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When you see a resume that proclaims the job candidate
is "certified" in some skill, what is
your first impression? Is it that this person has
been well-schooled on a certain subject and has
been recognized for his abilities? You bet your
bippie it is!
Now Uncertified Dave would have you believe that
certifications mean absolutely nothing. That they're
just window dressing a person uses to bilk more
money out of his/her employer.
Untrue, my friends. To me that certification means
that this person has taken the time to master a
particular subject and has the credentials to prove
it. He/she has gone the extra mile to learn all
there is to know to become an authority in a particular
area.
When you look for a mechanic to work on your car,
do you check to see if he's certified to do the
job? Of course you do.
The same goes for so-called experts in Windows,
networking, A+ or any other facet of computerdom.
Those letters after their names (MCSE, A+, CNE)
tell me that they can do the job, and do it well,
because they've taken the time to learn about their
skills and have passed exams to prove it!
Now, granted I -- or even Dave -- may know more
about making systems or PCs do what we want them
to do through practical experience. But let's face
it, Corporate America feels a lot better if Microsoft
or Novell tells them we can do the job by allowing
us to add a few letters after our names.
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MCSE, A+, CNE -- they all have one thing in common:
They're worthless.
Now, while many of you probably think I just rant
all the time, you're right. I am an angry little
man and this topic angers me the most.
What good is a certification if you don't know your
a$$ from your elbow? Well, it's good if you want
to land a job or if you want to make more money.
It's no longer about what you know, it's a matter
of what certifications you have.
I feel there should be more value placed on real
world experience instead of silly certifications.
I've met and worked with plenty of certified engineers
to know that a good portion of them aren't that
bright. A lot of them are just book smart. They
look at past exams available on the Internet or
they buy books geared toward these exams, study
up and then pass the test. It's all about money
for companies offering these certs and it's a get
rich over time scheme for the person getting the
letters added onto their titles.
Am I bitter because I don't have a certification?
I don't think so. It's not worth my time to get
a certification if I'm not looking for another job.
I'd rather concentrate on what's important: Doing
my job and doing it well. If I need to know the
internals of a particular Windows 2000 component,
I shouldn't be forced to memorize it for test time.
A real administrator would look it up using available
resources and ultimately solve it. That's how you
learn and how you grow.
Now you've probably already read Mike's view on
this because he's over there on the left, but it's
not worth reading. I'm right. RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT
RIGHT RIGHT! And he's WRONG.
For all you MCSEs out there, I have two words for
you -- CERTIFY THIS!
-- Frustrated Uncertified Senior
Systems Administrator
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