Re: value of certification

From: The Poster Formerly Known as Kline Sphere (.)
Date: 03/16/04 

Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 07:49:24 +0000

>Round and Round we go.... We'd make for a descent comedy
>team you and I.

hee, hee!

>There are so many ways to attack this,
>I think everyone's situation is unique.

This maybe part of the problem, lack of standardization in the
industry....

>First, there are employers that don't really know about
>the pitfalls of certification or have any real .NET
>resources or talents (demonstrated by the large number of
>job postings listing MCSD as a plus).
>
>For those companies that do know about the pitfalls, they
>obviously will exam work experience more closely. I think
>it depends on the skill set they are looking for. For
>example, a cert doesn't really add anything to my resume
>(or yours). Employers will look at our work history and
>decide how much they're willing to pay. But for a junior
>developer with little experience this is of course
>different.

The 'pitfall' is simply that a company, any company, can not be
reassured that a microsoft certification holder has truly earn the
title. Which is why certification titles do NOT add 'anything' to our
resumes.

According to microsoft, their certifications are not targeted at
'newbies' or 'juniors'. As such certs 'should' be a way for
experienced professional to prove themselves, and which 'juniors'
strive to achieve.

>A consulting company won't pay any attention to the
>certification unless it comes down to a choice between
>two equally skilled and personable developers asking for
>the same salary. It's practically the last consideration
>as the cert helps them to maintain their status.

Or they are an ms partner which has managed to stay in business, and
for some reason need additional certs to keep their status.

>The size of the company (and bureaucracy) also plays a
>role.
>
>Again, I think the value of the cert varies based on the
>individual and the company. And as a last point, (other
>than experience), this is the only tool companies can use
>(for better or for worse).

I agree, but they don't and we all know why. Unless the format and
structure of the certification process changes, the worth of such
certs with continue to wain.

Location also plays a part. I've spent a fair amount of time over here
in the UK. I can tell that over here, certs are almost unheard of.
I've only met a couple of mcsd's and about a dozen mcse's. Rarely do
you see vacancies for cert holders.

>What do you think?

I could right a [crappy] book on what I think!

The biggest problem in IT is that it's not regulated. This has lead to
an ever increasing number of unskilled/unquilfied people at all
levels. As such, the amount of companies that do not have a clue how
to implement and maintain an IT infrastructure has ballooned. I used
to get quite upset about this, but now I think what the heck - it's
real funny!

My on view is that any company that uses and relies on their own
software and IT services or provides such services, should be
accredited with some form of certification along the lines of the
lines of the iso 9000-3 guidelines (and I don't mean ms partner
status, which is meaningless). If that places the unskilled/unquilfied
people at the end of the welfare line, so be it.

Kline Sphere (Chalk) MCNGP #3

Relevant Pages

  • RE: CISSP Question
    ... Plus, more interestingly enough, SANS is an alias for another corporation called Escal Institute of Advanced Technologies, INC. ... can actually have the chance to obtain the certification without any ... The baseline that I'm talking about is the level of a cert-holder's knowledge of the field being tested, not the ratio of potential to actual cert holders. ... that's pretty much how I'd regard the CBK review. ...
    (Security-Basics)
  • RE: Value of certifications
    ... Many other certification organizations in ... many other fields have officers with an education background. ... I personally like a college degree over a cert. ...
    (Security-Basics)
  • RE: CISSP Question
    ... certification without any adverse financial hardships, ... cert holders. ... The CISSP test is not a test of experience, or even of skill, IMHO. ... that's pretty much how I'd regard the CBK review. ...
    (Security-Basics)
  • Re: CISSP-ISSMP
    ... But being good should be able to get you a cert provided that what the cert tests is valid for application in the industry. ... With this certification, ISECOM has shown itself to be a lot different- with tests based on applied ability and resourcefulness rather than just knowledge alone. ... both the Professional Security Tester and Professional Security Analyst ... You have an option to go with a managed service or an enterprise software. ...
    (Pen-Test)
  • Re: value of certification
    ... Round and Round we go.... ... there are employers that don't really know about ... certification unless it comes down to a choice between ... as the cert helps them to maintain their status. ...
    (microsoft.public.cert.exam.mcsd)