It is that TIME again.

[bjjones37]

Time to prep for another round of certification exams.  Have to get the Windows 2003 MCSE certification out of the way.  NT4 was not that bad.  2000 took some serious work.  2003 looks very similar to 2000 but I am sure it has some surprises in store for me.  If I want to stay in the ranks of the employed, I gotta do it.

[dbalaski]

Man -- good luck ..  And wait until they comeout with Project Longhorn -- that is going to really change the map.

Management always tries to get me to do that with Oracle ..
Personally, I hate those certifications.   I've interviewed so many DBAs who passed the Oracle certification who are soooo bad, well let me put it this way:  I would rather have these Certified People manage my competition's databases rather than my own.

I can see the need for certifications -- but the value placed on them is way too much.  Especially that people tend to value them more than my Masters in CS and my 10 Years of being a DBA.    :pissed:

darryl dB

[adz]

Personally, I hate those certifications. I've interviewed so many DBAs who passed the Oracle certification who are soooo bad, well let me put it this way: I would rather have these Certified People manage my competition's databases rather than my own.

Tell me about it, I have interviewed and come into contact with that many people with "certifications" who clearly don't have a clue as to how it works in real life. Something that I've noticed though, is that employers are starting to take more notice of a persons experience and references than their certifications.

[vpcs]

Well in life there are two types of techs.
1) The Papter tech..The one who knows all the answers from the book.
2) The real tech...The one who has learned from experience something that can not be learned from a book...

[dbalaski]

Well in life there are two types of techs.
1) The Papter tech..The one who knows all the answers from the book.
2) The real tech...The one who has learned from experience something that can not be learned from a book...

And the ones with that are in the gray: the ones in somewhere in between  --  I lean towards those who have been through the school of hard knocks.

[bjjones37]

Personally I would fall in the gray category myself.  I originally had to learn networking in order to keep my job as an instructor.  I had to get my NT4 MCSE, my W2000 MCSE and MCT, Novell 5.0 CNE and CNI, A+, Network+, and CCNA.  I have taught these subjects for going on 5 to 9 years now.  I actually built a 5 station network at home where I loaded all of the network applications so I could get hands on.  If I saw something in the books I could not visualize, I would jump on the network.  Now, no employer will touch me because I 'only' taught networking. They do not seem to think I can do the job.  I have installed multiple networks, troubleshot networks, done multiplatform networking.  But I am 'just' a teacher.  I even have a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems.  But they still cannot see me as a Network Engineer.  So it appears that my next job must be that of - you guessed it - a teacher.

[dbalaski]

Ouch --

One of the certifications I have is: OS/2 LanServer Admin/Engineer

I actually get a lot of use out of that certificate -- my gerbal uses it as a room divider in his cage.

Aside from the other reasons, that why I fight it soo much ..  
Lets see which they value more:
My Degrees from accredited Universities (MsCS and 3 undergrads)
or
certification from a For Profit Company.

hmmm  -- they always go for the "offical certification"  from the for profit company  (guess they can relate to the profit thing hahahaha)

oh well -- i'm going back and looking for where it is written "Life should be Fair"  

[dbalaski]

Now, no employer will touch me because I 'only' taught networking. They do not seem to think I can do the job. I have installed multiple networks, troubleshot networks, done multiplatform networking. But I am 'just' a teacher. I even have a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems. But they still cannot see me as a Network Engineer. So it appears that my next job must be that of - you guessed it - a teacher.

So,  your telling us that in the area you live:
Those who teach cannot actually do the job;
ergo  Those who can't do the job, should teach others how to do the job.

LMAO

The same kinda happened to me once.  While in university, i worked for a company that took care of municpal IT. It was a great little job, 2nd shift -- paid the bills while I went to school during the day.
The city decided to drop the company and do it internally.  So I re-applied for the  my Job.   I was rejected as not meeting qualifications -- cause I did not have a certificate from Computer Processing Institute  (one of those psuedo-non-credited vocation training places.)
I was 1/2 thru getting dual EE/CS degree at the time from a real college -- and was doing the job already for the past year!

Now here is the kicker:   The city hired me temporarily for 8 more weeks to train my replacement!   No Kidding.

Again, the axiom applied:  Those who aren't qualified will teach.  

[bjjones37]

dbalaski wrote:

Now here is the kicker:   The city hired me temporarily for 8 more weeks to train my replacement!   No Kidding.

 :lol:
That is sooooooo outrageous.

Personally I'll take 'mercy' over 'fair' any day of the week.
 :-)

[adz]

@bjjones37

Migrate to Australia, a person with that set of qualifications would find a job in no time, circa AU$80K+ p/a easy.

[bjjones37]

adz wrote:
@bjjones37

Migrate to Australia, a person with that set of qualifications would find a job in no time, circa AU$80K+ p/a easy.

Thanks for the invite, but despite the amazing array of wildlife you have over there, I rather like the US.  I'll find something.  I do have a little piece of Australia over here though - a couple of sugar gliders that I absolutely adore. (Even though Tess does nip occasionally.)  :-)