By SANDRA GITTLEN

The benefits of short-term certifications

Also:

Get ready for your exams with Boson

Network World, 10/24/01

Arguments rage in the network industry that certification is misguided and not an exact measure of a person's skill set. Experts say that certifications take too long to obtain (some take more than a year) and by the time you put them to good use, your skills are out of date. Others say that employers can not use certification as a prerequisite because it doesn't prove the employee's hands-on skills.

I was thinking about this debate when I recently had my car serviced. You're probably thinking that the two have nothing in common, but believe me, they do.

As I stood at the counter, registering my car for the variety of services the outfit offered, an array of plaques on the wall caught my eye. There were black rimmed certificates with a host of names on them. Each detailed what skill set the specific mechanic had. It also had a stamp of approval from the industry's preferred certifying organization. I searched for the tech who held the certification that matched my car's problem and hoped that he would be assigned to my vehicle.

A few days later, I was at a computer store tech desk waiting for help when I caught a glimpse of their wall of certifications. They boasted techs who specialized in every brand of computer and peripheral you could imagine. I scanned the wall to see who I should ask for to best answer my question.

What struck me about both of these situations is that the certifications were related to a specific skill set. One tech knew about printers, another was a Compaq specialist. It was a simple distinction. One guy had about 10 plaques to his name.

Many companies offer product-specific certification, but employers are still focused on long-term certification. Though this isn't wrong, employers do limit themselves by thinking long term. Rarely do you see a listing for a Computer Associates Unicenter specialist or a CheckPoint CCSE. Employers could go a long way to getting the right person for the right job by listing shorter-term certifications they want in prospective employees.

What do you think? Let me know at sgittlen@nww.com.

Boost your exam scores

Use Boson practice tests on NetSmart to raise your test scores. Also, find out what knowledge gaps you might have and fill 'em up.

http://www.nwnetsmart.com/ns/tests/boson/index.html

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Gittlen is Events Editor at Network World.
You can e-mail her at sgittlen@nww.com.