[TriLUG] OT: Certifications - Education

[jonc]

On Mon, 2005-08-29 at 12:15, Shane O'Donnell wrote:

> As an industry, especially with the recent proclivity for
> outsourcing/offshoring, I believe we're heading for the rapid
> "blue-collarizing" of many tech jobs.  And I think this is good.

I agree with you here. And your analogy of car mechanic is very good.
The specialty mechanic (the one that works only on SAAB's or Honda's) is
the one that makes the most money - and quite possibly has the highest
degree of job satisfaction.

To stay in IT you have to steadily learn and grow (ride that wave called
the cutting-edge) - or specialize in an area (the quirkier the better). 

<snip>

> Now don't get me wrong--some of the brightest folks I've ever
> hired/worked with do not have degrees.  Conversely, some of the
> dumbest folks I've ever hired/worked with have had college degrees. 
> The differences between the "good IT guy" and the "bad IT guy" are
> many, but if I had to try to identify the common theme that I've seen,
> it has much more to do with someone's ability to grasp ideas at a
> conceptual level rather than a simple task-execution level. 
> Unfortunately, I've not seen many degrees, certifications, employment
> tests, etc. that can accurately guage someone's ability to think like
> that.  

I agree. A good IT-guy can go from concept to reality (and back again).
We are problem solvers. Given enough information we can overcome just
about any problem.

I think the best degree to identify these kinds of conceptual thinkers
is Mathematics. Mathematicians don't come cheap though so I usually end
up hiring/training their left-handed counterparts: Musicians.

Musicians are constantly moving ideas into reality, and using the
feedback from reality to refine their ideas or music. Not that all
IT-guys make good musicians, but musicians have always (in my
experience) been able to successfully make the leap into IT.

Jon
   when I'm leftward leaning I'm: Hib
   when I'm feeling conservative: Kpm