Certification? For wondrous Geekdykes like you and me? You betcha!This question comes from AmongTrees@aol.com:
"Oh wondrous Geekdyke, what do you think about colleges, such as Heald in Portland and other west coast cities that prepare you for an IT career via Windows 2000 certifications? Is it worth it to rush out and be certified on 2000? Or should I wait until Bill delivers 2000 and proves that it's gonna be a non-disaster in the industry? Please download your wisdom. Thanks a bunch!"
Dear AmongTrees,
First and foremost, GeekDyke appreciates all forms of admiration. Personally, a temple amassed of old motherboards, 386 processors, and long discarded 5.25" diskettes dedicated to me would be nice. We can discuss later any tokens of appreciation you may wish to leave on my altar.
Now down to business. So what do I think of these colleges that prepare via a certain path? I suppose a better question would be whether I think getting the MCSE is worth all of the trouble. To answer both of those questions, I refer you back to my previous article. It depends on what area you choose as your focus. If you want to be an NT administrator, do you NEED the MCSE? Hell no! Will it give you a competitive edge? Absolutely!
Today's IT job arena is much more diverse than say, ten years ago. Education levels vary in every company and in every job. You have 18 year old whiz kids who make $65,000 a year. You also have people who have gone the traditional route and gotten a computer science degree. Then there are those who have opted to get certified. One thing you'll notice is that education (especially certifications in a technological skill) CANNOT HURT! It can only enhance your desirability to a potential or current employer or advance your career.
So you think you might want to try to get certified? As always, I recommend getting a book first to see if it's for you. Go to your local library (or in my case, the local Barnes and Noble where I can sip a good cappuccino while I browse and ponder the miracles of java and shell scripting). Or check out http://www.brainbench.com/ where you register for free and can get online certifications in many different areas. Also I highly recommend http://www.informit.com/ where, again, you need to register (free) but you get access to a lot of different articles and online books.
I proudly state that I am NOT an MCSE, nor have I the desire to become one. Why, you may ask? So many companies do use Windoze NT as their main OS, but to me, there's no challenge. Just point and click. Many of you will disagree with me. That's perfectly acceptable. Unix is robust and alive and if I really need a proprietary application that's featured only under Windoze, I run Metaframe. I'm not even going to start about Windoze 2000. How many bugs, oh excuse me, I meant 'FEATURES', were reported on shipping day? Yipes! Anyone else in the market would have been laughed out all the way to the unemployment line and bankruptcy court. Guess Bill won't be interviewing me for the latest opening at Micro$oft. Oh well. The funny part is that, as much as I hate Micro$oft, I love MS Access. I can't help it. I have so much fun creating all those cool forms and reports. I even teach a monthly seminar on it. But that's how I spend my free time. Go figure. Once a GeekDyke, always a GeekDyke.
So off into my own little Unix enhanced Xwin world I go. In the meantime, if you've got a question about Geekdom, Email me at GeekDyke@TechnoDyke.com
