Are certifications the norm?

I've worked for several different companies, some as a consultant and others as a FTE. In my experience certifications are very rare. Usually if a person gets one it's a company initiative like ITIL or Six Sigma, (these are real world scenarios I have seen). What have been your experiences? It says two things to me. Certifications aren't important to get jobs or if you have certifications you can get jobs more easily. Thoughts? I just find it rather bizarre that I have worked for 5 large companies and 1 small company and certifications never seemed to be the norm.

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RouteMyPacket

Oh Jesus..this topic again..I have made my opinion known before. For this thread, I'll make it short and sweet:

To each his own!

N2IT

@ MSP - Security seems to be the one department that recognizes certifications throughout all organizations.

JDMurray

N2IT wrote: »

...and actually take the time to let me know that learning from the MS Training Kit is a waste of time. They went on to ask me if I plan on doing certifications and then said that they thought certs were a waste.

At that point you should nicely ask what that person's own experience with cert are. You'll probably find a history of failed cert attempts, bad academic experiences, or a general dislike of the concepts of studying an testing altogether. I've found that an open dislike of certs is sometimes an indication of deeper, unresolved issues involving personal competency and self-esteem. This is not to say that people with a ton of certs and degrees don't have self-esteem issues either.

LittleBIT

JDMurray wrote: »

At that point you should nicely ask what that person's own experience with cert are. You'll probably find a history of failed cert attempts, bad academic experiences, or a general dislike of the concepts of studying an testing altogether. I've found that an open dislike of certs is sometimes an indication of deeper, unresolved issues involving personal competency and self-esteem. This is not to say that people with a ton of certs and degrees don't have self-esteem issues either.

By far the funniest and truest post I have ever read. You win the internet for the day good sir.

ande0255

If you work at a Cisco Partner shop, I think the certs go a long way for getting you to a higher level role to improve their partner status, as long as you show the competency to take on said higher role in the company.

WafflesAndRootbeer

--chris-- wrote: »

2 hours a day and people still failed it? lol Maybe I am being harsh, but that makes me feel a lot better about myself.

It's not that big of a surprise. The fail rate for tech certs is VERY high these days. The old CompTIA and Microsoft exams that I took back in the day were easier than the stuff you see now and there wasn't much in the way of fluff in the mix.

WafflesAndRootbeer

ande0255 wrote: »

If you work at a Cisco Partner shop, I think the certs go a long way for getting you to a higher level role to improve their partner status, as long as you show the competency to take on said higher role in the company.

CPS places also tend to offer internal training and try to develop their talent, because they know they have to. You won't find that in other areas of IT any more for the most part.

N2IT

@JD: Funny and so true. Thankfully now were I am working they are indifferent and to be honest that's okay.

osPrime

petedude wrote: »

Should be.

It's called "external validation", folks. Someone external and (hopefully) non-biased (or at least not biased in your favor personally) has verified that you have obtained a certain level of mastery in a given technical subject based on a specific structured curriculum.

Outside of that, there are all too many people who BS their way into IT with no structured foundational knowledge to show for what they're doing.

Pretty much what was said above.

You're like a product, and what goes on your product label (resume), gives potential buyers a better understanding of what it is you do. If it looks better than the generic brand on the shelf, they are more likely to buy your brand first.

The BSers who wiggle into IT usually run out of flavor pretty quick.

YFZblu

MSP-IT wrote: »

Within the security department of my company, the CISSP is the only certification recognized. It's seen as something only the more senior professionals have, and a requirement for the majority of high level security positions.

Conversely, in the two SOC environments I have worked in, the CISSP is looked at as an archaic certification that the elder statesment of the department get when they're ready to head out to pasture (management

) or for those in less technical positions like risk assessment an access management. Typically the people I work with pursue credentials through GIAC and Offensive Security.

I'm not saying I agree completely with that attitude towards the CISSP; I just think it speaks to JD's point that ultimately the culture on certifications is decided by department.

Kinet1c

Nobody on my existing team has any certs, apart from me. They're not encouraged, in fact training is not a priority. My new job that I'm starting, my new direct report wants his techs at a certain level so I'm looking forward to that.

TylerBarrett

At the MSP I work for, when I started there was no certification plans at all. Except for the fact that all techs had to have A+. I wanted to further my knoweldge and get some raises so they impleted a pay structure based on what certications a tech has. They'll pay for the exam fees, but the techs have to pay for study materials. And if the tech leaves the company within a certain amount of time then they are required to pay back the exam fees. Also, nothing is awarded for certifications not listed on their structure.

This doesn't appear to be the norm in my city however. I found that at another MSP in town that you start at a set wage and you stay there unless a management spot opens and you can obtain that.

N2IT

Yeah A+ and Server + seem to be good ones to have for the fact it waves a lot of vendor certifications and you can order parts and install them yourself. Dell has that reimbursement policy so certifications (A+/Server+) makes sense. You are getting paid back for the warranty work. Those are the only two CompTIA's I have seen actually bring money back into a project / operation.

wikiget

Admittedly, I started out with an aversion to certs. It seemed like a waste of time, money and effort. I felt that I can prove my knowledge by sitting in a room with another technical person for an hour or two.

Although, I still believe I can prove my knowledge this way, it gets tiring to have to prove myself over and over. Certs mean I can come into a conversation with some of my level of knowledge already established based on the letters following my name.

Luckily, I haven't felt the sting of failing a cert yet, but I can see how that would make someone dislike certs.