Job posting for a sysadmin at Red Hat

[Matt Shields]

On Fri, Dec 10, 2010 at 12:20 PM, Paul Courchene
<vze76wjy-ubggFOsnOr3gwBMGfI3FeA at public.gmane.org>wrote:

> Hi
>
> I agree that "to complete the process shows motivation and perhaps even
> determination"
> thus a key point. I would also add that the certification is proof that
> the individual
> has been exposed to a specific knowledge domain (how ever limited that
> may be).
>
> One must recognize that qualifying for a "certification" is at least a
> start but (perhaps) not very high
> on the ladder...
>
> We must recognize that Jerry Feldman "is about 25 rungs up on the ladder"
> in terms of expertise, thus is not a fair critique of a certificate
> resume entry...
>
> -pc
>
> Quoting Chris O'Connell <omegahalo-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org>:
> > The certification does show one thing;  that the certificate holder is
> > motivated enough to sit down, study something and go through the
> > certification process.  While the certificate itself does not speak much
> to
> > the technical capabilities of the person who is certified, their ability
> to
> > complete the process shows motivation and perhaps even determination.
> >
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Dec 10, 2010 at 11:35 AM, Jerry Feldman <gaf-mNDKBlG2WHs at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> >
> > > On 12/10/2010 10:52 AM, Jim Gasek wrote:
> > > > Show of hands please,
> > > > how many RHCEs on this list?
> > > > RHCTs?
> > > >
> > > > What do people think about this certification?
> > > >
> > > Basically, I think certification proves very little. Essentially, it
> > > shows you have taken and passed a test. While I am a software engineer,
> > > I have never been asked to show or obtain any certification. My resume
> > > and references are the important things. Where certifications help to
> > > some extent is for personnel people who don't know the tech stuff, and
> > > the certifications tend to reduce the number of resumes they send to
> > > hiring managers.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Jerry Feldman <gaf-mNDKBlG2WHs at public.gmane.org>
> > > Boston Linux and Unix
> > > PGP key id: 537C5846
> > > PGP Key fingerprint: 3D1B 8377 A3C0 A5F2 ECBB  CA3B 4607 4319 537C 5846
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Discuss mailing list
> > > Discuss-mNDKBlG2WHs at public.gmane.org
> > > http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
> > >
> > >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Discuss mailing list
> > Discuss-mNDKBlG2WHs at public.gmane.org
> > http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
> >
>
>
>
>   --
>  paulc
>
>
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>

Don't confuse expertise with the ability to memorize a study guide.  Some
people that pass the test might be experts, others might be good at
memorization with no practical expertise.

Case in point, a few years ago I worked for a large ISP as a network
engineer.  Since we were growing we were told that we could hire some extra
network engineers to plan ahead for the extra work.  We hired my coworkers
young brother who just graduated from high school.  He had very little
experience with computers and no experience with networking and was given 1
month to study and pass the CCNA exam, if he couldn't he would be let go.
After the month, he passed the exam and kept his job but still had no idea
how to provision a new customer or troubleshoot an existing one.

-matt