Take a look under your car at the axles. The outer CV boot is the one right before the axle passes through the hub/rotor assembly. It should be relatively easy to see if they are split open, and would look like this..
As far as doing it yourself, it could be quite a chore without the proper tools or experience. Personally I find them very easy to do, but I do this kind of work for a living so I have a lot of experience in that area.
EDIT - Brian, you can buy the exact same boots the mechanic will install and do it yourself, it's not some special part that only a mechanic can get. The split boots you are referring to are easy to put on but do not last very long like you said. Just curious, but what is your reasoning for saying they are so hard to put on? I can do a CV boot on an Integra in about 20 minutes..