[TriLUG] Are Certifications worth it?

[David McDowell]

I agree with Mark on many points.  December this year makes 9 years
for me in IT and I don't have any certifications, much less a college
degree.  Have I been lucky, or hired by educated HR depts?  I dunno. 
I don't care at this point.  I currently admin Microsoft ADS with
WinXP clients and Linux web servers and Linux based firewalls.  ...
and I KNOW I know less than most people on this list when it comes to
Linux!  :)  I also manage a digital fax server, document management
server, multiple database servers (MSSQL, MSDE, mysql), Exchange (no
laughing LOL) and quite a large amount of backups due to the nature of
our business (tied to the FDA and all).

In 1997, the first company I worked for was a Microsoft ATEC, so I got
to sit in on the NT 4 MCSE courses... I didn't get much out of it and
refused to take the tests.  I have looked into RHCE in the last year+
or so, even bought a book... but I think that might be as far as I
take it unless I have an employer who wants to put me through the
paces and pay for it for me.  Speaking of, gotta decide if I'm gonna
ask my $boss to next LUG meeting!

have a great evening folks,
David McD


On 8/26/05, Mark Freeze <mfreeze at gmail.com> wrote:
> My take on this, and what I think the original post was asking between
> the lines is this:  "Is it easier to get a job with a RHCE or with
> LPI?"  The answer to me is the same as the older question of "Why do I
> need a degree if I have been working in $industry for 10 years?"  If
> someone is going to hire you just because you are a RCHE then they
> must not know what they doing themselves. On the other hand, if you
> have tons of experience but no RCHE I feel you should be interviewed
> honestly, based on your experience. I once knew a personnel manager
> that told me that they wouldn't even consider an applicant that didn't
> have a MCSE.  When I asked them what an MCSE was... Surprise!  They
> had no idea. They told me that it meant that the applicant 'knew a lot
> about computers.'
> 
> Now before I get flamed on this let me explain my point.  I know that
> everyone in this group is VERY technically minded, and some of you are
> in positions to hire people.  But I would almost guarantee you that if
> you gathered all of Raleigh's HR people from non-technical companies
> together only about 2% would have ever heard of a RCHE, and then 1% of
> that 2% might know what it means.
> 
> With that being said I think that the best answer I could give to this
> question is this:  It depends on where you are trying to get a job,
> and who is doing the hiring.  If you are applying to a company that is
> using Red Hat, or has a very technical-based HR department then a RCHE
> with some experience is a huge step up from other applicants.  If you
> are applying at $large_co with a standard HR department you might
> could skip the $3000 course and just tell them you have a ABCD
> certification from the First Internet College of Linuxtry.  They
> probably wouldn't know the difference. The question then changes to
> "What certification will actually help me do my job?"  And we all know
> the answer to that one.
> 
> I know probably 98% less Linux than most of you on this list and
> before I posted this reply I asked myself how many of the people on
> this list who have provided me with dead-on accurate answers to my
> questions and consistently give brilliant advice to others have an
> RCHE or LPI certification.  I could be mistaken but I'd probably guess
> less than 30%.
> 
> Regards,
> Mark.
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