| Topic Name: |
MCP or MCSE |
| Message Name: |
Hire people, not certs |
| Date Posted: |
08/28/2001 |
| In Reply To: |
I know many a certified Microsoft person that doesn't know the product they are certified in. However, when you don't have experience, the certification will help get you work.
Many companies that don't know tech. look for certs. It's like going to auto repair center. You are more likely to go to SAE certified than one that is not.
I agree with the person that differentiated Admin and Engineer. Admins do network OS's, hubs and maybe a router. Whereas Engineers are further up the OSI 7 architecture. However, with the price of switches coming down, I see more Admins playing with them.
Get into a company were you can learn. Forget about money and bennies at first. If you are good and company doesn't have their head up their *ss, the rest will come.
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| Message: |
Having been on both sides of the interview desk, I tend to think that certification is one of the least important things. I can hardly count the number of times I've seen situations go to h*ll because a manager hired skill sets instead of a team member.
Unfortunately, with HR screening resumes, sometimes you can't even get past those computer systems without the appropriate letters behind your name. Small businesses suffer most from this idea of hiring skill sets.
Being good is not enough. You also have to be aggressive. Take the crap jobs that more senior engineers hand down, even if you're muttering to yourself "why can't you do this sh*t job yourself".
That's because most fair-minded individuals will also compensate you for helping do their sh*t jobs [and let's face it, IT has more than its share of boring/repetive tasks at every level]. Do the work they don't want to do, and they'll involve you in other projects which are more interesting. It's a quid pro quo not that different from the old "master and apprentice" relationship.
Because unless you are an extraordinary IT engineer, the patronage of a senior engineer or manager is the fastest way up the ladder.
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