[TriLUG] Career planning - certs(?)

[Dave Moody]

Unfortunately, not all hiring managers take the same approach.  In IT, as in some other fields, the hiring manager will often not know what they need (or worse, think they do when they don't) and may be swayed by the alphabet soup after someone's name.  

This tends to be less of a problem in a more purely technical field.  So, for example, the Software Engineering Manager is more likely to be able to effectively sift the alphabet and consider those without the letters, to find the right person.,  But how many of us know of situations where SysAd reports to the Finance or Office Operaitons group.  The CFO/Controller/HR only knows they want it to work securely at inifinte speed and no cost.  The letters may at least get us in the right pile of resumes for further review.

I can't believe that the certs would be the deciding factor, but, depending on the situation, might be helpful.  And, of course, knowing that the certs are a factor can help get us futher insight into the organization.

But, ignoring what I just wrote, Mr. Ray is right.  You have to love what you do.

Dave

--- On Tue, 9/23/08, Jim Ray <jim at neuse.net> wrote:
From: Jim Ray <jim at neuse.net>
Subject: Re: [TriLUG] Career planning - certs(?)
To: "Triangle Linux Users Group General Discussion" <trilug at trilug.org>
Date: Tuesday, September 23, 2008, 9:43 PM

It is more important for a person to like what they do than to have
industry experience and certifications. Why? Because the person will be
happy and enjoy the day's work.

There is a big difference between a person that looks forward to 5 PM on
Friday and a person that looks forward to 8 AM on Monday.

Of course, having all is wonderful, too. The person I hired 3 years ago
for VP of Tech Ops has MCSE, CCNA, A+ and Citrix certs et al plus
experience at IBM Global Services and is a former Army Ranger in Special
Ops.

However, I also hired a person that had no certs and no experience yet
liked the field. I do not bar employment from those without certs and
experience.

Regards,

Jim Ray, MCSE
President
Neuse River Networks
919-838-1672
http://www.neuserivernetworks.com

Neuse River Networks, based in Raleigh, NC, is redefining IT Outsourcing
with its Managed Services ONE Plan that automates computer processes to
provide proactive computer networking solutions for businesses. The ONE
Plan is designed to manage your computer network so you don't have to.
Neuse River Networks has been developing client trust since 1997 by
applying expertise in Computer Networking and offering superlative
service.


-----Original Message-----
From: trilug-bounces at trilug.org [mailto:trilug-bounces at trilug.org] On
Behalf Of Phillip Rhodes
Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 5:17 PM
To: Triangle Linux Users Group General Discussion
Subject: Re: [TriLUG] Career planning - certs(?)

Jim Ray wrote:
> I'll take someone that has an interest and a good home network over a 
> person with experience in the field and alphabet soup after their name

> any day. If you do not tell the prospect, the prospect might not know.

And what about somebody with all three?  I think a lot of people, in
discussions such as this, mistakenly setup a false dichotomy and assume
that having (a) certification(s) means the candidate is not interested,
passionate, blah, etc.  In actuality, there's no (particular) reason a
person who's passionate about software, sysadmin'ing and OSS might not
spend time working on their home network, AND pursue certifications that
they think will advance their career.

Certifications aren't evil, they just aren't a panacea.  They are just
one - out of MANY - criteria that a potential employer might look at
when evaluating a new-hire.


TTYL,


-- 
Phillip Rhodes
Rhodes for NC Lieutenant Governor 2008
http://www.philrhodes2008.com
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