Re: becoming a Sun Certified Java Programmer?

Grant:

I'd actually hit 'send' before I got to that part.  Certainly having a lot
of demonstrable experience in an open source project is a great way to
demonstrate a number of skills - both social and technical.  Even that is
still one of those things that is likely a 'foot in the door' sort of
qualifier for many employers, but certainly still great to have.

Unfortunately, not everyone is in a position to contribute to OS projects,
either due to time constraints, or perhaps NDAs or other situations they
find themselves in.  Certification is often a good fallback position to have
to be able to demonstrate knowledge and a certain degree of skill.

Participation in various communities is a great way to show skills, but not
everyone can always participate.  In those cases, certification is a good
alternative to have.  Just IMO, but it's been echoed by many teammates and
hiring people I've talked to over the years.

On Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 9:11 PM, Grant Ingersoll <[email protected]>wrote:

> In the end, I guess I would ask myself how much time and money it's going
> to take and what the opportunity cost of that is in comparison to other ways
> you might strengthen yourself.   For instance, suppose it takes you 6 months
> to study for it (I don't know, I haven't taken it).  In that time, you could
> join an open source project you like and start making significant
> contributions that show you know how to code/communicate in real life.  If
> you pick a good project and prove yourself, in all likelihood, people will
> start asking you to work for them, instead of you asking them if they have
> work.
>
> I personally would rather see a candidate with a solid track record of
> contributions to an open source project that is used in production by a
> decent number of people, but that may be beside the point.  Why?  This
> allows me to quickly establish:1. How well they communicate
> 2. They can work distributed/independently, but still interact with others
> 3.  If they are self starters
> 4. If they really know how to code or just live off of their co-workers
>
> I think the other factor for certification is how much work experience you
> have and how up to speed you are on a good breadth/depth of technologies.
>  If you are relatively inexperienced, the cert. probably can't hurt and
> might give you a little extra edge.  If you've been around the block and
> have proven yourself in the past, it probably won't matter as much.
>
> Just my two cents,
> Grant
>
>
-- 
Michael Kimsal
http://jsmag.com
http://groovymag.com
919.827.4724 - Skype
919.455.8488 - Cell

_______________________________________________
Juglist mailing list
[email protected]
http://trijug.org/mailman/listinfo/juglist_trijug.org