What do you get out of certification?

We kind of discuss this issue a little in some other threads and I recall it being posted in the past, so I thought I might bring the topic up and see what people think. Basically this is prompted by posts from Lord Nikon and Devilsbane.

I'd like to know 3 bits of information:

1. How long have you been in IT?
2. What do you believe THE main benefit of certification is?
3. If you have been in IT for longer than 5 years how has your perspective on certification changed?

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Hypntick

1.) 3 years
2.) Getting my resume moved to the top of the pile. Also learning a few things that I otherwise probably wouldn't use in my day to day life.
3.) n/a

Ahriakin

1. 14 years
2. Knowledge (which leads to other benefits)
3. Honestly it hasn't really changed, I've always approached them for the knowledge first, the resume padding doesn't hurt but is useless if you haven't absorbed the information well (and I hate looking like an idiot

Turgon

RobertKaucher wrote: »

We kind of discuss this issue a little in some other threads and I recall it being posted in the past, so I thought I might bring the topic up and see what people think. Basically this is prompted by posts from Lord Nikon and Devilsbane.

I'd like to know 3 bits of information:

1. How long have you been in IT?
2. What do you believe THE main benefit of certification is?
3. If you have been in IT for longer than 5 years how has your perspective on certification changed?

15 years
Knowledge and competancy
It hasn't. I never did them for the money

Alif_Sadida_Ekin

1. 4.5 Years

2. I gain them primarily to increase my knowledge, but I also gain them to help solidify my career. I'm always preparing myself for the inevitable layoff or firing and I want to be as stable in my career as possible. I see a lot of people on these boards who are unemployed and are using that as an incentive to get certified. I'm not putting anyone down for this, but I personally would feel that it's a bit late at that point and would rather prepare myself before a drastic situation like that happens to me.

instant000

1. How long have you been in IT?
2. What do you believe THE main benefit of certification is?
3. If you have been in IT for longer than 5 years how has your perspective on certification changed?

1. Eleven years.
2. Getting past human resources is the main benefit of certification.
I see jobs that I have exp for, but don't have the cert, so I cannot apply for them.
3. Over time, I appreciate certifications more. The person who pursues certifications is working to improve his/her career. A lot of the people who talk down on certifications ... don't have them! Do not let someone discourage you, because they may just feel threatened that you are trying to surpass them! Note: If you are truly driven in your career, you want to surpass a lot of people!

it_consultant

RobertKaucher wrote: »

We kind of discuss this issue a little in some other threads and I recall it being posted in the past, so I thought I might bring the topic up and see what people think. Basically this is prompted by posts from Lord Nikon and Devilsbane.

I'd like to know 3 bits of information:

1. How long have you been in IT?
2. What do you believe THE main benefit of certification is?
3. If you have been in IT for longer than 5 years how has your perspective on certification changed?

1 - Seven years (I am a relative newbie)
2 - Getting around my lack of a bachelor's degree
3 - Anyone can take a test, really knowing the technology inside and out is key and certifications will only get you 40% there

Zartanasaurus

1. Dating from the receipt of my first certification: 11 years. My actual experience is more like 6 years.
2. Dual benefit of being a structured, vendor-approved learning method on technology as well as meeting employment criteria.
3. When I was first getting started and on the outside looking in, certs were promoted as a winning lottery ticket (get your MCSE and get a job making $60k!!). I was a little more gullible then. I know better now.

TesseracT

1) 6 years
2) Two benefits for me. First is to give a structured method for learning. It can often be difficult mastering a subject if you have no boundaries or set methods to learn. Second is to get me that interview.
3) Nothing really. You should know what you want to get out of them before you go for them otherwise what's the point? It's always a means to an end for me. I.E. learn a subject and have a little piece of paper that states that I have learned the subject.

Pash

It's ironic I know considering I still come back to techexams now even though my answers may seem misleading!!! I love these boards and they have been a great help to my studies over the last 4 years.

1. 6 years (2 in freelance web design, 4 years in managed services doing support and project work).

2. Professional and technical development. There is never any harm in putting some guest clients into vmware and breaking stuff.

3. It should be about personal and professional development and continuous learning that fits in with the rapid pace of the technology/IT industry. Unfortunately my current place of work doesn't recognize that and this has led to my study decline.

