Re: The Informix Certified Professional Program

> What does any one else think of this certification? > > +------------------------------------------------------------+ > | Paul K. Watje Fourgen Programmer| > | AEC Data Systems Database Administrator| > | San Antonio, TX Systems Administrator| > | watjep@netxpress.com watjep@aecdata.com blah, blah, blah| > +------------------------------------------------------------+ Paul, Since you asked, :-) In my little opinion, which could be wrong: It makes good sense to be certified, if you need it to be validated for the work you are doing. However, when this industry changes as rapidly as it does, I think the cost is relative to the actual benefit you receive. If you can prove you <have> done, or <can do> the work, then the certification would not be necessary. But isn't that what certification is all about? It's paradoxical. "I need to prove to you MIS Dept Head I'm really as good as I say I am." Whatever happened to good technical interviews? Certification: Who's paying for it? Who's setting the standard? Who needs to feel better that you're certified? You? A Client? Your company? Investors? What is the perception of an MIS Director or Project Leader when they meet a "certified" professional? The pricing really is relative. But consider the long-term value. Novell Certification was/is historically (sp?) overpriced, and now completely useless. Novell networks aren't necessary anymore, so why would you be certified for them, and spend all the money. However, it has crossed my mind that INFORMIX certification would be good to help differentiate me in the marketplace, where there seems to be an increasing multitude of new-to-INFORMIX people. Maybe the increase in the number of people using INFORMIX products has made it necessary. Maybe there are a lot of liars out there and we need to be certified so the management feels better about us using the barely-production-ready-and-filled-with-a-good-share- of-bugs-software. The increasing complexity of the product necessitates the need to be clearly experienced for the work you are doing or will do. There is still a certain amount of experimentation, even among experienced DBAs, Programmers, and other technical folk, where good problem- solving ability, and being able to ask good questions at the right time can also offset a need for "certification". ( You ARE being paid to think in most cases. :-) In many instances having experience from other areas besides the immediate problem is probably what will get you through, no matter how much certification you have. And being able to recommend to management the right person to provide a fix or a service if YOU can't provide what is needed. I have seen many top notch people solve problems where they weren't necessarily the expert, but their uncanny ability to ask probing questions or do the intuitive research helped them overcome a problem or improve the environment, much to the satisfaction of management. If you're in management, have enough understanding about your systems to get the right people, with the right experience, and maybe the need for certification will be less of an issue. Cheers, Tim -- \\\\|// (6 6) ==============================---o00--(_)--00o---============================ Tim Schaefer http://www.shadow.net/~tschaefe The Computer Business Company, Inc. tschaefe@shadow.net =============================================================================