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--- Janet Murphy <janet -at- fuse -dot- net> asks:
>
> Credential count. I have them in bunches. I'm always looking for ways to earn
> more.
Yes they do, and often credentials indicate that someone has acquired
discipline in an area, not just knowledge but also discipline. I wouldn't NOT
hire someone because they had a technical communications degree, but I wouldn't
necessarily hire such a person over one who has "only" relevant skills and
experience.
> To all of you who bristle at the degree/certification thing, consider this:
>
> Would you hire a programmer w/o a degree in systems?
Not only would I; I WAS one. I had 6 weeks formal training in computer
programming. But apparently several employers found my five plus years of
experience more than adequate to offer me jobs even though I lacked a degree in
a computer-related field.
> Would you fly in a plane built by engineers w/ only "on the job training"?
Yep. All I care about is that the plane flies safely. For example, I don't
check the credentials of the pilot before I board a commercial airliner. (But
then 99+% of them are military trained, and I happen to think that's excellent
training.)
> Would you take your car to a non-certified mechanic?
I've done that, too. Plus, I've worked on my own cars, and I'm not certified.
(Certifiable, maybe, but not certified.)
> No restaurant w/more than 3 stars employs a chef without a degree from a
> "real" culinary institute, preferably from the Culinary Institute of America.
Again, I don't check the chef's credentials. If I'm inclined to eat at a
particular restaraunt because of its rating or reputation, all I care about is
how MY food is and how MY service is. Where the chef graduated is less
important to me than my "dining experience" as a user. If I am happy with it, I
will tip appropriately, recommend the restaraunt to friends, and come back. If
I don't like the experience, all the degrees and all the stars in the world
won't change my attitude toward it.
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