On Thu, Mar 8, 2012 at 3:32 AM, Mike <mik...@colossus.bilow.com> wrote: > A friend of mine is looking for a career change and asks what sort of > vendor independent certifications (that is, not another college degree) > would help them get in the door in programming, web design, or system > administration? She is not mainly asking about actual education, but > rather how to prove knowledge in such a way that would convince ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> prospective employers. As far as programming or web design goes, I don't put much stock in any kind of certification. I'd be far less likely to want to hire someone based on a certificate than I would be based on demonstrable experience. Also, "knowledge" is fleeting: stuff that I knew 5, 10, or 15 years ago is useless today. Better to be able to prove that you're smart and capable of learning things quickly. Build something worth showing off and point to the code on github, or to a site(s) you've built, as your portfolio. I was at a Boston Python meetup[1] a few weeks ago, and Michael Trosen[2] of Lab305[3] talked about how he can't find python/django people to work for his company. I've heard similar pleas from other people in similar situations. Jesse Noller talked about how he'd love to have volunteers to work on PSF projects; PyPi, for example only has two people working on it. Solve some of the problems there, people in the community will recognize your name, and you have your foot in the door for jobs. Spend six months learning django and related technologies, contribute a patch or five[4] to django core and you will make connections with people who will want to hire you. Go to meetups; the Boston Python Meetup has a large, active membership -- meet people, learn stuff, eat pizza, find work. (There's always someone hiring when you go to a meeting.) Build a portfolio by offering to build small websites -- preferably with some kind of interactivity -- for a few nonprofits. Get feedback from people who know their stuff; your first few sites will suck. Depending on your taste, you can s/python/ruby/g and s/django/rails/g, or whatever else suits you. [1]: http://meetup.bostonpython.com/events/48542762/ -- if you follow the link to ustream.tv and poke around a bit you may be able to find the video [2]: http://www.lab305.com/ [3]: http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltrosen [4]: http://openhatch.org/ will help you learn how to contribute _______________________________________________ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/