Re: certification for engineers/developers?

[Crispin Cowan <crispin () immunix com>]

j eric townsend wrote:


The main reason I'm looking at certification is defensive -- I've been in one too many meetings where someone's opinion 
was given more weight because of industry certification or advanced degree.

Yeah, I give certifications weight; *negative* weight. The more 
"certifications" someone advertises, the *less* clueful I assume that 
they are. All other factors being equal, that is; I certainly know 
people who have both certs and clue, but I find that is the exception, 
not the rule.


Advanced degrees are another matter:

   * For practical matters, advanced degrees are orthogonal to clue:
     whether the person advertises an advanced degree seems to be
     independent of their practical knowledge.
   * For theoretical matters, advanced degrees do seem to actually
     predict someone's level of clue. Ask someone to explain how
     Turing's Halting Problem implies a major corollary to computer
     security. Those with an advanced degree often get it, while those
     who are self-educated often reply with "who is Turing?" or "I dunno".
         o Conclusion: learning theory is no fun, so self-educated
           people naturally avoid it unless forced into it.

Crispin

P.S. I am totally serious about the certificates, they go to the 
*bottom* of my resume pile.


--
Crispin Cowan, Ph.D.  http://immunix.com/~crispin/
CTO, Immunix          http://immunix.com