I really have no interest in continuing on the path of certification or working in IT if I can get some hard personal work in over the next few years. I am currently looking at making my own Indie Game Studio with a good friend of mine whom is a graphics design graduate and club DJ. I am looking more into the engineering side of it all and currently I am shaping up my C# skills to use in game engines like Unity 3d. My goal is to one day become completely full time at this and drop IT for good.

Psoasman

3.5 years.
Validate skills and knowledge. Keep myself up to date. I like to learn new technology.

Bl8ckr0uter

RobertKaucher wrote: »

We kind of discuss this issue a little in some other threads and I recall it being posted in the past, so I thought I might bring the topic up and see what people think. Basically this is prompted by posts from Lord Nikon and Devilsbane.

I'd like to know 3 bits of information:

1. How long have you been in IT?
2. What do you believe THE main benefit of certification is?
3. If you have been in IT for longer than 5 years how has your perspective on certification changed?

1: 4+ years
2: Making HR people happy and giving you something shinny that proves what you know. Also having structure for leaning purposes does help as well.

Forsaken_GA

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

3. When I was first getting started and on the outside looking in, certs were promoted as a winning lottery ticket (get your MCSE and get a job making $60k!!). I was a little more gullible then. I know better now.

I'm glad to see someone is being honest about this. I suspect that this is the lure for the majority of people, especially with the economy down turn and folks looking to change careers. Folks in a hurry aren't typically self-motivated enough to go learn new things they don't have to, so the big paycheck or the new job is the carrot at the end of the certification trail.

To answer Robert's questions -

#1 Over a decade.

#2 This is not a simple answer for me. The ultimate answer is the knowledge, but for me, there are other factors at work as well. I would acquire the knowledge one way or the other just because of how I am, the certification path just gives me a better framework to focus my studies with. The primary benefit for me has been the motivation that the desire for a particular certification has caused within me. I am lazy by nature. Structure and good habit and persistence have been a struggle. So pursuit of the CCIE has taught me things I didn't want to know, in addition to those that I did. The prestige of the CCIE lured me in. The challenge lured me in. All the people who go up against that exam and fail it? Of course I want to test myself against it and see how I measure up. And the promise of a big fat paycheck that tends to come along with it is nothing to sneeze at either.

So the decision to pursue the CCIE gave me the motivation to get off my fat ass and do something in order to gain the acclaim of my peers and make more money. Not exactly altruistic, but it's honest. And it's made me a better technician as a result.

#3 It really hasn't. After meeting several MCSE's that were total morons, I quickly figured out that certification isn't exactly a good measuring stick. I've always looked at certifications as validation that you have a base level of competency or familiarity with what that certification covers. It does not imply mastery of all the subjects contained therein.

Devilsbane

1. About 2 years
2. The main benefit is learning something new and proving that you know it to yourself and others.
3. I haven't been here 5 years yet, but it has already changed. When I was first starting out certifications were this mysterious thing that I thought I was required to have. I started getting them to list on my resume to secure a job. These days, the title seems to outweigh the concepts behind. Maybe that is just because I'm so close to having a highly recognized title. It is often very easy easy to lose track of the idea that certifications are for learning and not just having some title, regardless of how cool it would sound.

rji

- 12 years
- In previous jobs I was required to take certifications by my employers so they could get extra % discount with manufacturers. I am now purely going to start taking the exams to boost my CV as you do need the quals to get noticed by HR when applying for jobs.
- I've been around long enough to know that someone who maybe qualified may not necessarily be competent, too many **** sites now.

Kasor

A very good question.

1. I can't tell you, but less than 10 years
2. I agree that knowledge and dedication to your work, and IT Profession
3. I'm more toward high end and very specific topic type of certification.

N2IT

1. How long have you been in IT?
Between 6 - 7 years
2. What do you believe THE main benefit of certification is?
Validate your knowledge of a certain framework, technology, methodology
3. If you have been in IT for longer than 5 years how has your perspective on certification changed?
My perspective has changes tremendously. Now I believe less is more when it comes to certifications. A lot of time the best admins, architechs, engineers are better than the fully certified ones. I use certifications for two reason. One is too fill in knowledge gaps, example security +. My CompTIA's are a perfect example of that. Very high level, not much detail, which gives you a very high level of that particular technology. When I am in a meeting and we are discussing security or servers I am able to leverage back to those books I read and contribute in the conversation. You won't see me going for my MCSE/MCITP, that to me is more specialized and quite frankly not my game or in my wheelhouse. My ITIL and ISO certifications are geared to continue my education and to further my education and knowledge with those frameworks. That is where I want to excel and become stronger. Just like Robert likes database certifications I am interested in the service management frameworks. Overall my goal is to become a project manager or an engagement manager.

