The only think certs are good for is getting you into the door... they're essential for getting your resume looked at, and I think we all agree on that part, so they're needed just for that piece...
Yah, I have a few....I also have over 20 year experience to back them up... But, I was basically forced to get them due to management demanding all senior folks to have the certs (not just in my present company!)... which was cool to get them, all expense paid "vacations" to some sunny place to take an exam? Yah sign me up for that for a week! :-) So there you go, Certs are useful for two things.... to keep your resume out of the trash before someone see it, and paid vacations to sunny and fun locations to take an exam :-) Notice I didn't state that they're useful for anything remotely close to what they're *supposed* to be useful for.... 'cuz they're not... Michael P. Blanchard Senior Security Engineer, CISSP, GCIH, CCSA-NGX, MCSE Office of Information Security & Risk Management EMC ² Corporation 32 Coslin Drive Southboro, MA 01772 -----Original Message----- From: funsec-boun...@linuxbox.org [mailto:funsec-boun...@linuxbox.org] On Behalf Of John Bambenek Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2012 10:39 AM To: funsec@linuxbox.org Subject: Re: [funsec] "Skills gap"? Oh, some people try to write a good test and we can have a nice discussion about psychometrics and the lot, but at the end, we haven't even figured out K-12 testing. It's a hard problem with no solution. In our field, we need to be able to DO things, not be able to recite knowledge. And testing the ability to DO things in an objective way can be kinda hard. So, until then, resume your regularly scheduled hoop jumping and ransom-pay for your CISSP certs ;) On 11/29/12 7:31 AM, Rich Kulawiec wrote: > On Sat, Nov 24, 2012 at 09:24:29PM -0600, John Bambenek wrote: >> That said, I've been helping write/audit SANS certifications for >> awhile. I'm simply ineligible to take them (for what should be >> obvious reasons). I got real tired of submitting resumes and being >> told I need a GSEC/GCIH/et al. I'd respond with I wrote part of the >> question bank and some HR bean counter just didn't get it and >> insisted I needed the paper. I ended up taking the CISSP cold one >> weekend just to have something and even then I got tired of paying >> the annual ransom for letters that meant nothing. > Certifications are, in theory, a good idea. > > Certifications are, in practice, crap. > > Which isn't surprising really, if one takes Deep Throat's advice and > follows the money. It rapidly becomes obvious that certification programs > are designed to maximize revenue, not to promote and/or measure expertise. > (Even those that start out with the latter goal and the best of intentions > inevitably gravitate to the former.) > > This is a problem particularly in the security arena because, as you > astutely point out, HR bean counters look for them and resumes without > are routinely roundfiled -- never mind that the senders of those resumes > could *easily* be the most qualified applicants by a wide margin. They > have become a shortcut for the technically illiterate and the impatient, > and unfortunately they're a shortcut that doesn't work. > > I don't have any (viable) idea how to fix this. > > ---rsk > _______________________________________________ > Fun and Misc security discussion for OT posts. > https://linuxbox.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/funsec > Note: funsec is a public and open mailing list. _______________________________________________ Fun and Misc security discussion for OT posts. https://linuxbox.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/funsec Note: funsec is a public and open mailing list. _______________________________________________ Fun and Misc security discussion for OT posts. https://linuxbox.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/funsec Note: funsec is a public and open mailing list.
