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IT Certifications Summary
A reader writes: "Icrontic.com has a new article up called 'All You Need To know About IT Certifications.' It talks about several of the major Microsoft certifications, and of course, a few of the Linux certs, including Linux+ and RHCE. "
Before you start "flame throwing", this is just a question!!! Some years back I obtained Macintosh Certification and PowerBook Certification. Since then I have went on to A+ and MCP. Not much but it does help. I was wondering, does Apple Computer still offer this certification? Is it even worth putting it on my resume'? By the way, I give up on MS certs. and am switching to Linux!! I am tired of have to start practically from scratch with MS every 2 years! And, as far as Cisco Certs go, I know some MORONS who have passed the CCNA!! Besides, I hear that is even a Network + Cert. is looked at by employers as better than a CCNA. Oh well, we all know what these papers are anyway; a foot in the door, maybe.
Why not do both? If you have some free time,go to your public library and get one of those exam guides and cram your ass off and then go take the test. If you test well, which most computer geeks do, then the tests are actually pretty easy.
_I_ wouldn't hire someone just because they had a cert, but the typical logic is like this: Say you have two exact candidates, but one has certification and one doesn't. Which one would you pick? Now, in the real world it probably matters a whole lot more if you have a personality or a lack of body odor when you want to get a job. but having a cert. isn't a hindrance, and not having a cert. can make you _appear_ less qualified. The truth, however, is that there is NO SUBSTITUTE for hands-on experience. If you wanna learn how to build a computer, take yours apart and put it back together again, don't read some silly book about it.
I took over my at job from an MCSE, and let me tell you the guy obviuosly didn't know the first thing about how to run a Windows network. I am not an MCSE, and I don't really want to be, but while I was out of work I got some MS certs to keep my skillz. (By the way, Skillz in Windows means notepad.exe, regedt32, and Windows-E to open up Explorer. And the LMHOSTS file, if you dare.)
By the way, homeschooling is a nice idea for little kids, but you should try going to a normal high school like the rest of us did. Sure the education sucks, but the whole point of high school is skipping class, learning how to meet girls, and smoking pot. It's not like you'll ever use that class in Ancient and Medieval History once you're a grown-up. Tell your parents that Slashdot told you to go to the public school or you might not ever get laid until you are 30, and then you will marry her because you are so grateful, just like CmdrTaco.
(I only wrote that last part because you set up some unix servers for your friends. methinks they are not girls. by the way if you're gay then get a mac because that is the gay computer of choice.)
Poor kid. Hope you're reading at -1 because that's where this comment is gonna end up.
This one's easily answered. This "article" really isn't an article -- unless I'm seriously missing something, it's an ad for their own cert programs. Since they don't offer Oracle certs, they put them way at the end in the "other" category. This is pure ad copy.
The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
Does anyone here on Slashdot hold a particular opinion of Sun's Java developer certification exams? I'm only 18, and it's a very old story: it's hard to get job experience without already having experience. I'm interested in knowing whether those tests would be worthwhile if I wanted to break into the Java programming racket.
Well, of course, I picked both. I'm running Apache on Windows 2000 Pro right now, and IIS also comes as an optional add-on.
Windows 2000 pro is limited to 10 incoming TCP/IP connections, so is hardly suitable for a public web server. This is a limitation (albeit artificial) of the operating system, and not of any web server that it may be running.
There are perhaps a few thousand people in the world who can credibly claim to be expert in the disciplines of computer security.
Almost nobody in the latter category is a member of the former.
Security certification is a bad idea.
I found it rough as well to find employment after I graduated from college. Neary every employer that I talked with either over the phone or during an interview did not want me because I lacked experience (biggest joke I heard) or was lacking in what they percieved as "knowledge of the industry."
This is not meant to be a flame, but if your attitude during interviews is at all similar to that of your post, I wouldn't hire you either.
You seem to view the interviewer as the 'Boss' in a computer game: an enemy standing for you and advancement to the next level. Instead, why not look at the interviewer as a resource? After all they're working in an industry, or for a company. you're interested in getting into. They know about the internal workings of the company, and what jobs might be available and what qualifications they require. Take advantage of your time with them by asking THEM questions. If the interviewer's non-tech, ask them about the company, everything from what they're like to work for, to who they're biggest clients and competiors are. If they're IT management, ask them about the project or issue the department's most focused on now, and expects to be focused on in the future. At best it'll give you a great opening, ("You're having problems with database speed? What a coincidence! My senior project was optimizing the university database and I increased its speed by X%."), and at worst you'll have scored some brownie points (what techie doesn't like to talk about they're latest project/problem?) and learned a little more about what's going on in the inside.
If it seems clear you're not going to get the job, don't stop there. Ask for their advice. Are there any other jobs they know of that might be more appropriate for you? What would they suggest you do to improve your chances of finding the kind of job you're looking for?
You're accomplishing a number of things by taking this attitude. First you're making the interviewer like you more. You're taking them out of the adverserial roles too many interviewees put them in, you're taking an interest in what they have to say and treating the with respect. All of that makes them feel good, and though it shouldn't, that does influence who they finally recommend. Second, you get a chance to show them that there's more to you than what's on your resume. Third, you're showing initiative, interest, and ambition, all good things in a prospective employee. Finally, even if you don't get this job, you've improved your chances of getting the next job or the one after that. By the thirtieth interview, when you're intelligently discussing the industry with an insider's knowledge gleaned from the 29 previous interviews, nobody's going to be too worried about you lack of knowledge of the industry anymore.