Perfect example is Bane and yourself. You guys locked into one technology and really drilled into it and mastered it. I am hoping to do the same with ITIL and Finance.

Everyone

instant000 wrote: »

I see jobs that I have exp for, but don't have the cert, so I cannot apply for them.

You're only hurting yourself by not applying. If I see I job I'm interest in and know I'm well qualified for, I'll apply for it, regardless of what certs they have on their wish list. The job offer I recently accepted was looking for several certs that I don't have, and a degree, which I also don't have. Guess what I did have? All the experience they were looking for, and then some.

To answer the OP.

1. 12 years.
2. An expensive piece of paper.
3. I think certs have come a long way. There are quite a few now that I think would actually be worth my time and effort.

xenodamus

RobertKaucher wrote: »

1. How long have you been in IT?
2. What do you believe THE main benefit of certification is?
3. If you have been in IT for longer than 5 years how has your perspective on certification changed?

1. 9 years

2. For me it's the knowledge and structured approach to learning. I hate having gaps in my knowledge, and the program of study provided by cert blueprints usually teaches me things that I wouldn't necessarily have picked up on the job. Like others have said, I see certification as proof that I have achieved a baseline level of knowledge about a subject. I can't tell you how many times I've been able to have an intelligent conversation about something I've never done because I learned about it through my studies. It definitely helps the resume as well.

3. I can't say that my view has really changed much. Even starting out, I never really felt like certification X would ensure any particular salary. It's always been about the knowledge and resume.

shodown

3 Years

I wanted to advance quickly without playing the lower level positons longer than I had too.

Then once I reached the mid level with mid level pay get all the advanced certs then wait till I felt ready for a Adv job.

I don't look up or down at people who have them. What a piece of paper says and what you can actually do are 2 different things. It does make the job hunt easier and open you to a lot more jobs when you see CCNP required.

Devilsbane

Devilsbane wrote: »

1. About 2 years
2. The main benefit is learning something new and proving that you know it to yourself and others.
3. I haven't been here 5 years yet, but it has already changed. When I was first starting out certifications were this mysterious thing that I thought I was required to have. I started getting them to list on my resume to secure a job. These days, the title seems to outweigh the concepts behind. Maybe that is just because I'm so close to having a highly recognized title. It is often very easy easy to lose track of the idea that certifications are for learning and not just having some title, regardless of how cool it would sound.

To revise my answer a little, I'm already looking forward to starting my work on the windows 7 upgrade. I'm already excited because I know I'm going for the right reasons. At this time I really couldn't care much less for the Enterprise Administrator title. This will probably change when I'm closer to having it, but I'm very content with the MCSE title and just looking forward to digging into Win7 and 2008. Unfortunately July is getting consumed with my summer classes, so this won't be until August.

wheez

1. Just over 10 years
2. Nowadays: knowledge. I'm learning about techniques or technologies on the job, read up to familiarize myself with the details.. so why not try and achieve the cert that goes with it?
3. I started out studying certs to make myself more marketable when I was looking for other opportunities about 7 years ago. As I said earlier, nowadays it's more or less the other way around.

tbgree00

RobertKaucher wrote: »

We kind of discuss this issue a little in some other threads and I recall it being posted in the past, so I thought I might bring the topic up and see what people think. Basically this is prompted by posts from Lord Nikon and Devilsbane.

I'd like to know 3 bits of information:

1. How long have you been in IT?
2. What do you believe THE main benefit of certification is?
3. If you have been in IT for longer than 5 years how has your perspective on certification changed?

1) 4 years
2)When I first started it was a gateway to learn new technology. Now that I can actually touch more stuff it is a way to sign off on my experience.
3) Despite not hitting the 5 year mark I will answer this. When I first started I was encouraged to use them as a carrot to learn new software. I did a lot of work to get a qualification for something I had never touched (i.e. Network + without having more than home router experience. I still haven't done much with networking). Now I see them more as a way to dive deeper into stuff I've had experience with (VMware for example). It's a lot easier to review stuff I've done than only have lab experience. Makes me sound less dumb in interviews too.