Do certifications provide a competitive edge in the job market?

[haxtor21]

A thought that came to my mind today as I was at the school library. I saw a A+ Certification book, cracked it open, and was just amazed at the information in it. I looked at the section on hardware and processors and it was exactly the things that answers a lot of my questions about how computer hardware actually works, or so it seemed.

Are similar certifications, a-la Linux, CISCO etc. useful? Besides the knowledge, would a certification be of any use if you plan to be an entrepreneuer? perhaps people will take you more seriously now that I think about it.

Has anyone had experience taking a cert. test? how would you describe it?

Cool, thanks.

 

[fss]

Are similar certifications, a-la Linux, CISCO etc. useful?

They are useful in that it will get you past the initial screening of resumes in a job hunt. Beyond that the usefulness of the low-level certifications is the subject of much debate.

Besides the knowledge, would a certification be of any use if you plan to be an entrepreneuer? perhaps people will take you more seriously now that I think about it.

Why would obtaining or lack of a certification have any bearing on being a good or bad entrepreneur?

Has anyone had experience taking a cert. test? how would you describe it?

Boring. Unnecessarily structured. Uncomfortable.

 

[haxtor21]

Why would obtaining or lack of a certification have any bearing on being a good or bad entrepreneur?

In terms of getting angel/VC funding perhaps it would give you more trust that you know what you're doing?

 

[Coin]

I think it depends on what you're doing. I think certs can probably be useful if you're looking for a job in systems administration or basic "IT"? It will not be useful if you're looking for a job programming, nowhere I've ever worked has ever paid attention to certs when hiring engineers.

VCs will NEVER pay attention to certs.

If you're a high school student trying to get into programming the important thing to do is build up a record of internships. It might be places hiring coding interns would take certs seriously, that would not surprise me, and it's also probably the case that certs can help you get a job in IT which can help you get a job coding, but there might be more time efficient ways to get their attention also.

 

[fss]

...nowhere I've ever worked has ever paid attention to certs when hiring engineers.

It's splitting hairs, but licensure (which I guess is some form of "certification" using the general definition of the word) is very important when hiring engineers. But in context the lower-level stuff from (for example) CompTIA is not going to go very far.

 

[Coin]

It's splitting hairs, but licensure (which I guess is some form of "certification" using the general definition of the word) is very important when hiring engineers. But in context the lower-level stuff from (for example) CompTIA is not going to go very far.

Sorry, I was specifically speaking of software engineers. We are not "real" engineers and are not licensed :)

...come to think of it I don't think any of the EEs/FPGA engineers I've worked with were licensed engineers either. Is this unusual?

 

[haxtor21]

What might you suggest for getting coding internships? Elaborate on what would be time effective. A online portfolio of code? A website demo ?

I tried applying to a computer store to fix computers and stuff, but I got no answer. I also tried a IT job at a industrial supplier of warehouse equipment, but no success. I feel like I won't get anywhere unless I know someone from inside the company -_-. Should I volunteer to work for free purely for work experience? at this point i might be willing to.

 

[Coin]

What might you suggest for getting coding internships? Elaborate on what would be time effective. A online portfolio of code? A website demo ?

I tried applying to a computer store to fix computers and stuff, but I got no answer. I also tried a IT job at a industrial supplier of warehouse equipment, but no success. I feel like I won't get anywhere unless I know someone from inside the company -_-. Should I volunteer to work for free purely for work experience? at this point i might be willing to.

It's going to depend on where you are.

Working for free for work experience is good idea, if anyone will let you do it, and would not be unusual for a high school student.

Honestly what would help you the most at this point is trying to get into a college program. In the long term, most software development companies will care a LOT whether you have a degree. In the short term, being in college will make those companies which have openings for internships take you more seriously, also colleges often have offices specifically geared to helping people find internships. In some cases the college employment offices are well-oiled machines where literally companies just go to the college office and go "we need four underpaid interns" and the office gives them a list of names.

In the meantime writing web apps or Android apps in your own free time, as you said you were considering in the other thread, is a great way of honing skills and may help you in looking for internships later. "I completed these projects in my free time, by the way you can look at them at this web address" is never a bad thing to have on your resume, and even people hiring interns will be more interested if you walk in already knowing Java/MySQL/whatever.

The computer store, by the way, WOULD care whether you have an A+ cert or not.

 

[haxtor21]

Actually I started college when I was 15, so that shouldn't be a problem. I found out that my community college has an internship program, but I feel like I would need to know more before I apply.