You have a valid point about the state certs...which could be problematic...however, I do take exception with your characterization of liberal arts courses and degrees as "garbage"...as a non-CS major who is now in the field and also as someone who believes STRONGLY in the "non-vocational, liberal arts model of post-secondary education" (i.e. the university is NOT a vocational school).
> Kristina Anderson wrote: > > Industry certifications are all well and good but state-certified > > professional licenses would be a huge step forward. > > > > Just think how cool it would be to have a "NYS Licensed Code Jockey" > > certificate in a huge frame on your office wall :) > > > > Not to mention the economic & lobbying power that state professional > > organizations have. > > Like it is with electricians? No way! An electrician licensed in Mass is not > allowed to install a wall outlet in NYS. I wonder why? Are the outlets > different? Does NYS use a totally different form of electrical power? So with > a state license for coders you can code PHP in NYS, but nobody is allowed to > run that on an out-of-state server? > > Certs are something to get hired into a position, but they have the advantage > to be more specialized. Unlike a bachelor's degree. 2/3rd of the study time > are wasted for English, history, art, and whatever else non-major garbage the > universities make students take. Some universities may be better than others > and thus offer better bachelor programs, but the most are nothing more than > mainly catching up what high school didn't bother to teach. I really don't get > why a bachelor student has to read "The Great Gatsby" for the nth time when > majoring in CS. > I got by BS from a german university and 30 courses and labs were on- topic, > with 3 electives venturing into less subject related areas. I took mass > communication, work safety and technical English. I went on to getting an MS > at a US university and there was really only one course that didn't consist of > brainless busy work, but challenged one's mind and had one think. Without > doubt, that was the course I learned most. > From that view point I think certifications are a good thing, but it depends. > There are certs for QA folks and tech writers and I think the vast majority of > people working in those trades (it's not a profession, isn't it?) don't have > any and don't plan on getting them. Especially for tech writing, getting a > cert is something recommended for those who were car mechanics before or horse > racing judges that didn't make it into FEMA. > Certs are a proof that you are capable of systematic learning and performing > when needed, just like a bachelor, master, or doctoral degree. It doesn't say > anything how qualified one is for the job and thus shouldn't be generally a > requirement unless loss of life and property are directly dependent on that > accuracy of the work. So having a national cert for an electrician is OK, > which would include training on special regional requirements (such as piping > all lines up to the 10th floor in NYC) and how to go about obtaining > information about regional regulations. Interestingly enough, there is no > certification required for someone to work on your car breaks. > > David > _______________________________________________ > New York PHP Community Talk Mailing List > http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/talk > > NYPHPCon 2006 Presentations Online > http://www.nyphpcon.com > > Show Your Participation in New York PHP > http://www.nyphp.org/show_participation.php > > _______________________________________________ New York PHP Community Talk Mailing List http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/talk NYPHPCon 2006 Presentations Online http://www.nyphpcon.com Show Your Participation in New York PHP http://www.nyphp.org/show_participation.php
