Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2002 15:40:48 -0700 From: Terry Lambert <tlambert2@mindspring.com> To: Eric Anderson <anderson@centtech.com> Cc: Samuel Chow <cyschow@shaw.ca>, "Kevin Kinsey, DaleCo, S.P." <kdk@daleco.biz>, freebsd-chat@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Low impact, high value training? (wish me luck!!) Message-ID: <3D13AB70.D3B280D2@mindspring.com> References: <00b901c218e1$6229a5c0$ceec910c@daleco> <3D131EFE.A5682C37@centtech.com> <016b01c2193b$290a4920$2784412f@ca.nortel.com> <3D134BE7.F88700B4@centtech.com>
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Eric Anderson wrote: > Samuel Chow wrote: > > Unfortunately, employers do not look at it this way. > > Everytime I read the career section of the local > > newspapers, they all want some certifications such as > > MSCE for jobs like network administrators. As a FreeBSD > > user, I will never want to have these certifications, > > but it also means that I will never get those type of > > jobs. Bummer. At that point, those things are just "union cards". > Well, I've found that while they put "MCSE or BS in blabl required", when it > comes down to it, they'll hire a talented individual without the degree or > papers. Including my current position, the past 3 places I have worked have > asked for BS in CS, and/or certifications, all of which I do not have. I ignore > the requests for those, and usually they do too (unless it's a bank or > government organization - they are sometimes a little more picky). Expect this to change a bit, and people to become more picky. The normal reason for asking for things is so that you can sort resumes into two piles: the "ignore pile" and the "manageably small" pile. With more IT people out looking for work, expect the worting criteria to become more stringent, as people look for ways to keep the "manageably small" pile the same size. It's a shame that they don't pick a sorting criteria that means that you can actually do the job. On the other hand, it's likely that the HR people feel that it's a shame that people don't include such a criteria on their resumes in the first place -- I doubt that this sorting method beats out "A-M on Tuesday/Thursday, N-Z on Monday/Wednesday/Friday". I'll give you an anecdote. After my first day of kindergarten, I came home pissed off, claiming to my mother that I would not go back to school again. When she asked why, I told her it was because "they would not give me arithmatic". You see, I had gone to school with this impression that there would be three lines: one for reading, one for writing, and one for arithmatic, and that, by standing in these lines and eventually getting to the front, these things would be handed to you. I think that if you go into a certification program with the same attitude I had going into kindergarten, you will end up with the same results. On the other hand, I'm pretty cynical these days with regard to even college degrees, when it comes to their value in being able to accurately indicate ability. My best advice for the original poster (who wanted to actually learn something) is that college is the place to go, if you want an environment where you can learn (that's "can", as opposed to "will"). My best advice for job seekers is: route around the H.R. department sorting process if you can do it. Use friends and your reputation, rather than trying to get through the firewall by weight of certification, or what project you happen to have commit priviledges on, etc.. -- Terry To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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