On Fri, 2001-11-02 at 15:55, Michael Brown wrote:
FWIW, and I'm probably atypical in taking this approach, I would value an MCSE as a negative attribute unless the applicant said that they only took it because they thought employers wanted it. I would rather have someone who learned the stuff through experience (or even "just for fun") than someone who learned the stuff solely as part of an MCSE course.
I have recently taken the SCSA & SCNA (Solaris Certified System/Network Administrator) exams for exactly that reason (we get more discount if we have warm bodies with certificates next to them). I was so horrified by the exam content - which is more a check the candidate thinks the sun way rather than knows anything useful - that I would very strongly mark down anyone who had these qualifications and though they were in any way useful. We have also had very poor experiences with those holding CCNA certification. The last year has moved my previously skeptical view of such certifications onto the position of thinking that they are a pile of rubbish purely intended as a revenue stream for the trainers. Nigel.