On 5/24/03 6:53 PM, in article [EMAIL PROTECTED],
""Jack Nalbandian"" wrote:
> My opinion on the matter remains the same: a bachelors is
> functionally overrated by the typical manager.
It depends on what you think the degree says. It doesn't say "I know the
Cisco CLI like the back of my hand." But to me it does say that the person
knows how to follow things through, has to have some fundamental planning
and time management skills, and knows how to approach problems in a creative
way. The majority of certifications out there don't really focus on problem
solving - and I don't mean just troubleshooting.
I remember a friend of mine who was reading the Cisco BGP book and asked me
about the BGP FSM. He could figure it out, but had never seen a FSM or
digraph before. It's a small example, but I had a couple of classes that
went in to graphing theory and wow, it was used in real life.
> The CCNP or other forms of
> certification ARE known to the IT managers from my experience, but the
> reason that they are waning in influence is precisely due to the "paper
> whatever" myth that is being perpetuated, by of all people, techies!
All myths have a foundation in reality. There are PLENTY of paper CCNPs and
MCSEs. The CCNA is pretty much an all paper certification. I've met a
bunch of them. A 1 or 2 week "academy" and then a few tests isn't the same
thing as 4 years of study. To me if I was choosing between someone with
just a cert and just a BS, same experience, then I'd pick the BS.
> The point is that you do not have to knock down one in order to praise the
> other. Certifications, especially those earned by individuals due to
actual
> need for knowledge in their career, should also be rewarded with
> acknowlegement.
And they are. You can put CCNP, MCSE+I and a whole bunch of alphabet soup
on your resume and business cards. And many managers and HR departments
like to see them, just as they like to see a BS. Most would like to see you
have both of them.
> I repeat, it aids in the
> perpetuation of a myth that "all certs are earned through braindump
> memorization." It is certainly not the case for a good many in the field.
Yes, but it is the case for enough folks that it has started to cheapen the
certs, just as grade inflation has damaged many universities. (For example,
Stanford may be more prestigious than Berkeley, but at Stanford you can drop
a class up to the day of the final. At Berkeley the deadline is 2 weeks.
And the median grades at Berkeley are much lower. So I'd give more value to
a degree from there.)
This sort of thinking is why I've decided to skip the CCNP and just work on
the CCIE. As long as Cisco keeps it insanely difficult with the lab exam
being the majority of the work required it will be valuable.
--
John A. Kilpatrick
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remember: no obstacles/only challenges
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