On Tue, 2009-06-23 at 19:26 +0000, dragonbite wrote:
> Just curious, how many people have some form of certification? Not just
> Novell, or Linux but any certification and what kind?
I’m an oldie Linux wise, I have the now defunct GNU/SAIR Sys Admin cert.
I am(was) also certified as a SAIR trainer.
Eh… stuff changes way too fast for certifications to matter too much.
Show me what you know… that’s works better for me when hiring.
The weather, winter solstice here.
In short no, in length even less 
Sometimes you just know the answer to a question before you even ask. This occasion proved true to that rule. Of course though, you know it was ‘tongue in cheek’. Nice to have a bit of fun now and then, and this thread is just asking for some. I mean the title: “How many people have certification?”
Leaves the field wide open.
Can we have a Certificates repo?
And one for mini-skirts?
Don’t bother about architectures, just a couple of bits would be nice
CompTIA Linux+ … not that I care much about it or other certs. Lots of companies like certs but it’s just a paper to them. They want to see how you do in practice
True, but often the applicant without a cert doesn’t get the chance to show how shehe does in practice.
But I did see once an impressive string of experience/achievements on a resume backed by a list of certs in the resume. The guy got the job, big job, high pay. I know for a fact that the resume was bogus, 80% fiction, 20% fact. So the lack of certs doesn’t always make a barrier.
On Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:26:01 +0000, dragonbite wrote:
> Just curious, how many people have some form of certification? Not just
> Novell, or Linux but any certification and what kind?
I do - Novell CLP10, CLA10 (which comes with CLP10), CNA6, and the older
CDE. I also hold LPIC-1.
I’ll probably get the new CLP11 as well when we release it, partly
because I have to test the test (I’m the testing program manager at
Novell these days) and partly just because.
But that’s also largely why I got the ones I got - just because. CDE was
an objective when I was teaching eDirectory Advanced Technical Training
courses, and LPIC-1 I got because my team consisted of identity and Linux
practices (and I had the Linux background and my boss wanted me as a
“switch-hitter” on the technologies), but the others were mostly because
I could. I still intend to do my CLE10 exam as well at some point if I
can find the time to study the materials a little bit.
Jim
On Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:38:44 +0000, natural_pilot wrote:
>> Just curious, how many people have some form of certification? Not
>> just Novell, or Linux but any certification and what kind?
>
> USA FAA certified
> airplane, commercial, multi-engine land, instrument pilot
Cool…do you do any simulator work?
I was studying to become an aeronautical engineer when I was in college,
had to take a course in ATC after switching to Aviation Computer
Science. Fascinating stuff.
Jim
On Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:06:01 +0000, Chrysantine wrote:
> Nuh-uh.
>
> However I’ve never had to apply to a job, I’ve always gotten called by
> people to interviews.
That does make a difference, doesn’t it? I only got my certifications
after Novell hired me, prior to that it was the same thing for me as for
you, sounds like.
Jim
On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:08:40 +0000, Jim Henderson wrote:
> I do - Novell CLP10, CLA10 (which comes with CLP10), CNA6, and the older
> CDE. I also hold LPIC-1.
Oh, and CNI as well, certified to teach certain Novell technologies and
courses. 
Jim
Indeed, I originally got into the industry via a training position - albeit having marketing background rather than IT.
After that I’ve never had to apply to a job - I was able to make the “necessary” connections there - something that’s been much more valuable than anything else and still is, many of consulting work I’ve done have been outside the business to the people I met in my first position.
Experience and connections do wonders. Certs just “get you in easier”.
On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:36:02 +0000, Chrysantine wrote:
> Indeed, I originally got into the industry via a training position -
> albeit having marketing background rather than IT.
Really? What sort of training/marketing work did/do you do?
> Experience and connections do wonders. Certs just “get you in easier”.
Yeah, I’ve always considered certification a “door opener”; having
written a couple of books also is a door opener, though, and most places
tend to be more impressed by that. The one place I applied to that
wasn’t, well, after seeing their facility and giving them a copy of my
first book - the hiring manager complained about my lack of a
certification. Told me everything I needed to know (value of
certification > value of experience; == my experience would be discounted
if it disagreed with the study guides for the certification).
I far prefer using my connections in the industry these days, and really
always have. There’s nothing like a positive professional reference to
get a prospective employer interested.
