On Tue, 2007-03-27 at 15:58, Jorge Godoy wrote:
> I have the same opinion. Just look around and see how many "certified
> something" are there and how many of them *really* know the product, its
> details, how to work with it.
>
> Certifications don't even certify the minimum knowledge. They are like tests
> that we do in school: they show how we are feeling and what we "know" (or
> memorized during the night) at the instant of the test. Some people even
> cheat on tests (not that I'm saying it is done or is common with certification
> tests...).
>
> So, if I have a good memory to retain information for a week, I'll excel in
> certification tests. But then, what after that week?
>
> I'm against certifications for any product. It just doesn't show the
> reality.
I would say that really depends on the certification. My flatmate is an
RHCE, and that is a pretty rigorous certification. Lots of applied
knowledge to fixing purposely broken computer systems.
OTOH, I've read the MCSE study guides before and was very underwhelmed.
Seemed like a guide on which button to push to get a banana.
But neither one is a substitute for 20+ years of on the job experience
of a system.