On Sat, 25 Nov 2000, Jamie Ostrowski wrote: > > > While I certainly agree that certifications have become abused for the > most part (look at the MCSE), I think that the only way to become a good > admin is EXPERIENCE! I think that getting certification by no means makes > someone a good admin in the least, I think it shows they know enough where > once in the workplace and in an environment where problems crop up, they > can start applying their book knowledge towards real life problems. You > still need training in real life after the certification, but the only > place to receive that is mainly through work. But who is going to hire an > apprentice Unix admin?? Answer: NOBODY. > The sad truth is, when you are working with this stuff at your job you > learn very quickly. But it is very hard getting into the job to start true > learning. That is the frustration I am dealing with right now. Especially > when the government and market place is in such an upheavel, nobody wants > to hire. > True. I said that myself. Certification does not guarantee absolute knowledge of a given topic, and it definitely is no replacement for real life experience. However, from the point of view of many companies it helps weed out a lot of people. Like I said, it's a guarantee (if the certification is meaningful, and I think the RHCE is) that the holder knows at least the basics. From there on, as you explain, the guy who holds the certification can learn more. Hey, what the hell. It's no different than getting a degree in College or even becoming a certified electrician. There may be a lot of people out there who also know how to work as an electrician, but some of them actually have a certificate. It doesn't prove absolute knowledge, but it does matter. Finally, regarding your comments about how difficult it is to be given a chance... well, I'd say it is quite difficult to be given a chance as a junior system administration for example if you are trying to get to a company that doesn't really know you. On the other hand, it's not so difficult to "move up" from within. Most companies are willing to promote people from within even though they still have to learn quite a bit, among other things because it saves companies a lot of money. ------------------------------------------------------ Nitebirdz ------------------------------------------------------ Thus spake the master programmer: "You can demonstrate a program for a corporate executive, but you can't make him computer literate."