Jim
Oddly enough, I never had to do any marketing work despite having an MBA (and an MBA here is a little different than those “1 year buy diploma from online” things - the whole university course takes anywhere from 3 to 5 years) although I’ve been wondering if I should start studying again. I’ve been looking into various university courses - the academic world is pulling me back I guess :>
I was hired to do various office tasks (no mini-skirts involved in this one) and once they noticed I had an uncanny interest in computers I ended up doing that. It’s a weird world.
> Cool…do you do any simulator work? … switching to Aviation Computer
> Science.
hmmm…not certain i understand the question…so, i answer this way:
i flew sims to help attain/maintain proficiency at less total cost
to my rich uncle…
and i instructed/evaluated students/colleagues during their sim rides…
but, i had no clue or interest in the software/hardware/computations
in the background (as long as what i saw/felt was a reasonable and
believable representation of actual flight–and therefore useful to
gain experience and proficiency [like, it is easier and cheaper to
practice ditching an A320 in the Hudson in a sim, than in the real
deal])…
i did play with a 1992 version of M$ Flight Simulator (in win3.1), but
never got very excited about it…
–
.~.
/V
/( )
^^-^^ natural_pilot
Similarly, I was working in the Accounting department of a company when I realized I was really bored with it, and that the General Journal is just a giant database.
So I started using MS Access to help me with my job and became the unofficial Excel (and VBA) guru of the office. I also made sure my lowly Access database was up and running when the CIO or Directors of IT were in the area.
Paid off too… when the person who was in charge of the Data Warehouse left the company, my name came up on the short list. That was in 2000.
After the company laid me off, I got a job within about a month with a company largely because of the Accounting/IT mix.
So far, so good without certification but I am not sure if that will be enough in the future.
After working with a few businesses, the conclusion I have come to in working with IT managers who hire, is that certification for some of them is a way to see if the candidate is able to dot the i’s and cross the t’s.
It let’s them know how adept the person is at handling the paperwork aspect of the business ( in many companies, handling reporting and analysis documentation is half the job).
It also let’s them know if you are able to learn and apply that information ( in paperwork based testing, that is only nominally shown, as common ‘regurgitation testing’ is used profoundly)
But overall, they want to know if you can do the work and learn to do it ‘their’ way. most times, they will totally retrain a tech to do things the way the company wants them done.
I know ‘power users’ and hobbyists at home with no certs at all who can run circles around people getting paid in the field with an armload of certs and no common sense.
On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:36:01 +0000, Chrysantine wrote:
> hendersj;2004451 Wrote:
>> Really? What sort of training/marketing work did/do you do?
> Oddly enough, I never had to do any marketing work despite having an MBA
> (and an MBA here is a little different than those “1 year buy diploma
> from online” things - the whole university course takes anywhere from 3
> to 5 years )
That makes sense. I somehow couldn’t see you as a marketing person. <g>
> I was hired to do various office tasks (no mini-skirts involved in this
> one) and once they noticed I had an uncanny interest in computers I
> ended up doing that. It’s a weird world.
It is at that - I think I mentioned elsewhere I started out studying
aeronautical engineering, got introduced to networking while working in
the academic computer lab and never really stopped.
But like you, no mini-skirts involved for me, either. 
Jim
On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:32:28 +0000, natural_pilot wrote:
>> Cool…do you do any simulator work? … switching to Aviation
>> Computer Science.
>
> hmmm…not certain i understand the question…so, i answer this way:
>
> i flew sims to help attain/maintain proficiency at less total cost to
> my rich uncle…
>
> and i instructed/evaluated students/colleagues during their sim rides…
Oh, yeah, I kinda figured getting your license would’ve involved real
simulators, full or half-cockpit ones. The school I went to had a
professional pilots program and had some pretty decent simulation
hardware.
> but, i had no clue or interest in the software/hardware/computations in
> the background (as long as what i saw/felt was a reasonable and
> believable representation of actual flight–and therefore useful to gain
> experience and proficiency [like, it is easier and cheaper to practice
> ditching an A320 in the Hudson in a sim, than in the real deal])…
>
> i did play with a 1992 version of M$ Flight Simulator (in win3.1), but
> never got very excited about it…
That’s more what I was asking about. I like x-plane myself (runs on
Linux for one thing), but I can see that if you’ve flown the real thing,
a simulator program would never come close to the actual experience…
Jim