All,
In my opinion, obtaining certification without having training AND product experience on a few projects seriously devalues certification.
It should be impossible to get certification without using the product.
It is as if a Medical student wanted to get a license to practice medicine without ever seeing a real patient!
Imagine getting a driver's license without ever being in a car!
This is bad enough. But when people are trying to get certification WITHOUT the benefit of training on the product.
There is ABSOLUTELY NO SUBSTITUTE for class room training and using a product in the real world.
I would much rather hire someone with training and 2-3 full life cycle projects experience, than someone with certification, but no training and experience.
Only with training and experience would the certification provide real incremental value to the employer.
I understand why some managers place excessive value on certification. It saves them the trouble of having to learn what their team members actually do and from needing even minimal competence in the area they are supposed to manage. When they hire certified people and they don't work out, they can blame the certification program.
This is an obvious indication of managerial incompetence which unfortunately is a global plague.
My apologies if I have uninadvertantly offended anyone who has received training, used the product, and now pursues certification to validate their knowledge.
Charles
