IT Certification

[CertifiedMan]

Hi!
I'm new to this forum! Wondering what certifications everyone has?

[happygeek]

I'm certified insane... Is that what you meant? ;)

[Rashakil Fol]

None.

[jwenting]

once you get into the real world, certifications are pretty much useless as professionals generally understand that most people holding them didn't study to understand the subject matter but merely crammed to pass the exam.

[stevanity]

once you get into the real world, certifications are pretty much useless as professionals generally understand that most people holding them didn't study to understand the subject matter but merely crammed to pass the exam.

Well, Im a college junior. IF I get a certification, say OCJP, now will it be useful when I apply for a job for the first time?

[Rashakil Fol]

Well, Im a college junior. IF I get a certification, say OCJP, now will it be useful when I apply for a job for the first time?

Oracle Certified Java Programmer? Useless. If anything it would count against you. What's much more useful is writing some fun code and putting it up on the web, on your personal website or on a Github account (or Bitbucket, whatever), and mention these things in a section of your resume. I think putting it on a personal website is better, since a lot of candidates have "github accounts" that just contain projects they've forked with very few personal contributions.

[stevanity]

I see. So you want me to contribute atleast some lines of code to the open source projects at github or sourceforge and mention that in resume?? Thanks for the advice. Now I can stop thinking about getting myself certified.

[Rashakil Fol]

I see. So you want me to contribute atleast some lines of code to the open source projects at github or sourceforge and mention that in resume?? Thanks for the advice. Now I can stop thinking about getting myself certified.

Actually I'd recommend making your own projects. But that depends on what you'd rather do.

[stevanity]

Thanks!

[Narue]

Oracle Certified Java Programmer? Useless.

Indeed. For that certification all I got was a silly lapel pin. Nobody asks if I'm certified and takes it on faith that I know what the hell I'm doing from previous successful projects.

[jwenting]

you at least got that pin, all I got was a plastic card with the signature of some vp from Sun proclaiming me certifiable.

[stevanity]

Hey I think Im asking a silly qn. What exactly, technically, is doing a project?

I mean I have done a lot of programming... but havent worked on a "PROJECT".

[Rashakil Fol]

It's where you write code that does something.

[stevanity]

Dont understand. Do u have to get your project certified or something? How do people trust that u have done some program??

[ChrisHunter]

"An individual or collaborative enterprise planned and designed to achieve an aim."

Thats the Google definition, so it's the entire process of creating a program including the design implementation and testing.

[Rashakil Fol]

Dont understand. Do u have to get your project certified or something? How do people trust that u have done some program??

If it's on Github, they can see that you have done it.

[Ezzaral]

The infographic looks like useless promotional propaganda to me. Only half of it's visible and I see no source cited.

Are you at all affiliated with that facebook group?

[jwenting]

and maybe in some places (like India, where I know this was or is the case) some employers indeed want certification in the mistaken idea that it says anything at all about a candidate (and for outsourcing firms, because they think having "100% certified staff" still sways any serious customer).

[jammerjoe]

and maybe in some places (like India, where I know this was or is the case) some employers indeed want certification in the mistaken idea that it says anything at all about a candidate (and for outsourcing firms, because they think having "100% certified staff" still sways any serious customer).

Love 'em or hate 'em, certifications are a fact of life. You can argue them on both sides, but there are still too many white-haired HR managers who scan for "key terms" and those include certifications. Certs can be good or bad...it really depends on the person getting certified and the reasons for doing so. Certs have value. So does experience. So does a degree. Depending on who you are, what your goals are and what you want to do in iT, you'll need some combination of the three. According to CompTIA, Lenova, Richoh and Dell among others require their techs to be certified. The military has a huge push for certification through their DoD 8570 regs, and there is a lot of trickle down to government contractors and state and local government IT.

So certs aren't useless. Kinda like a pistol...if you have the cert but not the knowledge it's like having a gun but no bullets.

[WaltP]

Love 'em or hate 'em, certifications are a fact of life.

So is gangrene.

Kinda like a pistol...if you have the cert but not the knowledge it's like having a gun but no bullets.

Or, more to the point, like having a gun with bullets, and not understanding what you have. You're going to hurt someone... :icon_twisted:

[stultuske]

well ... certifications are good if your in between projects and don't want a gap on your resume. for a starter, it might help, since (for instance) the OCJP certificate goes in deeper to the Java basics than some college courses do, but in the end, experience beats certificate, it's a bit the rock-scissors-paper story all over.

as for project, as soon as you have an idea like: hey, I would want to write an mp3 player myself, that sounds 'neat', and actually start working on it, you're working on a project. not necessarily the most impressive one, but a project nevertheless.

[jwenting]

well ... certifications are good if your in between projects and don't want a gap on your resume.

not really. Employers expect you to do the study and exams in your spare time, rather than take time off for them.
A few days maybe for a full time course, but no more (and at least here noone's going to ask you day by day what you were doing, so ending one job at the 25th of a month and starting the next on the 1st of the next month is not going to be questioned, and that's more than enough for a 3 or 5 day course.

[stultuske]

I wasn't really talking of a three to five day gap :)
I was more referring to my previous employer, where I was a few weeks 'on the bench' without the company actually having a bench. I don't think me getting certified harmed me more than doing nothing (especially since my employer required it :) ).

[jwenting]

sure, but it won't do as an "excuse" for not being constantly working on production systems when it comes to job interviews, which was your claim.
Not that anyone is going to bother asking you why you weren't permanently on production projects unless maybe the intervals are extreme.

[stultuske]

which was your claim.

not really, but I maybe I didn't express myself clearly.
I could've started earlier on a project earlier, but my employer decided against, because it would have been just a one month extension, while a few weeks later I would be able to start for a long term contract. they decided for the latter and have me "make myself useful" by getting certified.

I didn't have a say in where to work, didn't even know all the offers that were on the table. Since I was at home for a period of time, getting certified could be pointed out as "still being occupied with the material" even though not in the most productive way.

and you're right, working on a project would have been better, hence a phrase I've uttered a few times before: experience beats certificate :)

[demon dragon]

I certified as a Web Developer but it took little time to complete my course.

[JaredG Ballweg]

Hi!!
I am MCITP(microsoft certified information technology professional)
:)

[jbennet]

Im working on a CCNA.
And im nearly finished by BSc (Degree) in Applied Computing.

[jbennet]

And yes, I agree with Rashkil and Narue. Virtually every job interview ive been to wanted to see my GitHub or some client site i had made/ some code on my laptop.