Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 16:35:59 -0500 From: "Mike Avery" <mavery@mail.otherwhen.com> To: Alex Zepeda <garbanzo@hooked.net> Cc: freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: FreeBSD Certification...again Message-ID: <199907122140.QAA23480@hostigos.otherwhen.com> In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.4.05.9907121310280.271-100000@zippy.dyn.ml.org> References: <199907121912.OAA23345@hostigos.otherwhen.com>
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On 12 Jul 99, at 13:11, Alex Zepeda wrote:
> On Mon, 12 Jul 1999, Mike Avery wrote:
> > The certifications in question were the MSCE, Oracle and A+ tests.
> > Overall, whatever their real merits, the MSCE and Oracle certifications
> > do help one get a job. And the A+ helps, but not as much.
> Yes, but aside from publically expressing my disdain that things like
> Tekmetrics exist (and were possibly interested in FreeBSD); I think that
> most certifications are completely bogus.
In the end, Tekmetrics will live or die on their own merits, much like
MindCru^haft. As will the other certifications.
Are they bogus? It depends on your needs, and your expectations.
One very critical issue is... what does it mean to be a
Unix/Linux/FreeBSD/NT/NetWare/WhatEver administrator? It
means different things to different people. Some admins spend
most of their days abusing users. Some spend their days
constructing and re-constructing servers. Some specialize in
communications issues. And on and on and on. So, any test will miss
some areas that you consider essential. Or that I consider essential.
Or both.
As long as well intentioned, capable people have trouble agreeing
what it means to be a network or system manager, they will also
have trouble agreeing on what constitutes a meaningful test.
If I were an employer, I'd view certifications much the same way
that I view college diplomas - as a tangible indication that the person
applying for the job has been able to learn specific skills well enough
to pass specific tests, and that this suggests that they will be able to
learn whatever I need them to know to do the job at hand. I don't
view either a diploma or a certification as an indication that someone
can already do the job.
Mike
======================================================================
Mike Avery MAvery@mail.otherwhen.com
(409)-842-2942 (work)
ICQ: 16241692
* Spam is for lusers who can't get business any other way *
A Randomly Selected Thought For The Day:
Wouldn't it be nice if, just occasionally, I could deal with people
who are far enough up the evolutionary ladder to have opposing thumbs
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