Re: Guilds and Certification

[Matt Ion <soundy -at- NEXTLEVEL -dot- COM>]

Well folks, things have been kinda nuts the last few weeks, and I
haven't had a lot of time to keep up with the list.  So tonight, when
only two new messages came into my new mail reader, when I had nothing
better to do than munch Fritos, suck Jolt and lurk on IRC, I took the
opportunity to start catching up :)

At the risk of straying slightly off-topic:

On Mon, 15 Apr 1996 21:57:44 -0700, Richard Farley wrote:

>For some time I have followed the thread about certification and guilds as a
>way to weed out the unwanted.

[etc...]

>No matter what criteria you put in place to set standards for professional
>competence, there will be those who will get the qualifications and miss the
>quality. Of course, there is the flip side when that fantastic junior TW is
>passed over for the marginal, but certified, water cooler wizard.

Story of my life, it seems.  I've been passed over for employment in
several widely-varied fields simply because the other guy had more
pieces of scroll paper, even though I could tell he didn't have the
real know-how (street-smarts vs. book-smarts).

Funny you should mention EE, in fact, Richard... I've always had a love
for electrical/electronic work, and have given myself a LOT of
self-training in these areas.  I pick up on things quickly by doing and
experiencing them, and if I run into something I don't know in the
middle of a job, won't hesitate to take a moment to look it up to make
sure it's done right.

My father, who's in construction, once had me wire a basement suite he
was installing.  My first and only real all-out job doing electrical,
but he knew from my years of tinkering that I had the necessary skills,
and the desire to do the job right.  And it DID turn out right - a
friend of the client's who was once an electrical inspector agreed. :-)

Both of us, on the other hand, have had to shake our heads at some work
we've seen by "certified professionals" - many of whom I have no doubt
are truly skilled, but have gotten lazy because having that piece of
paper means they don't have to prove themselves on the jobsite.

I'm sure all of us have been told many times in school, "if you cheat
on the test, you're only cheating yourself".  Perhaps in high school
it's limited to just yourself.  Out in the real world, a diploma
without the real skills to back it up can be deadly.

>How many "greats" were passed over by those who look only at the surface?

<Matt raises his hand :>

 Your friend and mine,
 Matt
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 "Maybe all I need, besides my pills and surgery,
  is a new metaphor for... reality." -- Queensryche

      Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Next Level
   Productions, or anyone else of sound mind from this planet or dimension!

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