*Rollover A+/Network+ to ETA certification CST and CNST*

kalebksp

I think the better question is why should anyone pay for this at all? I have nothing against the ETA, and if they want to create a cert similar to A+ and Net+ thats fine. The thing I don't like about this is there is no requirement for anything but an A+/Net+, so every person with those certs are qualified, unless they don't have or don't want to spend the money for them. One of the arguements for purchasing these certs (and that's all it is, you haven't earned anything) is that it gives you an edge with prospective employers. It's almost like bribery, except you give money to a third party and they give you some letters to put on your resume. Any employer who understood how one achieve's a CST and sees both A+ and CST on a resume would likely either not care, or perhaps even realize the applicant had spent 50 dollars on some letters that are rendered meaningless by the A+ and look down on him or her. The only real use is pandering to ignorant employers.

Having said that, if there is any error in my statements I apologize and hope that someone will point it out. Also, I doubt any of this was ETA's intention, they were more likely trying to get their name out and gain credibility in the IT world.

elover_jm

hey you got some pretty solid points there. I'd love to see what TCAT's response would be?

elover_jm

although i must say tht i went for em both. I guess the point is really if you don't see were it benefits you, then don't spend your money for them.

As far as i'm concern, these cert can definitely new lights to earning better incomes.

kalebksp

elover_jm wrote:

although i must say tht i went for em both. I guess the point is really if you don't see were it benefits you, then don't spend your money for them.

In most cases I would agree. Something I forgot to mention was that it's possible that this could also do a disservice to the people that don't want to buy them. Why would a non-tech HR person hire an applicant with only two certs over one with four? Everything else equal the one with four would probably get the job. I don't think I'm the only person that would rather get a job on my own merits than by playing "who spent more money on a piece of paper." I'm not telling anyone not to go and spend their money on those certs, I'm just giving them something to think about.

linksysinfo

elover_jm wrote:

although i must say tht i went for em both. I guess the point is really if you don't see were it benefits you, then don't spend your money for them.

As far as i'm concern, these cert can definitely new lights to earning better incomes.

I dont see the point in going for both of them if you already have A+ and Network+ tbh. A CNST would suffice surely? what purpose does having a CST benifit you if you have a CNST and this equates to a A+ AND network+ together.

supertechCETma

kalebksp wrote:

In most cases I would agree. Something I forgot to mention was that it's possible that this could also do a disservice to the people that don't want to buy them. Why would a non-tech HR person hire an applicant with only two certs over one with four? Everything else equal the one with four would probably get the job. I don't think I'm the only person that would rather get a job on my own merits than by playing "who spent more money on a piece of paper." I'm not telling anyone not to go and spend their money on those certs, I'm just giving them something to think about.

If you did the rollover and stopped there your argument might have merit. You are, however, thinking in the old CompTIA mindset where you get your paper and that's it.

The rollover serves as an introduction to the Electronics Technicians Association - International. This is an organization with which I am proud to be member. I am a technician by trade. I appreciate an organization that exists as a resource for ME. CompTIA will take your money and that's it. The ETA provides opportunities such as personal networking, additional certifications that can enhance my career, and avenues in which I can grow both personally and professionally.

I think you view professional organizations in the wrong light. It should not be "what's in it for me?" It should be more of a "How can I get more involved and improve myself and my profession?"

ETA has given me opportunities to improve my writing, presentation skills, and customer relations skills. I regularly communicate through the Association with peers in academia and industry. I serve on committees to develop and revise certification competencies. I am a better technician for it. It's not just the letters behind your name that will impress prospective employers. Leadership positions, committee participation, industry involvement is what will seperate you from others in the job market. I'm not just spouting off a bunch of Association rhetoric, this is based on personal experience. My participation has truly enhanced my career.

You should think beyond simply IT. You limit yourself greatly.

Tcat

elover_jm wrote:

hey you got some pretty solid points there. I'd love to see what TCAT's response would be?

SuperTech really hit the nail on the head for me and the larger issue.

AND

I'm going to fully fess up for working this gig for the past 3 years to:

Get ETA-I better known.

USE for the benifit of all geeks the wierd ways of being in HR.

So we can have a truely (in deep numbers) a set of standards that are affordable for all. YES, as I said before, if US/UK/Canada pays 2 or 3 bucks more than 2 days mininum wage for a cert or gosh darn impress HR with some letters.... who(m) is harmed?

I believe enough in this to be putting my Time Money and Energy into this. You are off the mark if you think *anyone* would think in a bad light a roll over... At least anyone with hiring authority. Is HR Impressed? Too often. Anyone who dug and saw the roll over, would see the candidate as clever. Generally not a bad attribute in an candidate.

