Re: Certification vs curriculum

[Karen Kay <karenkay -at- CADENCE -dot- COM>]

>>No, you misunderstand me. When I was looking to change careers, my
>>writing skills were better than they are now (because I was writing
>>more), and my technical knowledge was so-so. What certification would
>>have done was allow me to start working right away

>This assumes that:

> 1. Because you were a good writer, you would have obtained
>    certification.
...
>The first of these points illustrates the different views we all have about
>the subject. I'm sure many on this list would agree that good writing is
>only one of many criteria that should be evaluated in a certification program.

Of course; I'm not saying that writing would be the only criterion.
But I did say earlier that I felt that I had the qualifications for my
current job when I first began looking for work, nearly two years ago.
So in essence, nothing changed, except that I began to be viewed as
more hireable. (Is that a word?!)

In other words, if my current work enabled me to be certified, then I
could have been certified two years ago, too. (Unless employment in
the field were a requirement for certification.)

> 2. This certification would have overcome whatever reservations
>    people had about hiring you.
...
>The second point illustrates the hope, which I think is far-fetched, but
>which many certification advocates have demonstrated an implicit faith in,
>that we can replace the current largely arbitrary hiring system with an
>automatic one that will guarantee us jobs.

My point all along has been that *if* this were true, it'd be easier
for someone to change careers. The sole reservation that people seemed
to have about hiring me (at least the one that was repeatedly
expressed to me) was my lack of experience. Certification couldn't
cure that, but it's *one thing* to point to. I have taken a number of
classes to improve my technical ability and hone my writing skills,
and they are all listed on my resume, but that's still not Industry
Experience, which is what employers wanted.

I'm not claiming certification is a cure-all; I'm just saying it could
improve the current situation for people changing careers.

Karen
  karenk -at- netcom -dot- com