Thoughts on the Value of Certifications for Contractors...

[adestor]

On the Oracle dev side, I've seen a few job ads asking for OCP quals. However, I've never been asked at interview for them. I've looked at some of the questions and not only are they vague but also don't questions about real-world scenarios - just rote learning.
So when I interview people I never bother with Oracle certs - just experience,experience and experience.
Anybody can learn a load of guff for an exam, takes a bit more to actually understand the meaning of what they learn.

[minestrone]

Some certs are better than others.

Sun Certified Java Programmer is quite good, though bits of it expect you to be a human compiler (why?). Very useful for dealing with anal techie interviewers who try and trip you up (eg "what does 'finalize' mean?"). Expensive now at £300, so don't bother with future upgrades.

Sun Certified Java Web Developer is mostly a complete load of bollocks that requires you to memorise certain XML schemas and learn pointless things like taglibs. Only thing this is good for is helping you really understand Servlet life cycle. Avoid unless you're a permie and it's free and you can study during office hours.

Sun Certified Java Business Component Developer. Utterly pointless waste of time studying the now extinct EJBs. Only study if you're in prison and you need to pass it to get out.

The architect one is seriously hard work, I passed it 5 years ago and there was 3 parts to it, the project section was very testing.

[Tensai]

Slightly off topic, but how many clients/pimps have demanded to see the certificates listed on your CV?

I've had pimps looking for copies of academic degree certs, but never the technical ones, even back when I was doing techie stuff. I always did well on the techie interview questions so maybe they didn;t see the point?

[uky kozak]

I find that knowing foreign languages opens a whole new side to contracting than certification, especially if you know Eastern European languages. I'm lucky and know 6 of them fluently and ready for the nod to head over to Poland or Ukraine.

[TykeMerc]

Slightly off topic, but how many clients/pimps have demanded to see the certificates listed on your CV?

I've had pimps looking for copies of academic degree certs, but never the technical ones, even back when I was doing techie stuff. I always did well on the techie interview questions so maybe they didn;t see the point?

None.

In 18 years as a contractor I've only had to show copies of certificates to two institutions the DVA and APM, no employer (perm or contract) or agent has ever asked to see any of my certificates since I left Uni.

[denver2k]

Agreed, I view certificates as door openers and nothing else.

Agreed ++

Indeed they are door openers and seem quite attractive to pimps....

[Moscow Mule]

Never needed them, the ones in my field aren't ever advertised for anyway.

[Pogle]

Never needed them, the ones in my field aren't ever advertised for anyway.

Ditto

[Tensai]

None.

In 18 years as a contractor I've only had to show copies of certificates to two institutions the DVA and APM, no employer (perm or contract) or agent has ever asked to see any of my certificates since I left Uni.

Blag-tastic. I've just awarded myself a PhD, ITIL managers cert, and a CCIE (whatever that stands for.)

[BrowneIssue]

Blag-tastic. I've just awarded myself a PhD, ITIL managers cert, and a CCIE (whatever that stands for.)

"Nah, sorry mate. You wasn't short-listed. They said they wanted Microsoft Sea and Prince too."



I take my CV to interviews and two or three times have had to hand it over so they could interview me from that rather than the rubbish the agent gave them.

On one occasion they passed their agent's copy back to me: it was absolutely shambolic. The memorable line was under Programming Languages and it actually said:

Microsoft Sea

Why had they changed that from 'C'?


Anyway, original question:certifications get you short-listed. In what must be over 30 interviews I cannot recall ever being asked for any.

However, my wife, a professional Librarian, would always be asked to provide a copy of her degree certificate to prove she was qualified, even when she was temping.

We're obviously just more trustworthy!