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Certification or Not

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Join Date: Jan 2005

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reezin14

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Certification or Not

Apr 12th, 2005

I was thinking about the subject of certification and was wondering if it is worth the time and effort and do employers really look at certification?

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Join Date: Apr 2005

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nicentral

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Re: Certification or Not

Apr 12th, 2005

Certifications will definitely bolster your CV. However, do not get certified until you really do know the material in the books. I've worked with MANY certified techs that don't know their a$$ from anything. It used to be VERY easy to become text book MCSE etc, but the tests have gotten a lot harder, especially for the Cisco certs. Really, a certification should do exactly what the word says, certify what you know, not what you just memorized some answers for. You should have working knowledge of your certification.

Andy

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reezin14

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Re: Certification or Not

Apr 12th, 2005

Thanks for the advice Nicentral I will take it into concideration and when I'm sure that I know what the hell I'm doing I will proceed in taking the test.

Thanks again

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Join Date: Apr 2005

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ShaneMcP

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Re: Certification or Not

Nov 1st, 2005

Would you agree though that there are some questions on the exams that are unneccesary? I know people that have years of experience with computers that would stumble on some questions on the A+. There are some questions that, if you did not prepare for them, would cause even an IT guru to stumble. Cisco certs have some really ridiculous questions on them. In my CCNA class only 10% of the students passed the CCNA exam, even though the average grade on the quizes were in the lower a upper b range. I agree that people should not just memorize potential questions and take the test, but even experienced IT people may need to to some degree. Unfortunatly I have met both types. I once knew an A+ certified tech that didnt know there was a battery on a motherboard *sigh*.

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Join Date: Oct 2005

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pty

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Re: Certification or Not

Nov 2nd, 2005

if nothing else a certification will help you get your foot in the door. i recently landed a job as a mssql dba; i don't think i'd have been invited to the interview if I hadn't got the certification.

whether you'll actually learn anything useful while taking the courses (i've only ever done 1 mcp in SQL Server Programming so i can't speak for them all) is a seperate issue entirely.

we got free food while on the course though, which made it all worth it

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Join Date: Jun 2005

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tuckinjax

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Re: Certification or Not

Nov 13th, 2005

I've been looking for work for the past 4 months and the experience has been a very mixed bag. At first I didn't have any current certifications (I had a CCNA at one time, but let it lapse) and I thought my experience would get me in the door (I've been in the business for about 12 years). Employers wouldn't even call me for an interview.

Then last month I bit the bullet and took and passed the Network+ exam.

To be honest, a large number of the questions on the exam were dated and the chances of running into the scenarios in the real world are slim (thick-net, thin-net, token-ring, etc.).

But since I got the cert, I've had three calls for interviews and one call-back.

The cert only gets you to the interview. It's up to you to sell yourself and show your skill knowledge during the interview. If you only know enough to pass the test, then it'll show during a good IT interview.

mtc
tuck

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Join Date: Jun 2005

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Lightninghawk Lightninghawk is offline

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Re: Certification or Not

Nov 13th, 2005

Look at it this way. You are more likey to get the job if you have the certification.
There are many companies that offer to pay for your certification, but you are required to study for so long each day while at work and on the clock

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Join Date: Jan 2005

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reezin14

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Re: Certification or Not

Nov 14th, 2005

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Originally Posted by tuckinjax

I've been looking for work for the past 4 months and the experience has been a very mixed bag. At first I didn't have any current certifications (I had a CCNA at one time, but let it lapse) and I thought my experience would get me in the door (I've been in the business for about 12 years). Employers wouldn't even call me for an interview.

Then last month I bit the bullet and took and passed the Network+ exam.

To be honest, a large number of the questions on the exam were dated and the chances of running into the scenarios in the real world are slim (thick-net, thin-net, token-ring, etc.).

But since I got the cert, I've had three calls for interviews and one call-back.

The cert only gets you to the interview. It's up to you to sell yourself and show your skill knowledge during the interview. If you only know enough to pass the test, then it'll show during a good IT interview.

mtc
tuck

Thanks for the info Tuck, I've decided that it would be in my best interest to get certified, just recently got A+ cert software and hardware. And when I'm done with school I go for the the bigger certifications. :cheesy:

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Join Date: Jan 2005

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reezin14

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Re: Certification or Not

Nov 14th, 2005

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Originally Posted by Lightninghawk

Look at it this way. You are more likey to get the job if you have the certification.
There are many companies that offer to pay for your certification, but you are required to study for so long each day while at work and on the clock

This is so true lighting, I work for a cable co that will pay for certain certifications,along with a pay raise I can't see any reason for me not to go for it, just need to find the time between work and school to do all the studying that will give me the wisdom.

Thanks

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Join Date: Jun 2005

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Lightninghawk Lightninghawk is offline

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Posting Whiz in Training

Re: Certification or Not

#10

Nov 14th, 2005

Check out http://actualtests.com --> one of the best and cheapest site available.

$99 gets you access to all test questions and study material for hundreds of Certs