Comments on: To Cert or Not to Cert … http://blog.theplanet.com/2007/08/17/to-cert-or-not-to-cert-%e2%80%a6/ Welcome To The Planet's Weblog! Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:29:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Sephjo Nebula http://blog.theplanet.com/2007/08/17/to-cert-or-not-to-cert-%e2%80%a6/#comment-2486 Sephjo Nebula Tue, 23 Oct 2007 20:00:18 +0000 http://blog.theplanet.com/2007/08/17/to-cert-or-not-to-cert-%e2%80%a6/#comment-2486 Quit yer yappin' and get certified. It helps more than it hurts. Let The Planet pay for it and it'll be sweeter. Then you can leverage the cert(s) for a raise, bonus, or both. Quit yer yappin’ and get certified. It helps more than it hurts. Let The Planet pay for it and it’ll be sweeter. Then you can leverage the cert(s) for a raise, bonus, or both.

]]> By: Kevin Landreth http://blog.theplanet.com/2007/08/17/to-cert-or-not-to-cert-%e2%80%a6/#comment-1742 Kevin Landreth Thu, 06 Sep 2007 22:27:04 +0000 http://blog.theplanet.com/2007/08/17/to-cert-or-not-to-cert-%e2%80%a6/#comment-1742 Thanks for the feedback. I see that there is more than one way to get to what I want and it seems to have worked for different people. I've got my one little cert (RHCE) but I want more after reading this. I guess the next question is. How many? I'm thinking more than five and I'd be stretching myself too thin. Thanks for the feedback. I see that there is more than one way to get to what I want and it seems to have worked for different people.

I’ve got my one little cert (RHCE) but I want more after reading this. I guess the next question is. How many? I’m thinking more than five and I’d be stretching myself too thin.

]]> By: Bennie Gravitt http://blog.theplanet.com/2007/08/17/to-cert-or-not-to-cert-%e2%80%a6/#comment-1625 Bennie Gravitt Sat, 01 Sep 2007 21:52:09 +0000 http://blog.theplanet.com/2007/08/17/to-cert-or-not-to-cert-%e2%80%a6/#comment-1625 Degrees and Certifications It seems that when companies are hiring, they do use certifications and degrees to narrow down the list of applicants. The odds of getting a qualified applicant are increased with certs and degrees. That is not to say that if a person has no certs and/or degrees that they are not competent or capable of learning - far from it. Kevin Landreth is obviously an example. The company that hires certified and/or certifies it's employees can advertise the fact to prospective clients. Clients then gain a sense that the company is well staffed. Bennie Gravitt A+, CNA, MCP, Associate Applied Science CompSci Degrees and Certifications

It seems that when companies are hiring, they do use certifications and degrees to narrow down the list of applicants. The odds of getting a qualified applicant are increased with certs and degrees. That is not to say that if a person has no certs and/or degrees that they are not competent or capable of learning - far from it. Kevin Landreth is obviously an example.

The company that hires certified and/or certifies it’s employees can advertise the fact to prospective clients. Clients then gain a sense that the company is well staffed.

Bennie Gravitt
A+, CNA, MCP, Associate Applied Science CompSci

]]> By: Chris Freyer http://blog.theplanet.com/2007/08/17/to-cert-or-not-to-cert-%e2%80%a6/#comment-1598 Chris Freyer Mon, 20 Aug 2007 20:31:30 +0000 http://blog.theplanet.com/2007/08/17/to-cert-or-not-to-cert-%e2%80%a6/#comment-1598 Hello Kevin. Certifications and cert programs (like MCSE, SCEA, CCNE, etc...) are vendor-specific by design. They crank up your knowledge on certain products, and your awareness of a specific subject. College degrees take longer and are more diverse in terms of subject matter. You'll pay more for a degree than a cert program, but its worth it over the long term. And your career is a long-term thing. My experience is this: I had a bachelors degree in marketing and found that I was being excluded from the programming jobs I wanted. No experience or degree = no job. So I went back in school [while married, 2 kids, full-time job] and got a masters degree in software engineering. Yes, it was difficult. But it paid for itself before I graduated! I found a new job and got a raise that was worth more than I paid for my entire degree. And life has gotten better ever since. Basically an employer thinks long term and will reward you for having done the same. Hope this help. Chris Hello Kevin.
Certifications and cert programs (like MCSE, SCEA, CCNE, etc…) are vendor-specific by design. They crank up your knowledge on certain products, and your awareness of a specific subject.

