On 2009-08-22 02:14, Sami Juvonen wrote: > I don't really understand this kind of open hostility to certifications > in general. I've been on the interviewing side as well, and seen my > share of bullshit artists - some with certs, most without. Granted there > are useless certifications out there, but the better ones actually do > measure specific skills. Obviously, they are no guarantee that the > candidate can do the job, no matter how much the certification > authorities and the candidates would like it to be so (and I've seen sob > stories how somebody paid 10K for MCSE training and now is devastated > that he can't get a job). But they are not useless.
It's not that the certificate itself is a lowering factor, but if the candidate is so inexperienced as to believe that their certification demonstrates a significant level of expertise (which many certificate holders do in the resumes I've worked on), then that in and of itself can demonstrate a lack of understanding of the subject matter. As an example (I've seen others firsthand, but this one I saw more completely than most), I had some experience when working with a Sun certified SA. I saw the resume. It looked good. But the person flagged Sun certified as a major item, not a minor one. I didn't know much about that certification at the time, so I didn't raise it as a red flag. The person was hired, and then proved to not have an understanding of basic concepts. They knew some of the Sun specific commands and file formats, but they didn't know how or when to use them. I think others may have a similar issue. It isn't the certificate itself that is bad, but the impression of many holders of those certifications that it implies far greater skill than they actually have. -- "The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue." Edward R Murrow (1964) Mark McCullough [email protected] _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
