Mike -- 99.9% of the people posting on this list do have a university degree, from what I have seen! A lot of them have MS or PhDs, even.
But, a 10- or 20-year old degree doesn't prove anything when it comes to current technology. A certification in current technology proves that you are knowledgeable in a certain area, at least to a certain extent, and also quantifies the knowledge base for our profession as PHP programmers, which is why we are (mostly) in favor of a cert. --Kristina (B.A., 1985) :) > No matter how many certificates you stack on top of each other from > Manhattan to the Moon, it STILL does not equate to a BScs degree. I > see lots of people here bitterly complaining about legitimacy and yet > the avoid the very thing that gives them instant credibility, the > Degree. > > My very first experience with sitting in front of a keyboard was in > fact while I was working on my degree at a time when BScs didn't exist > and colleges were issuing BSEE degrees for graduates who majored in > Computer Science. > > From my experience with certificates, the only people who really > benefit from them are the companies that hype them and the test taker > courses that teach you how to take the test and not whether the > qualifications are solid or not. > > From my perspective, have been a hiring manager for more than twenty > years, I know from bitter experience that certificate programs are a > LOT more marketing hype than they are a practical barometer for > gauging what someone is suppose to know about anything. Lots of people > can pass tests and don't know basis stuff when you set them in front of > a keyboard. > > Some sound advice, GET THE DEGREE! When push comes to shove that is > what give you credibility not some pie in the sky marketing hype that > promises the moon and delivers chopped liver. > > In a hiring situation when two candidates are pretty well equally > qualified, one with a degree and one without, almost ALWAYS the degree > is the determining factor for who gets the job! > > This whole "self governing body" sounds a lot like a scam to me to > create a yet another bureaucratic monstrosity that has no power and > generates a lot of useless noise. Corporate Entities are obligated to > do what is best for their stock holders and that is the driving force > for how products generated by Zend Technologies evolve. The fact that > they haven't become a Micro$$$ is perhaps only a matter of waiting for > the right time and has nothing at all to do with "community". Whenever > they figure out how to do a licensing gig like Micro$$$, to exploit > all the PHP developers on the planet, then you will discover who exactly the > "governing body" for PHP is to be sure. > > My experience with User groups is that they tend to think they are the > "driving force" for products when in reality they are, well, User Groups and > really don't have the power they think they do. They have the yearly > meetings and put on their conferences etc. but its the Corporation > roadmap that decides the directions for where the products go, not the user groups. > > -- > Best regards, > mikesz mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > _______________________________________________ > 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