And as SuperTech pointed out, you really have missed the entire point. This is a group of geeks for geeks. It is time we start taking control of our careers. Go right on thinking nobody knows who the ETA-I is. If you think so it is because you never served in the Miltary or attended a electronic trade school.

Over 22,000 people are fiber optic certified alone. For some reason I cannot fathom, ETA didn't count them because there is no transistors in the fiber!!!! <so it isn't electronic!> I sorta took exception to that...

I'm not telling you that you need to join or get your letters... This bus is going, with or without you. Dig deeper into what the ETA has done. Then dig into my past (Tim Catura-Houser) now Tcat Houser. I'm driving this bus. My history says this is future history. I'm putting Tcat Full Time on this. If I remain alive, watch the magic. I promise.

This is too powerful for the geeks to ingore. HR will follow rapidly.

Tcat

linksysinfo

Tcat wrote:

Get ETA-I better known.

Tcat

btw how many are members of ETA-I now Tcat? i am just curious as to you honestly eating a toad if 100,000 dont join up by 2nd Nov 2006

kalebksp

I did not intend to insult you or your organization, and don't believe I did. I didn't write this to start an arguement, rather a discussion. It's interesting that you have to come back with personal attacks, of which some are kind of bizarre. Tcat stated "Go right on thinking nobody knows who the ETA-I is." Well, I never said that, nor implied or eluded to it. Seeing as there are people close to me that splice fiber-optics on a daily basis and have ETA certification, I certainly don't believe ETA is unknown. The closest thing I said to that was "Also, I doubt any of this was ETA's intention, they were more likely trying to get their name out and gain credibility in the IT world." Which I don't recognize the fallacy, ETA is not a big name in IT certification at present. If you want to offer people a way into your organization then why not say "Give us 20 dollars and you can be a member of the ETA, provided you have some certification or relevant professional experience"?

Here's my point that I think you missed: The only problem I have is that the ETA is selling a useless certification, I am not saying that being a member of the ETA is useless.

To me, putting A+, Net+, CST, and CNST as your certifications looks as professional as putting MCSE, MCSA, and MCP.

If you want to refute this and have a discussion, then by all means do so. On the other hand, if you want to tell me that I'm "limiting myself" and trade insults, do so with someone else.

supertechCETma

Gosh Kale, sorry if you were insulted. Certainly not my intention. I merely tried to convey my ardent support of the ETA. As in life, it's not simply what you wear but how you wear it.

kalebksp

I apologize for being a bit touchy, I've been up since 10 AM yesterday, which is about 31 hours according to AKST. I do understand what you're saying, I suppose I just would have gone about it a different way.

Megadeth4168

kalebksp wrote:

I think the better question is why should anyone pay for this at all? I have nothing against the ETA, and if they want to create a cert similar to A+ and Net+ thats fine. The thing I don't like about this is there is no requirement for anything but an A+/Net+, so every person with those certs are qualified, unless they don't have or don't want to spend the money for them. One of the arguements for purchasing these certs (and that's all it is, you haven't earned anything) is that it gives you an edge with prospective employers. It's almost like bribery, except you give money to a third party and they give you some letters to put on your resume. Any employer who understood how one achieve's a CST and sees both A+ and CST on a resume would likely either not care, or perhaps even realize the applicant had spent 50 dollars on some letters that are rendered meaningless by the A+ and look down on him or her. The only real use is pandering to ignorant employers.

Having said that, if there is any error in my statements I apologize and hope that someone will point it out. Also, I doubt any of this was ETA's intention, they were more likely trying to get their name out and gain credibility in the IT world.

If I understand correctly, the CST and CNST are certs that you need to "renew" in a sort of way. You have to show that you are up to date in the field of that certification. This makes this different than the CompTIA certs unless you take the CompTIA tests every year or 2 to show you are up to date.

linksysinfo

Could someone tell me how long has ETA been running the CST and CNST exams? just curious as to why it has not in my eyes been recognised until i seen this rollover from A+ and Network+ to ETA certifications.

oldbarney

linksysinfo wrote:

Could someone tell me how long has ETA been running the CST and CNST exams? just curious as to why it has not in my eyes been recognised until i seen this rollover from A+ and Network+ to ETA certifications.

I am unsure how long ETA-I has offered these exams. But the rollover from A+/Net+ to CST/CNST has been available for at least a couple of years. I'd considered converting my A+ to CST about 2-3 years ago. Probably will now.

Incidentally, I heard about ETA-I long before the proliferation of the internet. To my knowledge, the organization has been recognized for quite some time by the telecom and component repair folks.

Tcat

supertechCETma wrote:

Gosh Kale, sorry if you were insulted. Certainly not my intention. I merely tried to convey my ardent support of the ETA. As in life, it's not simply what you wear but how you wear it.

