Re: Of Jobs and Certs

In my opinion, certification doesn't count for much. The Microsoft certs are proof enough of this, but even many of the Linux certs are pretty shallow when you look at what they cover and how they're tested. Most employers know that you can either do it or you can't. Anecdote: I once asked a networking/hardware professional whether a RedHat certificate would make me more employable in his eyes. No way was his answer, he was more interested in what I could demonstrably do (and had already done) than in the paper. I don't have any advice about how to get into the industry. I have only just joined it after working 10 years as a teacher. I started building sites for community groups, built web apps for schools, got a few paid commercial jobs, built up a portfolio, and finally got a fulltime web development job at a tertiary institution. The ease/difficulty of getting into the industry probably depends greatly on economic circumstances. But I know that in my case, knowing Linux, Apache and PHP/MySQL (plus demonstrable experience, not necessarily commercial) was what clinched it for me. Where I live (NT, Australia), Linux really is making inroads into the mainstream. One thing that might look good on a CV is involvement in an open source project, at whatever level. Michael On Wed, 17 Jul 2002, Martin Clifford wrote: > Howdy everyone, > > I'd like to get everyone's input on Jobs and Certs. I know there are a couple > Certifications for web developers out there, such as the CIW and CWP certifications. > > Here are my questions: > > 1. What is the best method to go about becoming certified? > 2. What is the best way to go about getting into the web development industry? > 3. If you have ever taken online courses relating to web development, what is your opinion on > them? Good, bad, ugly? > 4. Which certification is most beneficial? I know that CWP requires work experience before > becoming certified past certain points, and CIW does not require this. > 5. Why can't I remember what question five was? Doh. > > At any rate, I'm current a data entry clerk, but have quite a bit of web experience (none > at a job, though), and I know that I have TONS more to learn, but I am very passionate about it and > want to be able to do it as a career. I just don't know where the hell to start, and I know > that some of you might be able to offer some advice in this area. > > Thanks in advance! This is very important to me, so I thought I'd ask the people that > would know best :o) > > Martin Clifford > Homepage: http://www.completesource.net > Developer's Forums: http://www.completesource.net/forums/ > > > > -- -------------------------------- n i n t i . c o m php-python-perl-mysql-postgresql -------------------------------- Michael Hall ninti@ninti.com --------------------------------