IT Education

[patrick]

It seems today there are volumes of books at the local Barnes and
Nobles overflowing with information on XML, Linux, Windows, Perl,
HTHML 4, C++...on and on and on...
On top of this, certification tests allow those knowlegeable enough to
become qualified to work in any particular area they have researched.
My question is this:
Is a college diploma in any branch of IT or Computer Science really
much more impressive than someone who is 'certified' in specific
areas?
I might not completely understand how this works, but it seems to me
more businesses could use a person who could understand and maintain a
LAN than a fresh colledge grad with a nice Masters' in (Insert IT
related major).

[g***@best.cut.here.com]

Post by patrick
It seems today there are volumes of books at the local Barnes and
Nobles overflowing with information on XML, Linux, Windows, Perl,
HTHML 4, C++...on and on and on...
On top of this, certification tests allow those knowlegeable enough to
become qualified to work in any particular area they have researched.
Is a college diploma in any branch of IT or Computer Science really
much more impressive than someone who is 'certified' in specific
areas?
I might not completely understand how this works, but it seems to me
more businesses could use a person who could understand and maintain a
LAN than a fresh colledge grad with a nice Masters' in (Insert IT
related major).

It depends on the job. Companies that look for people to do admin/ops
type work get tons of resumes from people with certs, so if you have a
degree along with the certs, you might stand out. Then again, the
degree might turn off the companies because they think you're
overqualified, too expensive, lack practical experience, etc.

It's interesting, because in the ballroom dance world, there are
places that won't let you teach without getting some kind of cert,
even if you studied at some of the finest dance schools and/or danced
at the highest pro levels. The dance professionals I know seem not to
mind having to get certs. However, I know computer professionals
(e.g. people who are members of NANOG) who hate certs, would never get
certs, and would never hire anyone who had certs (unless they could
prove ability to do a job independent of certs). This generally
entails being an incredibly proficient hacker of some sort, and not
necessarily having a degree.

--gregbo
gds at best dot com

[JG]

It mostly depends in what can of place or environment you work in. I
would definitely prefer a graduate since they are more flexible to
work with rather than someone who is only focused on one thing only.
You all now that in the worl d of IT and probably any other field you
have to be a bit of a "Jack of all trades" especially if you re
working within small organisations.

Apart from that you cant really compare a person who has a degree or
masters with certificate people. A degree goes in further detail in
Ethics within your profession for example.............something which
is surely not done when obtaining a certificate.