Same here. My bad for using some CompTIA jargon lifted from PMI. I too often forget many folks have not studied CDIA+ and/or Project+ and can see where I sounded snippy.

Since I've been in long term docking with the mothership in Atlanta I've been running to Huntsville, AL to visit family over the weekends. I was doing a quick check on thinks from there and was dashing too fast... I didn't mean you, personally we're saying who the hell are they? I've just been getting that too long from some really clueless folks during the background ramp up.

The question of Toad on 2 Nov is interesting in how CompTIA counts vs. the ETA. By my guessimate on the magic 100,000 I am figuring a 20% probablity of being @ Lions Chinese Deli at high noon in Fremont, CA. Less if the Motorola techs do well with their new wirleless test. Getting the chance to zero will depend on my success in Mexico/Brazil.

Tcat

oldbarney wrote:

linksysinfo wrote:

Incidentally, I heard about ETA-I long before the proliferation of the internet. To my knowledge, the organization has been recognized for quite some time by the telecom and component repair folks.

I think CNST is about 10 years old. Supertech and I are 2 of the steakholders updating the test right now. We will have to refresh more often as the popularity grows to prevent braindumps. At least the tests are really fair.

Yes, the ETA has been around since the '70's, and some of the tests still require solder being a 2nd language.

porengo

I decided to join ETA-I because I'm ex-military with an "old school" technician background. I first started my journey into IT by working on mainframe computers with magnetic core memory. Back then running diagnostics meant typing in a diag program in machine language. When a card was bad we would troubleshoot down to component level, and actually replace the component using soldering techniques that many modern "geeks" would have no clue about.

This is more than a certification. It's a trade organization that supports the technician and their industry. Don't join just to get more letters added to your name. Join because you believe in YOUR industry, and are ready to take an active role in its growth.

Megadeth4168

porengo wrote:

I decided to join ETA-I because I'm ex-military with an "old school" technician background. I first started my journey into IT was by working on mainframe computers with magnetic core memory. Back then running diagnostics meant typing in a diag program in machine language. When a card was bad we would troubleshoot down to component level, and actually replace the component using soldering techniques that many modern "geeks" have no clue about.

This is more than a certification. It's a trade organization that supports the technician and their industry. Don't join just to get more letters added to your name. Join because you believe in YOUR industry, and are ready to take an active role in how it grows.

Well said!

nama

I have used the comptia's "Publish Certificate" option to generate a link and send it to study4less (to prove that I'm A+ certified). Will this method be approved. :

Tcat

nama wrote:

I have used the comptia's "Publish Certificate" option to generate a link and send it to study4less (to prove that I'm A+ certified). Will this method be approved. :

Yes.

Tcat

http://tcc.comptia.org/cert_detail.aspx?certid=389

http://tcc.comptia.org/cert_detail.aspx?certid=388

http://tcc.comptia.org/cert_detail.aspx?certid=387

nama

Tcat wrote:

Yes.

thanks dude

Xound

Guys I have my A+ & N+ cert, to become cnst & cst do I need to purchase the cert seperatly or just buy the cnst for $69 and get both ??

Webmaster

Xound wrote:

Guys I have my A+ & N+ cert, to become cnst & cst do I need to purchase the cert seperatly or just buy the cnst for $69 and get both ??

Separately.

Xound

Thanks for the quick responce!

I'm confused on the whole renewal process? I need to pay an annual fee of $25 to keep the cnst status???

2nd in your opinion how is it a benefit to pay for the cnst if u already have the Network+???

Webmaster

You're welcom. I don't want to sounds lazy, or imply you are , but the answers to your questions are posted in this topic (plus I don't remember the actual fee from the top of my head ). Also my opinion on the rollover option is on the first page of this topic.

linksysinfo

Webmaster wrote:

Xound wrote:

Guys I have my A+ & N+ cert, to become cnst & cst do I need to purchase the cert seperatly or just buy the cnst for $69 and get both ??

Separately.

my point exactly, what is the point of CST if you already have CNST from A+ and Network+ rollover

porengo

In my opinion, I find that having both the CST and CNST is a bit redundant. That's why I opted to only go for the CNST.

Dionysus

Got my certs in the mail yesterday

But.. they misspely my name on everything. I requested replacements, hopefully it won't take as long to get the replacements as it did the originals.

Olajuwon

If you have long money, go for it; other than that, it's not a good choice to get those certs. Why do you need 2 certs that cover the same subject? Ie cst-A+ or cnst-network+. I look at certs as a way to prove you know the material required for that cert. Any cert you can get without taking an exam is worthless to me. Worse than braindumping.

Certifications don't get you jobs. They get you to the interview and that's where the employer decides who is more competent for the position. Having overlapped certifications on your resume is not going to help much.