>> Risking tomatoes thrown at me, I'll put my $.02 in here as well. >> >> There are, I believe, three components to successful consulting with >> Asterisk: >> >> 1) Experience. There is no substitute for experience. >> >> 2) Involvement. If you don't know what is going on with the >> project, and you don't know who is doing new things, you will >> inevitably fall behind. >> >> 3) Certification. Getting a dCAP certificate is proof of your >> ability to solve many problems with Asterisk, not just those you've >> seen before. >> >> >> Experience: >> Experience teaches you a set of solutions for particular problems, and >> the process of experience is to move from "not knowing" to "knowing" >> via being presented with a problem that you have to solve via trial- >> and-error. Often these experiences are very deep, meaning that you >> spend a lot of time learning the intricate behaviors and methods of a >> certain set of solution components. This is great, in that it also >> has byproducts of teaching you what does NOT work along the way which >> is just as valuable. There is no substitute for experience. >> >> Involvement >> Being well-versed in Asterisk requires knowing how the project is >> proceeding. Optimally it would involve your contributions back to the >> project in the form of code, documentation, white papers, testing, bug >> work, or anything else that allows other people to benefit from your >> now-growing experiences. The most successful people using Asterisk, >> and the ones who get the big jobs handed to them, are the ones who are >> "community leaders" by virtue of their involvement. >> Knowing what is happening in the Asterisk community also implies >> knowledge of what solutions other people are building in the >> surrounding ecosystem. Who is doing what programs for Windows? Who >> has a decent log parsing tool? What is the best device to use for an >> attendant desk? All of these questions are asked and answered on a >> frequent basis on the mailing lists, IRC channels, and other forums. >> Getting involved gives you relevance, which is REQUIRED to continue in >> a consultancy business if you wish to be successful. >> >> Certification >> Getting a dCAP is 100% a good idea, and I'm not saying that just >> because I work for Digium. :-) The certifications get your foot in >> the door in many companies. Let's look at it this way, as well: as >> the number of Asterisk-capable installation and integration shops >> increases, the number of criteria necessary to compare them against >> each other becomes more important. Just like having a good grade >> point average gets you to the interview step of University >> applications, so might the dCAP certification get you to the next step >> of an evaluation process that allows your experience and community >> involvement to be considered as the next decision factors. >> The dCAP certification gives you a broad range of miniature >> experiences, and the instructor can tell you what does not work. >> Learn from THEIR experience. The classes are not expensive, and they >> are not long, but IMO they provide more than their time/money >> investment in the actual learning that you do. You end up not only >> with the piece of paper, but actual knowledge to go along with it. >> >> Summary: >> If you have a first step you want to take that gives you the most >> return in the shortest amount of time, get the certification. Then >> get involved - write code, author some white papers, put up some >> demonstration dialplans. Experience is the end result of involvement, >> and certification is the first big step you can take and is a bonus >> for those potential customer companies which deem it higher than some >> other things. The combination of these three elements is what will >> win you business. >> >> >> PS: Everyone who thinks they know a lot about Asterisk should talk to >> Jared about a few questions on the dCAP test. There is a lot you >> probably don't know, and that would take you a while to Google the >> answers to. I've talked to a few Asterisk experts who have taken the >> dCAP and they've all been somewhat surprised at how difficult some of >> the test questions were, and what they didn't know. This isn't >> because Asterisk is difficult; it's because Asterisk is a toolkit, and >> some methods of combining tools are not always obvious. >> >> JT >> >> >> --- >> John Todd email:[email protected] >> Digium, Inc. | Asterisk Open Source Community Director >> 445 Jan Davis Drive NW - Huntsville AL 35806 - USA >> direct: +1-256-428-6083 http://www.digium.com/ >> > > I will be getting my FSAP, continue building systems, and stay current > with experience and offerings of open and closed source solutions. > > Thanks, > Steve T >
Sorry meant FSCAP. -- Thanks, Steve Totaro +18887771888 (Toll Free) +12409381212 (Cell) +12024369784 (Skype) _______________________________________________ --Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com-- asterisk-biz mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-biz
