Do you display your certs?

jmritenour

It's required that we list our certs on our internal wiki at work as part of our "competency matrix", ie "when things break and you get stuck, call this guy". Personally, I display them here and on LinkedIn, but other than that, I don't bother with them.

Forsaken_GA

I used to list any certs that were directly relevant to my work in my sig, but since moving to a specialized role where those certs are implied, I don't feel the need, and I dropped it.

As far as displaying, I tend to display what the company paid for. It's always a good conversation piece for when the boss walks by and sees the cert that he put you up for, makes him happy, gives him a chance to toot his own horn, etc. I feel it's good politics. Anything I obtained on my own, I don't hang.

I will make an exception for the CCIE. My number will go in my sig, and my plaque will be on my desk. And that's as far as my affectations will go.

NightShade1

I do show my certs on my email signature and thats about it, i dont have it hung anywhere or anything.

paul78

If the company that you work for decided to set aside wall space so that its employees can hang up their certs - would you do it? The idea being that the company wants to acknowledge a culture of achievement and recognize its employees skills.

NightShade1

i would i woudnt mind...

Lizano

I never displayed my certs, and never included them in my email signature. But my role has changed, I now manage a team and not everyone has certs. So I've decided to put up my cert on my cubicle, hoping seeing it everyday will push those who haven't gone down that road to do so. (There are monetary incentive´s as well, I was just appealing to their wish to "show off" or some sort of psychological pressure).

Any of your bosses ever take this approach or a similar one? If they did, did you hate it? hehe.

Turgon wrote: »

The TE crowd is not your regular IT crowd.

This. Haha. +1.

ptilsen

Lizano wrote: »

I never displayed my certs, and never included them in my email signature. But my role has changed, I now manage a team and not everyone has certs. So I've decided to put up my cert on my cubicle, hoping seeing it everyday will push those who haven't gone down that road to do so. (There are monetary incentive´s as well, I was just appealing to their wish to "show off" or some sort of psychological pressure).

I've thought about this, and my general feeling was that my co-workers would just view me as a know-it-all -- or, well, ass hole -- for going about it this way. Maybe I'm being too cautious, but it just seems to say "hey, I'm better than you". But I agree, there is a need to try to motivate people to keep up on their studies, and perhaps that's one way.

JDMurray

Turgon wrote: »

Do you work in a NOC or a SOC?

Technically, it's a "SOC within a NOC" design. It's the typical, never-ending series of break/fix scenarios with the occasional security issue thrown in ("HEY YOU KIDS, GET OFF MY WEB SERVER!!").

Turgon wrote: »

The TE crowd is not your regular IT crowd.

"Have you tried turning it off and on again?"

saspro

We've got a wall full of certs in reception.
It gives a good impression about the level of knowledge we have when customers come to visit.

erpadmin

Turgon wrote: »

hehhe..most IT professionals these days have a social life and fun. Reading books and experimenting with equipment all evening and weekends is a bore for 95% of pros. Far more interesting times to be had eating more food and playing computer games or whatever you want to do when you are out of the office and that's fine. The TE crowd is not your regular IT crowd. IT work can be taxing enough 9 - 5 so a lot of practitioners dont take it home. It's a wage and a means to an end. There is little training on workstime. IT has become a mass employer these days, so most people just treat it as a job. I remember in 2003 explaining to new colleagues in an office that I had a home lab and pointed at Scott Morris's home lab as an inspiration. Big mistake in their eyes anyway. The whole situation was treated with utter contempt. Plus a contract CCIE I worked with said people who do such stuff on personal time 'have social problems'. Oooh the stigma!

There is some truth to this. There was a period in my career where I didn't even want Internet access in my home. When I got home, all I wanted to do was decompress from my day. Then 9/11 happened, and for whatever the reasons, I felt the need to be connected at home (as well as work on my resume and get another job.)

In my younger days, even before IT was going to be a job, I enjoyed being a technology hobbyist. Once it became a job, I needed to find something else, like chess, or reading. Though I am interested in making a Cisco a hobby. However, that's not going to happen before I properly build my own PeopleSoft lab (I need to do that so that I can improve on our methodology for upgrades...something that can't be done during my work time because I'm too busy with other tasks).

Gunning for my MCITP:EA brought some of the joys of labbing back to me. However, it will never be the same as when I was when I was in my teens, unfortunately. I no longer look at technology with the same wide-eyed wonder....that actually makes me sad a bit because I do love technology, though not as I did when it was (truly) my first love.

jmritenour

erpadmin wrote: »

There is some truth to this. There was a period in my career where I didn't even want Internet access in my home. When I got home, all I wanted to do was decompress from my day. Then 9/11 happened, and for whatever the reasons, I felt the need to be connected at home (as well as work on my resume and get another job.)

In my younger days, even before IT was going to be a job, I enjoyed being a technology hobbyist. Once it became a job, I needed to find something else, like chess, or reading. Though I am interested in making a Cisco a hobby. However, that's not going to happen before I properly build my own PeopleSoft lab (I need to do that so that I can improve on our methodology for upgrades...something that can't be done during my work time because I'm too busy with other tasks).

Gunning for my MCITP:EA brought some of the joys of labbing back to me. However, it will never be the same as when I was when I was in my teens, unfortunately. I no longer look at technology with the same wide-eyed wonder....that actually makes me sad a bit because I do love technology, though not as I did when it was (truly) my first love.

Yep, I long for the days when technology used to be fun for me. I miss the days prior to plug and play, when getting a new sound card or modem meant juggling IRQs. My autoexec.bat was several pages long, as I had different memory configs for all my games.

