Re: Certification
on Fri, Feb 14, 2003 at 11:04:33AM -0500, Mike M (linux-support@earthlink.net) wrote:
> Certification is for PHBs only. Right? Is there any evidence other than
> marketing blather that certification is a worthwhile endeavor?
Here's a slightly pragmatic take on this. Note that I'm not certified
(well, not in any technical skill, anyhow).
Several people have noted that when hiring they've seen hundreds of
resumes, many for simply unqualified candidates, even in the current
economy. Friend of mine at Google reports same. Still. Currently.
The job of the HR department and/or the coporate recruiter is to
eliminate resumes. If they're worth their salt, they're lopping off the
bad ones. Most of 'em do a half-decent job of it. Which is to say, not
great, but you really *can* cut a lot of chaff just by eliminating
spelling errors and grossly mistargeted resumes.
For these people, a certification is simply a decisionmaking tool. List
cert foo as a requirement. Cert foo is listed, resume goes in pile "A".
Not listed? Roundfiled.
Fair? Is life?
Lose some good talent? Yes, but with 500 resumes for a single ad,
that's not going to hurt.
So what's the deal with certs? Depends on the cert.
One issue that few people focus on is the fact that vendor certs are
very often a massive marketing tool. So Novel's CNA, Cisco CCNA,
Microsoft MCSE, Red Hat RHCE -- don't think for a second that the
certification isn't there in large part so that *you* will go out and
sell *their* product. For technologies with large existing skilled
bases, certs can generate significant pushback largely because of the
vendor-centricity of them. One of my sidelines, SAS programming, is
such a community that's resisted certification for most of the past
decade.
That said, what a _good_ certification program shows is that the
certified individual:
- Has demonstrated a minimum level of competence indicated by the
certification.
- Has demonstrated sufficient interest and committment to a career to
invest in the time and financial cost of training and certification.
While these of themselves don't assure a qualified candidate, _for a
well-designed cert program_ they can be a positive indicator.
Cisco's CCNA is highly regarded, and I even know some current MSFT
certified types who assure me that the current set of certificates *do*
require practical competence and demonstrated skill (he's also an
incredible Debian shill for whom I take some responsibility....).
There *are* good, vendor-neutral, certification programs. LPI is
probably the most significant GNU/Linux certs. SAGE (the System
Administrator's Guild (http://www.sage.org/) is another option which is
independent of platform -- Unix, GNU/Linux, VMS, what have you.
My own take on certification: It *can* be a useful tool but has been
abused, leading to distrust on both sides (neither hiring managers nor
tech workers like 'em). A solid, respected, and well-known
vendor-neutral cert would probably be useful. So are a publication
history, a solid Web / Usenet footprint, good references, and a personal
recommendation for a position.
Of my past four positions:
- One was through a body shop I'd worked with for several years.
- One was through a personal introduction to the CEO at a Slashdot
party. That turned into a dot-bomb....
- One was through a personal referral through a relative of a current
employee, relative having known me for some years online and in
person.
- One (most recent) was a response to an online position posting, with
a tailored resume, considered followup email, and in which my online
profile, publications, and existing code (including tools which are
of specific interest to the firm) played a very strong role. My
meeting with the CEO started with the phrase "So, you hate Flash".
Message: we've looked at you (ergo: we've taken you seriously),
you're not shy with your opinions, and since you're talking to me
now, after a technical interview, that's probably a good thing in
this culture. And it isn't a web-design shop ;-)
Lesson to job seekers: present credible evidence of your person and
skills. Could be a cert, a project you've worked on, documentation or
writings you've made, a friend who can give a good word for you at a
prospect, your own ability to present yourself well in person. Yes, the
current US job market is tight, but there are jobs, and some of them are
going to qualified candidates. The others will be open again soon
enough ;-)
Peace.
--
Karsten M. Self <kmself@ix.netcom.com> http://kmself.home.netcom.com/
What Part of "Gestalt" don't you understand?
Hollings: bought, paid for, but couldn't deliver the CBDTPA:
http://www.politechbot.com/docs/cbdtpa/hollings.s2048.032102.html
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