Complaint Review: The Chubb Institute

I was a student at The Chubb Institute in Parsippany, NJ many years ago. I decided to give Chubb a shot because I wanted to enhance my already existing computer skills. I was already fairly computer literate back at a time when most people didn't even have home computers, much less e-mail!

At the time I couldn't find a job in a computer related field. It was always the same excuse. Because I never utilized my skills in a real job situation, it didn't count. But an acquaintance of mine recommended me to enroll in Chubb since several people from his company were graduates and worked with him. This person was a programmer/engineer, but he felt my computer skills would be suitable for their technical support program. I was never the analytical sort of person when it came down to the programming side of things, and math was also never my strong point. But I really enjoyed doing all the hands-on type of work.
So I thought, if I had a diploma to say I was certified in the computer field, all the better!

I arranged for a meeting with Chubb, and they grabbed me hook, line, and sinker. The entrance exam as many have said is a joke. At the onset, they make it sound intimidating at first since they pride themselves on excellence and the would only accept students that would do them proud. But the questions on the exam is nothing most you don't already know so it was easy to pass, and of course, get accepted for enrollment! Whenever you get an acceptance letter, of course, your confidence is up there and you are ready to join!

Part of the sales pitch is them boasting how all these great, top Fortune 100 companies sought out Chubb graduates above all others, and that they had a terrific job placement program to ensure the success of all their students. The listing they gave me showed all the big companies that hired Chubb graduates. It looked impressive indeed. Who wouldn't want to work for Coca-Cola, Chrysler, Chase Manhattan, Microsoft, or other big named corporations? It made me want to succeed even more.

To make a long story short, I finished their program in the requisite seven months. It was a fairly tough curriculum, to say the least. Except the last unit, which was all PC-related troubleshooting, something I had done on my own for about ten years at this point. Their definition of failing is anything below 80%. Meaning, if you don't finish a particular unit with that high a mark, you either re-take that section over again (at YOUR expense) or you simply drop out altogether. In fact, that happened to a few of the students in my class

In any event, by the time I reached graduation, I had very high expectations, hopes, and had a great boost of optimism and confidence in what I was anticipating to be upcoming, potential job offers. One of Chubb's promises was their great job placement. They would help us land our first (real) job. They would send out our resumes in droves to all their clients, and we would soon hear from them. I worked very hard, had many sleepless nights, studied, learned, and expanded my skills. All these efforts were going to pay off, right?

Unfortunately, all that good karma ended all too quickly. I found very little in the way of job placement support. I received very little in the way of calls. I ran into the same problems as I did before I was a student. No company would hire me because I didn't have the experience! Another sticking point was that (at the time) I only had an A.A. degree to go with my Chubb diploma. So it was like having two A.A. degrees, and companies decided that I still wasn't good enough. They couldn't care less about my Chubb diploma.

Chubb claimed their curriculum equaled to one year's job experience, a point I always used when applying to the companies and in the interviews. I guess Chubb never bothered to tell them that. It was always that cycle of not being able to get the experience from not getting the job in the first place. Chubb never bothered to mention that so companies would be picky on that. You need a four year degree, the Chubb certification, AND the job experience in the said field. I didn't even get to have my foot in the door because I lacked the experience for the field I was trying to enter.

Hello?! I just graduated, I need to start somewhere, and you guys are telling me you won't consider me because I don't have the experience for the skills I just acquired? My job experience prior to Chubb had been data entry and stock room work, so that didn't help my cause. It also annoyed me that my already existing computer experience and Chubb credentials didn't STILL count since I never used them in a "real" job. That was what one human resources person told me. My resume, listing what I learned at Chubb and the skills I possessed didn't appear to be symbiotic to my job history.

I got very angry that all the companies that Chubb said were lining up to hire me were nowhere to be heard from. And to tell you how unprofessional they are, a few months after I graduated from Chubb without getting anywhere and starting to get a little desperate, I asked for advice and assistance to get pointed in the right direction. They never responded. It's like I never existed. How's that for their job placement services? Once you're out the door, you're on your own.

In the end I did get a total of four paltry interviews, nothing that resulted in getting what I wanted. Whatever was available was lowly, physical work with a starting pay that did not justify the market rate. I would have been better off working in retail at the same pay and without the same aggravation. I never got to use what I learned at Chubb and I never got to enter the computer field, except for a short gig that really sucked. That was a low paying third shift job that required me to be standing all day working the big machines (printers, copiers, mail sorters) by myself, having to handle heavy boxes and various general maintenance, while my so-called coworkers got work in more comfortable positions, sitting at their terminals. I was trained for what THEY were doing, but since I was the new person, I was assigned mop up chores.

One interview I had was a waste of time since they were not interested in what I did at Chubb, they wanted to have their position filled and see if I would be interested.

Since technology changes so quickly, anything that I learned is all but useless and it was $8000 down the drain. You think anyone is going to get a job with a Chubb degree that's well over a decade old? And that you NEVER even had a job related to the Chubb degree? I never got to apply what I learned anywhere. Chubb costs a LOT more today that would best served towards getting a REAL college degree. In fact, that is what I did some time later. And I ended up working in an unrelated field that paid much better.

My self-taught computer skills are always up-to-date with the times as they were before, but until some company actually decides to let me use them, I'll still be toiling away someplace else.

Chubb, like so many technical/vocational schools, is selling THEIR dreams of a great livelihood and not yours! I could go on and on and on, but most of you know what the problems are.

Anonymous
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.