OK... no these are just my personal opinions and they are not aimed at
anyone directly and they may not apply to everyone...
Getting certified is great. BUT experience is better. If you run out get a
degree, a few certification and expect to be greeted as a <insert field of
expertise here> god.. think again.
I see about 50 resumes a week from people who have done just that. Most of
those who make it through the interview process turn down the offers I make
them because they were under the impression that a college degree guaranteed
them $40K year and the certifications added another $7K - $10K.
My company stays fairly competitive with the market and we start people of
at around $20 - $30K. Sometime we go higher but it is usually due to the
cost-of-living where the position is rather than the prospects credentials.
On the other hand, if someone with no degree and no certifications but with
5 years experience as a field engineer for some large network sent his
resume in, I would offer that person $35K - $60K. If they had certifications
but no degree I could add $7K to $30K (depending on certification).
A technology (CIS/MIS) degree is almost meaningless to a technical career.
(They may still apply to management / marketing/ etc)
Here is why. The technical level of this industry doubles every 18 to 24
months (and is accelerating). This means that 90% of all technology is
replaced within 6 years of it premiering on the market. The "spin up" time
for new technology is 12 months (3 to 6 of it being pre-release). Most
(75%+) of a technology's implementation is done between 6 and 24 months
after it's release. Now to the college it takes about a year to develop a
course, another year to have it approved and worked into a degree program.
Then only the students starting that program are affected by the change as
course requirements for a degree are set when you start a program. So 2
years to develop the course and insert it into the program and then 4 years
for the students to graduate with the degree equals 6 years. By which time
90% of the technology has been replaced and the industry has moved 3 to 4
leaps ahead of it.
+++++++++++++++++++
A Note on experience vs. certification...
I recently sat down with my co-workers and we discussed what changes we
would like to see in different certification programs. The over all deciding
vote was for experience to be tested by the certification. Similar to the
lab for the CCIE. Now we realized this was a little hard to do, but one
young bright and complete uncertified woman made the following suggestion...
Have a minimum amount of time between certifications, and toughen the tests.
For the Cisco program she roughly drew out the following....
Obtaining a CCNA / CCDA marks your start of the program.
There is no time limit between the CCNA & CCDA.
You must wait 6 months before being allowed to start testing for your CCNP /
CCDP.
There is a 3 month wait after obtaining the CCNP or CCDP before you can test
for the other one.
Then you must wait 12 months after obtaining your first CC_P before being
allowed to test for the CCIE.
This guarantees you have been working towards your CC_P for atleast a year
(hopefully working in the industry during that time), and towards your CCIE
for atleast 2 years.
I personally like the idea.
I hate "paper MCSEs" and I think we are beginning to see "paper CCNPs" which
just devalues the certification.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Back to degrees...
I have noticed that several colleges are finally recognizing certifications
tests.
Regents College (www.regents.edu) accepts most Microsoft stuff.
I was just wondering if anyone had heard if/when Cisco was going to join one
of these programs.
(Yes, I know what I said earlier. But there is nothing wrong with having a
degree, they just don't hold as much weight in this field as they might in
others. Besides it is a personal goal.)
Eric Thompson
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