[ale] OT but IT related question regarding certifications

scott mcbrien smcbrien at gmail.com
Sun Mar 28 17:33:12 EDT 2010


I've been in the IT Certification arena for a long time, the most
important thing IMO is making sure that you have the right
expectations on what a certification is going to do for you.  The days
of having a certification on your resume and getting hired are gone.
A certification will help you get an interview, but ultimately selling
yourself and your skills in the interview is what is going to get you
a job.

I'm a proponent of the Red Hat certifications, but am jaded as I
worked on the RHCE/RHCA team for 6 years.  However, in the Linux
sysadmin community RHCT/RHCE are kind of the standards.

If anyone is interested in Red Hat training, I can give a 10% discount
on whatever RH charges, my company is an authorized
training/certification reseller.

-Scott

On Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 5:08 PM, Richard Faulkner <rfaulkner at 34thprs.org> wrote:
> Well, it depends.  It depends on who you talk to as far as employers and
> where you get the education.
>
> I was a tech instructor at New Horizons of Washington DC from 2004-06
> and taught A+, Net+ and ICND and can give you these words of advice...
>
> 1.  Network+ is like a typing test.  Nothing much to it (you don't even
>    have to do subnetting as I saw.
> 2.  Larger companies will like certs (especially those stuck with doing
>    hiring who are non-technical).
> 3.  Beware of technical schools as often times they have total noobs
>    teaching the classes -- newly certified instructors w/little or no
>    real-world experience.
> 4.  Certs CAN make a difference in getting the job but are NOT the only
>    thing that employers want (especially in this economy)
>
> Case-in-point...in 2004 I applied for a position with XM Satellite Radio
> in Washington DC as a tech in the Broadcast Technical Support shop.
> They flattly passed me over.  At that time I was MCP/MCP+I/MCSE
> *whatever*.  I get the chance to teach and decide that's a good way to
> go to *really* learn the material and do exactly that.  I also take the
> A+ tests and Net+ as well as CCNA.
>
> In 2006 I applied again at XM and get swallowed-up fast and part of that
> due to my A+/Net+ certs.  The first time around they didn't need a MCSE,
> the second time around they wanted the full-meal deal.  I've been doing
> tech since 1995 and have been messing with computers since 1979 and
> working with computers since 1985.  I'm farthest from knowing
> *everything* and have much to learn but certs don't hurt at all.  BUT
> they don't replace good ole' fashioned EXPERIENCE!  Get that at all
> costs and be ready to do a lot of networking (especially in this
> market).
>
> I'm getting ready to do Linux certs as well and will likely focus on
> Redhat as well.  Agnostic certs are great but at some point you'll want
> to make a decision on what direction you want to go.  Once hired your
> employer will skew your education the way they want it to be and you go
> on from there.
>
> Hope that helps!  Not that I'm a know-it-all but that's been my
> experience.
>
> On Sun, 2010-03-28 at 14:49 -0400, Van Loggins wrote:
>> I'm currently unemployed and looking into getting some new
>> certifications to help me get a new job.
>>
>> I currently only have CompTIA A+ certification.
>>
>> I was thinking about getting CompTIA Linux+ or CompTIA Network+
>> certifications.
>>
>> Are these worth getting or would there be a better certification for me
>> to get.
>>
>> I don't have a lot of money to work with as my unemployment check only
>> goes so far so I want to make sure whatever I get is worth getting and
>> will help me get a new job soon.
>>
>
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