Just curious....

[DSTech]

I was just wondering how common this is....One of the last places I worked, I was hired through a recruiter to work a (probably) temp position at place that refurbed machines for online auction or other forms of resale. The day after I started there, another guy (from the same recruiter) started in the same area as I was assigned. This other guy had his A+ certification and was studying for others, I myself have no certifications whatsoever. It became obvious to me within the first day of working with this guy, that he had absolutely no clue how to do anything with a computer, couldn't even extract a ZIP file, let alone understanding file structure or installing a simple driver. Needless to say, with his certification, he ended up being a gopher (comparing lists of stock to inventory, etc) while I moved on to become the server technician as well as the "Goto guy" (everyone came to me with their problems).

I was just curious how common this is, as it wasn't the only time I had experienced something like this.

[Outcoded]

You mean people with bits of paper knowing absolutly ****? Trust me, I'm doing a Computing degree, I know people on my course who set their password to their name, and need help to login every time when they've been here for two years!

[silencio]

If your a serious tech on your way to being a serious engineer you need to look at certs as a baseline proof to the business world that you know what your doing.

In the bench world you need certs to qualify for NARDA (manufacturer warranty) repairs. You need A+ and company certs. Most of the company certs are based on "this product is x and has x inside."

If you move up to hardware repair on servers the company certs get a little bit more demanding. More of the test content is based around useful knowledge and finding training is a little more tough and expensive.

If you move up to the software side of computing there are a few options in certs and a few seperate branches of career paths that few people realize exist. For example, many people get an MCSE and then a CCNA. IMO, unless your immediatly going for the job of Systems Administrator, having both of these is not necessary. They really are different career paths. Don't get me wrong, studying for the CCNA provides students with good knowledge but the time could be better spend.

Most people at the top of thier field do one very demanding thing very well. I don't know any CCIEs who are also SQL DBAs. Both of those career paths offer salaries in the range of $80-180K/year but most people never get there because they're too busy looking at certs as the goal and they wind up diversifying their knowledge.

In the end, if you plan on staying with this field you will need to have certs if you want the big bucks (unless you're already established rock). But, don't let them be your goal. Keep doing what your doing and let the monkeys chase paper.

[CJK]

When you look at a lot of job postings, you will notice that experience is prefered over all and most of the time certifications are a bonus but not a requirement.

[talltech]

not quite on the subject, but at the place i am working they are interviewing for a new tech, on on resume, a guy put that he was an MCP but had not done the test !!!!!!! the service manager was bumused as was the pc service division. AS was i (I have passed the tests) i think M$ would have a feild day with this guy

[HIESLanMan]

I think this is pretty common, especially in entry-level positions. Remember that a lot of people get their A+, N+, and MCP certs before they can find a job. They expect these entry-level certs to get them in the door, and often it will. They frequently have very little actual experience (and no work experience) on the machines. I got my first job this way. Most employers should understand this, and look for the people that will continue to learn and grow. That's probably the biggest reason that so many go through recruiters rather than putting peopl on their own payroll - it's easier to dump the bad ones. The premium certs are muchharder to get without experience. I've never heard of an incompetent CCIE (although there probably are some, and there are certainly those who CLAIM to have it and don't), and the new MS exams should be much more demanding (in my experience, anyway). That's not to say that you can rely on someone's certs to judge their skills. I think people expect far too much from a few paper exams! As to the counterfeiting issue, I think I read that MS is making it much easier for employers to check soon. I've yet to hear of an employer actually sking a candidate for a transcript, but currently that's the only way to verify.