It's just not the same today. I really, really, miss old tech. Today's stuff is better, faster, superior and every way, but it's just not anywhere near as much fun as it used to be.

I believe a large part of is the fact that I work with technology, but that's only part of it. I get misty eyed when I go through my old collection of PC Magazine and read articles about the upcoming OS/2 Warp and Windows 95. As things have gotten easier to do, they've become considerably less fun.

Turgon

erpadmin wrote: »

There is some truth to this. There was a period in my career where I didn't even want Internet access in my home. When I got home, all I wanted to do was decompress from my day. Then 9/11 happened, and for whatever the reasons, I felt the need to be connected at home (as well as work on my resume and get another job.)

In my younger days, even before IT was going to be a job, I enjoyed being a technology hobbyist. Once it became a job, I needed to find something else, like chess, or reading. Though I am interested in making a Cisco a hobby. However, that's not going to happen before I properly build my own PeopleSoft lab (I need to do that so that I can improve on our methodology for upgrades...something that can't be done during my work time because I'm too busy with other tasks).

Gunning for my MCITP:EA brought some of the joys of labbing back to me. However, it will never be the same as when I was when I was in my teens, unfortunately. I no longer look at technology with the same wide-eyed wonder....that actually makes me sad a bit because I do love technology, though not as I did when it was (truly) my first love.

I think there's a lot of truth to this to be honest based on what I have witnessed working with techs for 14 years. All I will say is, a shrinking pool of technocrats isn't actually a bad thing. Someone somewhere actually has to really know how things work. At the sametime you need to understand how best to leverage that knowhow to make things pay. That's why some commercial appreciation is good too!

erpadmin

jmritenour wrote: »

Yep, I long for the days when technology used to be fun for me. I miss the days prior to plug and play, when getting a new sound card or modem meant juggling IRQs. My autoexec.bat was several pages long, as I had different memory configs for all my games.

It's just not the same today. I really, really, miss old tech. Today's stuff is better, faster, superior and every way, but it's just not anywhere near as much fun as it used to be.

I believe a large part of is the fact that I work with technology, but that's only part of it. I get misty eyed when I go through my old collection of PC Magazine and read articles about the upcoming OS/2 Warp and Windows 95. As things have gotten easier to do, they've become considerably less fun.

Yeah, OS/2 Warp was definitely a superior O/S (in fact, I actually have to incorporate that into a paper I'm working on...)

I remember when Computer Shopper was the size of a phone book (another item that doesn't exist anymore) and now has become a size that makes it almost nonexistent. In fact, many PC-tech mags are somewhat irrelevant thanks to the Internet.

I long for the days of BBSes...in fact, it's because of that that I'm even on here as much as I am. I miss the sounds of all of my modems (and even though my fax machine makes the exact same sound....it's just not quite the same.)

Thank you though for making me feel a bit depressed while having a smile on my face though.....(the depression coming from how much we've grown up from our earlier tech days and the smile for the memories of that time. )

Turgon

erpadmin wrote: »

Yeah, OS/2 Warp was definitely a superior O/S (in fact, I actually have to incorporate that into a paper I'm working on...)

I remember when Computer Shopper was the size of a phone book (another item that doesn't exist anymore) and now has become a size that makes it almost nonexistent. In fact, many PC-tech mags are somewhat irrelevant thanks to the Internet.

I long for the days of BBSes...in fact, it's because of that that I'm even on here as much as I am. I miss the sounds of all of my modems (and even though my fax machine makes the exact same sound....it's just not quite the same.)

Thank you though for making me feel a bit depressed while having a smile on my face though.....(the depression coming from how much we've grown up from our earlier tech days and the smile for the memories of that time. )

OS/2 was good. But they missed the boat as my University lecturer said in 1990. It's about what people want and will pay for. Not if it's any good

snokerpoker

I don't list any certs in my email sig or at my desk. It seems like the Sr. Engineers I work with all hang their certs and a couple have some in their email signatures.

JDMurray

Turgon wrote: »

It's about what people want and will pay for. Not if it's any good

You've just described the central theme behind all product advertising in the USA for the past 150 years.

Turgon

JDMurray wrote: »

You've just described the central theme behind all product advertising in the USA for the past 150 years.

I know. Many of those products are on sale in the UK. We dont buy them anymore.

aldous

i dont list any in email sigs but id o have my Bsc,CCNP CCIP & CCNA:S on the wall by my desk at home. don't think i'd ever put them in a workplace as they are my personal achievement. When i get the CCIE thats going in the email sig though.

its whats important to you, i was beaming with pride(as i thought it was really hard at the time) when i got my ICND1 CCENT cert (first IT cert and i was in uni with no IT experience) yet today running at the CCIE it seems so simple. do what you feel is right and forget everyone else if your proud of your cert and want to display it wherever do it regardless of its level CCNA or PhD it is what it means to you that counts.

bertstare

My boss hangs his, I personally think it looks tacky. Best part is they're all low level certs anyone could get. But it's a non-IT firm so no one knows, and he feels important.. so to each their own.

dustinmurphy

All my degree diplomas are sitting in my office... in a cabinet. LOL. I'm proud of them.. but don't have a good place to display them properly.

know_nothing

No.

Don't display certs.

Certs make people jealous.

Jealous coworkers are DANGEROUS.

JDMurray

know_nothing wrote: »

Certs make people jealous.

Jealous coworkers are DANGEROUS.

You mean "envious?"