How to determine what skill level you are at for a set skill?

N2IT

How many times have you looked at job requirements and they list ambiguous classifications for skills.

Expert, Advance, Intermediate, and Entry or Beginner.

How do you classify these and how to determine where you are in these skills?

Is it measured by years of service? How much exposure you have to that particular skill?

I mean seriously one persons definition is different than another. How do you go about measuring yourself for the sake of the position?

Thanks.

lsud00d

You come up with some good topics/questions, and this is no exception!

I tend to break up IT into two camps--dev/programming vs. infrastructure (servers, networking, virtualization, security, storage, desktops, etc). Now, not being a dev by trade I find I cannot adequately address the question at hand, but for the infrastructure side, I feel there's a quick list of criteria to run through to gauge your skill-level:

Beginner/entry: have not used a product or have used it from a 'user' point of view
Intermediate: beginner + installed/administrated the product
Advanced: intermediate + customized (advanced functions of)/planned for the product
Expert: Advanced + architect'ed/designed for the product

Now this is a sweeping generalization but IMO is an adequate breakdown (and self-assessment that I perform myself) for estimating levels of proficiency with a product.

N2IT

From the infrastructure side I think you are spot on. I would agree with your breakdown it makes a lot of sense.

My dilemma is around development. Mainly SQL, I would hate to think I am a beginner but maybe I am. Intermediate is where I would like to think of myself but I am not sure. Last thing I want to do is say I am something and then turn out I am not. It's almost like there is this handbook out there and I didn't get a copy.

Thanks again for following up....

Jackace

N2IT wrote: »

It's almost like there is this handbook out there and I didn't get a copy.

I think most of us feel this same way.

DevilWAH

If I only understand it but have limited experience working with it, then I would say beginner.

Some basic installs and / or trouble shooting experience i would say you move on to intermediate, So most of the programming languages I have have used I would put in this camp. I can do the basic stuff, but need Google still quite a bit.

Advanced, you know the product, are comfortable in administering / developing in it, its one of the main tools / systems you work with and you have either a year of solid development on it, or it has been part of your job for several years. You manage it unaided and in a medium size company you might well be looked on as the "expert". You don't need external help in your day to day role and can actively develop the system. Have a full understanding.

Expert is easy one, do you feel comfortable ticking the box. If you tick expert people will expect you to have in-depth knowledge of a product with few weak points. Be able to manage it completely through its life cycle, and to train others on it.

I think you move very quickly from Beginner to intermediate. I am a beginner in VDI, I have been on a course and we have had a proof of concept set up at work. So i see how it works and could add new users, but that's about it. Give me a months or 2, and i will be able to install the whole system, and and remove new base images and carry out most house keeping tasks. At that point i would say intermediate / managing a previously configured system. After that I will for a laugh probable reinstall the whole thing from scratch in to our Devlab, spend a few more months on and of playing about with it, until i have covered all the major areas of the product and know all the value it can possible deliver and am able to with out assistance configure and manage it from scratch. At this point I would say I would be at the advanced point. Expert takes the time, it is learning there product inside and out, no longer do you need to go to Google or books to find the answer, they come to you.

From a personal point of view, if people put skills on a CV, i look at them relative to each other. so if some one comes in and has beginner skills in exchange and advanced skills in SQL, I would start by discussing there exchange skills, and expect them to show that their SQL skills were significantly higher.