Sunday
Mar232003
Certifications
March 23, 2003
IT certifications do serve a purpose, and I will most likely continue earning industry certifications throughout my IT career.
Mike Golding had a post on Notestips.com almost a year ago posing questions about the value of certifications. There have been a number of comments to the post over the months, and it's a good read.
In my case, I'm a PCLP in R4,5,6 and an MCP (VB 6), have done some of the Oracle Developer tests, and will be taking the Sun Java Programmer test in a few weeks. I definitely agree that the Lotus tests have typically been easier than those from other vendors, although some of that perception could be because I live in the Notes/Domino world; forays into the Microsoft (VB) and Oracle stuff are definitely less frequent.
In the case of Java, I've been writing Java agents in Notes for a few years. That might sound good, but it's too easy to simply take what one might have done in LotusScript and simply 'Java-ize' it, without really taking the time to address the task at hand in a more object-oriented way (Bruce Eckel's "Thinking In Java" - free download or available in hardcopy - is an excellent intro to the OO/Java world). And now, of course, with the merging of Notes/Domino into the WebSphere world, the opportunities of Sametime, QuickPlace, XML in the Domino world, etc., etc., ......it will behoove us each more and more to know real Java, not just Java within the Domino IDE. But I digress.
What I find when studying for these tests is that while I might be fairly familiar with various features of the given technology, there are invariably holes in my knowledge and skills, and learning what's needed for certification helps fill in those holes. For me, the certification tests have fit well into a scheme of continually learning more. By scheduling a test, then taking time each day studying for that test, I find that I learn more than I would if I were using a less organized approach. Without the target of passing a test, I tend to be more scattered, since there are so many interesting things to learn.
Now as for the value of certifications when seeking a job, I think that varies quite a bit. Each company where I've worked has valued certifications, but none has required it. I have seen job postings from some companies, however, listing particular certifications as required. Maybe that would only be smaller companies that did not have anyone available to assess a resume and drive a technical interview? As many have stated, there are many out there with 'paper' certs, and no real experience.
The bottom line is that I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment each time I pass a test, I know that while the amount learned for each certification may vary, I do gain valuable knowledge with each cert, and, having been through a layoff in 2001 and subsequent job hunt (fortunately, it was a short hunt), I figure anything that helps ensure my marketability is a good thing.
Mike Golding had a post on Notestips.com almost a year ago posing questions about the value of certifications. There have been a number of comments to the post over the months, and it's a good read.
In my case, I'm a PCLP in R4,5,6 and an MCP (VB 6), have done some of the Oracle Developer tests, and will be taking the Sun Java Programmer test in a few weeks. I definitely agree that the Lotus tests have typically been easier than those from other vendors, although some of that perception could be because I live in the Notes/Domino world; forays into the Microsoft (VB) and Oracle stuff are definitely less frequent.
In the case of Java, I've been writing Java agents in Notes for a few years. That might sound good, but it's too easy to simply take what one might have done in LotusScript and simply 'Java-ize' it, without really taking the time to address the task at hand in a more object-oriented way (Bruce Eckel's "Thinking In Java" - free download or available in hardcopy - is an excellent intro to the OO/Java world). And now, of course, with the merging of Notes/Domino into the WebSphere world, the opportunities of Sametime, QuickPlace, XML in the Domino world, etc., etc., ......it will behoove us each more and more to know real Java, not just Java within the Domino IDE. But I digress.
What I find when studying for these tests is that while I might be fairly familiar with various features of the given technology, there are invariably holes in my knowledge and skills, and learning what's needed for certification helps fill in those holes. For me, the certification tests have fit well into a scheme of continually learning more. By scheduling a test, then taking time each day studying for that test, I find that I learn more than I would if I were using a less organized approach. Without the target of passing a test, I tend to be more scattered, since there are so many interesting things to learn.
Now as for the value of certifications when seeking a job, I think that varies quite a bit. Each company where I've worked has valued certifications, but none has required it. I have seen job postings from some companies, however, listing particular certifications as required. Maybe that would only be smaller companies that did not have anyone available to assess a resume and drive a technical interview? As many have stated, there are many out there with 'paper' certs, and no real experience.
The bottom line is that I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment each time I pass a test, I know that while the amount learned for each certification may vary, I do gain valuable knowledge with each cert, and, having been through a layoff in 2001 and subsequent job hunt (fortunately, it was a short hunt), I figure anything that helps ensure my marketability is a good thing.
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