College degrees take longer and are more diverse in terms of subject matter. You’ll pay more for a degree than a cert program, but its worth it over the long term. And your career is a long-term thing.

My experience is this: I had a bachelors degree in marketing and found that I was being excluded from the programming jobs I wanted. No experience or degree = no job. So I went back in school [while married, 2 kids, full-time job] and got a masters degree in software engineering. Yes, it was difficult. But it paid for itself before I graduated! I found a new job and got a raise that was worth more than I paid for my entire degree. And life has gotten better ever since.

Basically an employer thinks long term and will reward you for having done the same.

Hope this help.
Chris

]]> By: Eddie Thieda http://blog.theplanet.com/2007/08/17/to-cert-or-not-to-cert-%e2%80%a6/#comment-1595 Eddie Thieda Sun, 19 Aug 2007 12:52:42 +0000 http://blog.theplanet.com/2007/08/17/to-cert-or-not-to-cert-%e2%80%a6/#comment-1595 I further agree with you on your topic of certifications being unnecessary, unless noted I stand firm with the learning by doing method. Who is to say that working for X Systems Inc. for Y amount of years doesn't have much more advantages then the one class/certification place on a resume. <strong><i>"What I am looking for is more industry recognition"</i></strong> My response would be for you to just concentrate on your job and keep blogging about your training and technical job experiences. P.S. I wish my entries were this long! -Eddie I further agree with you on your topic of certifications being unnecessary, unless noted I stand firm with the learning by doing method. Who is to say that working for X Systems Inc. for Y amount of years doesn’t have much more advantages then the one class/certification place on a resume.

“What I am looking for is more industry recognition”

My response would be for you to just concentrate on your job and keep blogging about your training and technical job experiences.

P.S.
I wish my entries were this long!

-Eddie

]]> By: Jeff Huckaby http://blog.theplanet.com/2007/08/17/to-cert-or-not-to-cert-%e2%80%a6/#comment-1597 Jeff Huckaby Fri, 17 Aug 2007 20:26:38 +0000 http://blog.theplanet.com/2007/08/17/to-cert-or-not-to-cert-%e2%80%a6/#comment-1597 Certifications are useful if applying to a highly sought after position. If you think a position has a lot of applicants, certs are an easy way for an employer to triage the applications. However, in my experience hiring people, all a cert means is that someone passed an exam. Also, many of the topics required to pass an RHCE or Linux+ have little bearing on supporting a Plesk, Cpanel or Ensim server. How often do you need to fix samba or X? When we hire people and and get to a certain stage, I often stop the general chit-chat and move to asking very specific technical questions. If the person has the experience they save they have, the answers will will be immediate. If I have to clarify the questions, I don't care what XYZ cert you have. Certifications are useful if applying to a highly sought after position. If you think a position has a lot of applicants, certs are an easy way for an employer to triage the applications. However, in my experience hiring people, all a cert means is that someone passed an exam. Also, many of the topics required to pass an RHCE or Linux+ have little bearing on supporting a Plesk, Cpanel or Ensim server. How often do you need to fix samba or X?

When we hire people and and get to a certain stage, I often stop the general chit-chat and move to asking very specific technical questions. If the person has the experience they save they have, the answers will will be immediate. If I have to clarify the questions, I don’t care what XYZ cert you have.

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