So, the survey says - and it's a real survey, not the small informal ones I put in this blog space occasionally - that certified folks aren't as valuable today in comparison to people with non-certified skills. Other articles point to a worldwide IT skills shortage, which isn't a contradiction, but certainly bodes well for those workers in the IT world. So it got me thinking - what do folks like you experience in your workplace, so I decided to ask. But first, a few thoughts on these recent articles.
(By the way, thanks to Dave Shultz for filling in last week!)
I spent an hour or so this morning reading a sample report at the Foote Partners' web site, trying to get a handle on what the survey (link above) really says. They are professionals - and I'm not that smart, and it's been over 20 years (gulp) since I took all sorts of classes on how to perform valid and meaningful surveys (ick) - so I'm not so sure I could have understood all the testing methodology stuff in their ($2000) most recent report anyway. However, there were some interesting tidbits in a sample report:
(Disclaimer - that's just my interpretation from reading the Foote Partners's web site.)
In short, the report's telling a customer (HR, management) what the rest of the world is paying for each skill and certification over and above the base pay. It's an interesting, and probably very valuable, tool for HR folks. But the report isn't saying that certifications aren't valuable, but just that they are now less valuable relative to some other non-certified skills tracked in their survey.
Now, what I hope to get started in the blog this week is to get some opinions about the value of Cisco certifications. They have value - but why are they valuable to you?
Today, I'd like to ask all you Cisco customers to respond. Cisco certs have an inherent value to Cisco partners in that each partner must have a number of employees with different certifications, as specified by Cisco. However, for those of you working in jobs where your relationship with Cisco is that you buy products from them (directly, or through a Channel Partner), why do you personally value Cisco certifications? Does your management? If so, are their tangible benefits, or is it just a perception? Do your co-workers value Cisco certifications? Or is even considered a bad thing to pursue various Cisco certifications? I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this subject. And for those of you hoping to see more on NAT today, I'll get back to it pretty soon.
Odom, CCIE No, 1624, splits time between writing books for Cisco Press and teaching classes for Skyline ATS. In his 25-ish years in the networking industry, he has worked as as a pre-sale and post-sale SE for a few networking vendors, as well as a network engineer implementing network technology. Wendell has spent the majority of the last 15 years teaching, consulting, and writing about networking technologies, most of which in some way relate to Cisco products. His books include titles on QoS, CCIE R/S, as well as several titles related to CCNA certification, including the September 2007 book CCNA Official Exam Certification Library (CCNA Exam 640-802) (Read a sneak peek of chapter 7). Click for the list of current titles by Wendell.
The opinions expressed in this Weblog are those of the writer and may not represent the opinions of Network World.
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Cisco certifications
Most important thing for me is the knowledge you get when you study for Cisco certifications.."The Cisco Knowledge" The certification is just a consequence.
On the other hand, certification without hands on...It's difficult to get a job if you have a CCNA but dont have experience. It's complicated!!!
If you have experience and work for a cisco partner than it's very important to get a certification once the company get discounts on cisco gears when they have x numbers of ccie, ccnp, ccna etc etc
I agree
For myself, the knowledge that I have gained in my certification studies has been most valuable. Personally when I did get my CCNA, it opened up a door to a new position in my company. But the things that I have learned from getting my CCNA and studying for my CCNP have been extremely beneficial to my job performance.
Studying for a certification allows me to learn things that I would never learn or encounter in my day-to-day activities as a network admin. I have then been able to apply that new knowledge to solve nagging problems. The more knowledge I gain, the more effective I become.
One Word
CCIE - Nothing else even comes close.
Certs are bull shit. whether
Certs are bull shit. whether Cisco or not. Somebody having 11 to 12 years experience like me, why would you need certs to prove anything. I work day in day out on Cisco equipment, i dont need to answer some stupid Cisco questions to prove anything. You know how much money Cisco makes for all this crap certs?
Certs are BS? Whatever...
Spoken from someone who obviously doesn't do well on aptitude tests? It's ok to have an opinion that you don't need certs. However, in searching for a job it is a simple way to market yourself or at least separate yourself from others in the field.
Looking at a simple resume, compared to someone who has one, two, whatever-number-of-certs, you have 12 years of experience but no measurable standard by which to measure your skillset.
So, unless you expect all hiring managers to go out of there way to say "wow, this guy obviously knows something or we think he might because, gosh, he did SOMETHING for 12 years, right?"
Don't hold your breath on that. But in certain situations, you are correct, the experience definitely holds weight. Just depends on your circumstances.
By the way, in terms of measuring aptitude on things, you may also consider that a certain two-word phrase you used really is just a single word. No worries though.
Scott
Cisco (and other) certs value
In the growing organization I work for as well as the previous Fortune 500 org, certs were of little to no value in themselves. What the person could perform on the job or sometimes in the interview was of utmost value. In the 3 organizations I have worked at in my 20 years in I/T, I have not been pushed to gain certifications nor have I been paid more or less for having or not having certain certs. I personally have taken many Cisco, project management, Novell, and Microsoft training classes to gain that knowledge, but have not sat for any cert exams. The hands on performance and knowledge is the key, and not the ability to pass a somewhat standard exam. Yes, it has been a big debate at times as to the question of "doesn't passing the exam and having the cert signify having that given knowledge?" yet we never come to a final answer. Plus we always have to throw in the fact that we in I/T all have such little time to spare!
Cisco Brainwashing
Certifications are nothing more than brand-building exercises for the manufacturer. Nuff said.
Cisco Brainwashing Part 2
And, if these certifications were really to be useful they'd deal more with networking basics than just addressing the manufacturer's technology features. I can't tell you how many Cisco certificed engineers I've dealt with who don't even understand subnetting, firewalling or routing basics.
This is easy
This is where people with the Certs will reply that they are valuable, and where the people without will claim that they are not.
Its simple
Certifications show that you have the literacy however the experience of applying your knowledge shows that you have competency.
Standardized tests will be around for a while, if you have the opportunity take the cert exam, it's an added bonus to have more acronyms after your name.