Community Certification (well learning at least)

[Entelin]

I couldn't agree more. To be broad, the best people in any industry are
those who have a personal interest in it. In this industry the level of
expertise needed to truly excel in ones carrier is substantially higher
than that which most any college will prepare them for. So those who
think they can narrow their focus and get by will most likely fall off
the edge. The best way to treat certs is to use them as a goal in your
studying path. However quite frankly anyone who is not interested enough
in their technical surroundings to not have learned enough on their own
to pass A+ is probably in the wrong industry. However in the end
certifications are just like college what you learn is up to you,
however that paper is expected, and it opens up doors.

On Sun, 2002-11-03 at 19:32, Derek Neighbors wrote:
> On Sun, 2002-11-03 at 12:09, Darrell Shandrow wrote:
> > Yes!  I'd certainly agree.  I took such an A+ prep course (just as a
> > brush-up) then took and passed the A+ exams with flying colors.  There's
> > absolutely no mention of Linux on the exam.  As a student, I'd be a bit
> > upset if I spent money to take a course going toward certification, then the
> > instructor decided to include material known not to be covered by that
> > particular certification.  If that instructor wants to teach a certification
> > course involving Linux, why not teach a prep course for Linux+?
> 
> I suppose this is what makes 'technical certifications' look so
> horrible.  When someone takes a certification just to be 'certified' and
> has no interest in the relevant world in which they will work it
> explains a lot.
> 
> I dont say this to be mean, but I would be hard pressed to find an
> 'aspiring sci-fi author' who took a class say on the works of 'Kurt
> Vonnegut' who would be enraged if somehow the topic strayed into the
> works of 'Issac Asimov'.  Granted if the topic was continually about
> someone other than Vonnegut then thats faulty advertising.  I guess for
> me I dont see how one can be proficient in computing without being aware
> of the computing world around them.  Again this is my biased two cents.
> 
> Most of this ill I think goes to the programs themselves.  Their adds
> basically entice people to get certified to make big moola.  So they
> attract people who generally are looking for the quick buck (I am of
> course generalizing broadly here, certainly not everyone who goes for
> certifications has this motivation).  On top of that they are so
> ludicrous in price, I could see irration if I thought I were going to
> fail the test after dropping $1,000 plus for the course work.
> 
> So why bother writing this email?  I really think the 'community' should
> step up and do certifications.  That is offer classes to teach not
> classes for a piece of paper.  Your certification comes in the form of
> you actually knowing real world stuff.  The validation comes in the
> essence of the recognition of peers.  I know the flames to expect, but
> someday when I have time, if Hans doesnt beat me to the punch, perhaps
> PLUG will offer this in the future. ;)
> 
> -- 
> Derek Neighbors
> GNU Enterprise
> http://www.gnuenterprise.org
> derek@gnue.org
> 
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