Access tutoring & consulting

[Jennifer Murphy]

I would like to learn to use Access for personal projects. I think my projects are fairly simple such as keeping track of collections of things or organizing lists with various criteria. I've been using Word and Excel for years, but I always end up getting annoyed that I don't have the sorting and filtering capabilities that I want.

I do have some experience with database software (Access and Paradox) from many years ago. So I think I could learn quickly. What I am looking for is someone to help me develop good techniques and skills right from the beginning. I could buy a book or make use of the online tutorials here and elsewhere, but I would like something a little more focused to my immediate needs. And I'd like to learn while developing an application that I actually need.

I imagine an arrangement where I have a few "sessions" to get started and then periodic questions when I get stuck. I think it can all be done remotely using a shared desktop, the telephone, and email.



I did a search for "access tutors" and "access consulting" and came up with dozens, if not hundreds of options. I was hoping that some of you could help me narrow the field a bit.

I hope it's OK to post this type of question here. If not, please advise and/or move it to the right place.

Thanks for the help.

[help_me_with_access]

Hi Jennifer,

IMO, I think by now you can be pretty certain that most (>90%) educational services to be found online that require fees in order to gain access to material or people, is probably the least credible option. But then again, everything that *can be transferred* to the world wide web will have to migrate to it at some point.

again IMO, using google to search for teachers and consultants that are level-headed is probably more risky than not. That's why you get 5 million results, I would assume.

in terms of sites dedicated to access itself, there are not many, if any at all. However, there are reputable sites that discuss all sorts of MS software products. Access is almost always listed on these sites (if it is a consulting business) unless they deal in specialty areas, or refuse to recognize Access as a trustworthy software product (which is very common, for good reason too).

But at any rate, isn't there anyone in your social networking life that has experience with it? It's not a difficult program to learn, and it's certainly not complex in this day in age. I'd say now, its complexity is on the same level as writing single command lines in DOS back in the 90's (if you compare it to say a Java platform or a .NET web application). But that's if you use it free-standing without delving into ODBC.

The forum is a place to ask questions. Nothing else, at least not that I know of...

I personally charge fees for serious work (which means, that the work *has* meaning even if its only a few hours work).

Again, your best bet I would say would be call a local University (or better yet, community college) and ask about this. There are tutors all over the place. Like Wyzant.com. Did you check there? I know that's popular, but you're not going to find any real intelligence on sites like that (I would assume) because it's going to connect you to the talent pool starting from the bottom of the barrel.

I would also venture to guess that many folks would love to do things like this, but it simply doesn't pay enough to switch tasks all day long with low pay rates and unpredictable follow-up opportunities. Personally, that's the reason I don't tutor for a living. If it wasn't for the instability of the whole idea, I'd ditch my job and just do that forever. I love teaching others...

[RuralGuy]

Crystal has taken the time and put together some decent stuff: http://www.youtube.com/user/LearnAccessByCrystal

[help_me_with_access]

Allan,

Crystal WHO?

[RuralGuy]

MVP Crystal Long: https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pr...4-A45FD93CE59B
...or maybe this link: https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Crystal

[help_me_with_access]

I got ya. well I've never been a fan of the MVP pool at Microsoft. but that's not to say the people aren't intelligent...

how many MVP's are there now, Allan? You don't actually have to work at MS to gain the title right? What's involved again? I forget....isn't it just buit-up recognition overtime? I thought thats what I heard once...

[RuralGuy]

Actually working for Microsoft prohibits you from being an MVP.
http://mvp.microsoft.com/en-US/Pages/default.aspx

[Robeen]

Hi Jennifer!
I sent a message to your Inbox [look under 'Notifications' at the top of your page].

[avarusbrightfyre]

I've made some fairly complex and mostly automated databases using "Access for Dummies" to learn the basics and then using Google for the rest as I found things I wanted to add. Don't waste money on something you can learn yourself or research with freely available information.

[Jennifer Murphy]

Crystal has taken the time and put together some decent stuff: http://www.youtube.com/user/LearnAccessByCrystal

OK, I'll take a look. Thanks.

[Jennifer Murphy]

Hi Jennifer!
I sent a message to your Inbox [look under 'Notifications' at the top of your page].

I got your message. Thanks.

I got a couple of other private messages offering help. I'm wondering if it would be better to post those offers here so that others who might be looking for help coule benefit.

What are the chances of setting up some sort of list here on Access Forums of people who are available for consulting help. The consultants could post their "credentials" and the scope and terms of their help. I think that would be a tremendous help to both the consumers and the consultants.

[RuralGuy]

This site offers *free* assistance for those asking questions in open forums. If someone is soliciting for paid consultation then I would say this goes against why we are here and I would call them TROLLS.

[Jennifer Murphy]

This site offers *free* assistance for those asking questions in open forums. If someone is soliciting for paid consultation then I would say this goes against why we are here and I would call them TROLLS.

I understand the need to prohibit soliciting. Since I asked for help, it really isn't soliciting, or at least not unsolicited soliciting.

I guess my point is that free help in places like this is an amazing resource. And I wouldn't want to do anything to compromise that. But, it can sometimes take much longer to get a simple question answered, especially for beginners, because they don't phrase the question properly or aren't sure what they want. There is at least a little turn-around time between each question and the answer. It can add up to taking several hours or several days to get something that a skilled user could solve in 10-15 minutes.

That's why I suggested a separate section for requests and offers for paid help. I think it would be a valuable addition to this service.

Cheers

[help_me_with_access]

That's why I suggested a separate section for requests and offers for paid help. I think it would be a valuable addition to this service.

that IS a good idea Jennifer, but the only real problem with offering this sort of stuff on internet forums is the fact that many forum visitors (in terms of webpage transactions), I believe, are automated (like bots). And then there are many people that are post in which it's not genuine. For instance, semi-automated stuff. Like XSP (cross-site posting)....they'll post here, copy and paste the same thing into 5 other access forums. There's just a lot of baggage associated with forums.

Not to say it wouldn't be a good idea, but I personally would not post my *actual* business credentials on a site like this simple because it would be too ambiguous. What am I going to say? Well...I know the program like the back of my hand and I've worked with it since 1992 when version 1 was released.

I would venture to guess that if Matrix added a section for this service that we now have, it would have to be monitored even more closely than the others are monitored. and how many people are here doing the work? Allan? You, Matrix and Paul?

if you've noticed Jennifer, RuralGuy has already deleted one of my posts in this thread because it was too "blunt" in nature.

oh and in terms of offering a service like that here, don't forget that the application has to be updated quite a bit! I wonder if Matrix is schooled well enough in PHP to actually modify another company's software template to that extent...???

and then of course there's always the question of....*is it worth it?*. It probably doesn't take many ad clicks or whatever to pay for the annual hosting of this site as it is...

[Jennifer Murphy]

I understand that there are problems with an open, public site. And I certainly don't want to do anything to impact this service or add to the workload of the administrators. This is a very good site and the amdinistrators do rfeally good work. I just feel bad that there isn't some way to put people who need help and are willing to pay for it together with those who have the expertise and are willing to help. There ought to be a way to make this a win-win.

Anyway, I just got a lot of real work dumped on me, so I'll have to put my little Access project on hold for awhile. I'll read those YouTube tutorials and be back later.

Thanks