Re: The Informix Certified Professional Program

Jack Parker wrote: > > Tim spake, > > > > > What does any one else think of this certification? > > > > > > | Paul K. Watje Fourgen Programmer| > > > > Paul, > > > > Since you asked, :-) In my little opinion, which could be wrong: > > > > [old friend of mine - deletia] > > > Whatever happened to good technical interviews? > > Hard to give when you're out there looking for expertise that you don't > currently have. How do you give a technical interview to a guru? > > Certification is a good idea. Would you go to a doctor who hadn't passed > the bar? ( I would certainly hope so ). Uhmmm, 1) Doctors don't take the bar. (Unless they want to cut out the lawyers when they get sued for malpractice. ;-) 2) Doctors take board certification. This is controlled by the state so competency is also state by state. 3) You can still practice Medicine and not be board certified. These doctors exist so I guess that people do and will see them. Of course HMOs probably enjoy the fact that they are cheaper too! ;-) >In the beginning of any such > endeavour you are going to have the issue of acceptance of the standard. > Sure it's another revenue stream - Informix isn't another NPR. On the > other hand, $250 - or even $800 is not that much. Gee Jack, does that mean HP pays for all of your training? If the $800 came from your pocket would you say the same? How about if all the vendors required certification for all the products you had to support? It adds up pretty quick. Plus of course the cost of training in the first place. > > Back in the days when I supported Altos stuff, we got most of our business > from Altos - who sent folks our way after some half-baked VAR had ripped > the customer off. (I have never seen this in the Informix community, but > then I haven't exactly been out in the open for a while either.) If the > VAR had been certified - AND the customer trained to look for this > certification, there might have been fewer snow jobs out there - this tends > to avoid the bad aftertaste - and subsequent badmouthing. > There will always be bad vars/consultants/whoever in this industry. Unlike doctors who must go through Medical School, or Lawyers who must attend law school, Programmers / SysAdmin / etc do not have to have any specialized training. Heck you don't even need a degree ! Certification does not guarantee the success of a project or that the individuals who are certified are capable of completing the work. Technical Interviews are key. Even if you lack the specifics, a good manager can get a feel for a candidates potential performance. -Mikey