FWIW, I agree with Selena.
Tim.
On Thu, Aug 16, 2001 at 03:34:41PM +0800, Selena Sol wrote:
> >> What about some sort of Perl Certification. I feel that if people
> seeking
> >> computer skills found a certifacation to work towards it would help.
>
> > I feel that if people work toward a certification, they often end up
> > having a very limited skill set in the given technology.
>
> But it could be a very good place to "start" depending on your
> socio-economic position or the infrastructure of the country (outside of the
> US) in which you live.
>
> > Certification has no inherent value, as we all agree. Some employers
> > may like to have it, but these are the same employers who want to
> > standardize the entire office on Microsoft products.
>
> Hmmm, there is an inherent value if some companies like it regardless of
> whether the majority of the 'current' perl community respects those
> companies or not. There can also be value in standardizing on Microsoft.
> For example, in my opinion, an SME with a staff of 8 (none of them techies)
> SHOULD use Windows.
>
> Mostly, I am concerned that we as advocates are actually turning away
> perfectly good converts just because we consider them losers? I would like
> us to maintain respect for all people whether we agree with them or not.
> Try to remember that there is more in heaven and earth that are dreamt of in
> your philosophy, Chris. Business is not simply technical. Business
> decisions should not be based solely on technical issues. AND there are
> really, really, really cool and smart people in the COM and Java camps who
> are just as good, or better, than all of us on this list.
>
> > Maybe it creates
> > an incentive for some people to learn more, but I would rather work with
> > people who create their own incentive, instead of a requiring an
> > illusory one.
>
> Well, not to get too Buddhist but....all incentives are illusory.
>
> > If someone is not interested in Perl, they won't learn it
> > just because there is a certification to be had; if they do, I don't
> > want anything to do with them in regard to Perl. Conversely, if someone
> > is interested in Perl but won't try to learn it just because there is no
> > certification to be had, then why should we spend much of our time on
> > them?
>
> But certification 'can' offer businesses one way to filter 1000 resumes that
> come in after a job placement ad assuming that they can have a sense for the
> validity of the certification agency (just like digital certificates). It
> might even give businesses the extra security they need to consider
> developing their perl side.
>
