   c)  Not very important
   [  ]   d)  Not at all important
   [  ]   e)  No opinion


 30.  Courses conducted by an advanced educational institute staffed by =
networking experts.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very important
   [  ]   b)  Somewhat important
   [  ]   c)  Not very important
   [  ]   d)  Not at all important
   [  ]   e)  No opinion


 31.  A core curriculum of a specified number of courses that would =
follow a building educational sequence.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very important
   [  ]   b)  Somewhat important
   [  ]   c)  Not very important
   [  ]   d)  Not at all important
   [  ]   e)  No opinion


 32.  A concentrated face-to-face education program conducted over =
consecutive days.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very important
   [  ]   b)  Somewhat important
   [  ]   c)  Not very important
   [  ]   d)  Not at all important
   [  ]   e)  No opinion


 33.  Ability to take class lessons, labs and tests over the Internet =
from your desktop.


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Very important
   [  ]   b)  Somewhat important
   [  ]   c)  Not very important
   [  ]   d)  Not at all important
   [  ]   e)  No opinion


 34.  What other thoughts do you have concerning what could be done to =
improve educational or training programs on networking technologies?


   Please write within the brackets. [    ]


 35.  How many years have you been professionally involved in computing?


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Less than 2 years
   [  ]   b)  2 to 4 years
   [  ]   c)  5 to 10 years
   [  ]   d)  More than 10 years


 36.  Which of the following ranges includes your age?


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  18 to 34
   [  ]   b)  35 to 44
   [  ]   c)  45 to 54
   [  ]   d)  55 and older


 37.  Which of the following represents your highest level of education?


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Attended high school
   [  ]   b)  Graduated high school
   [  ]   c)  Attended college
   [  ]   d)  Bachelor's degree
   [  ]   e)  Master's degree
   [  ]   f)  Doctorate degree


 38.  What do you estimate your total household income was last year? =
(Please estimate total income for everyone in your household, including =
salaries, wages,  bonuses, interest, dividends, etc.)


   Choose one:


   [  ]   a)  Less than $15,000
   [  ]   b)  $15,000 to $24,999
   [  ]   c)  $25,000 to $34,999
   [  ]   d)  $35,000 to $49,999
   [  ]   e)  $50,000 to $74,999
   [  ]   f)  $75,000 to $99,999
   [  ]   g)  $100,000 to $149,999
   [  ]   h)  $150,000 or more
   [  ]   i)  Don't know


Thank you for participating in this survey.



More information about the Pwg mailing list