[AccessD] OT: What are you lot doing now and then?

In my experience companies actually work to not pay for any of your
future certifications (unless you work for a consulting company, in
which case the opposite is true).

Companies do not want to pay to make you more marketable, they want to
keep you right were you are, doing what you are doing, and for the rate
you are doing it at.

They love your certifications when they hire you.  Then they try to get
you to buy into OJT training, self learning and "train the trainer" (my
favorite) concepts.

Mark

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Steve Erbach
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2005 12:52 PM
To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
Subject: Re: [AccessD] OT: What are you lot doing now and then?

Randy,

The impression I get from the few people I've been able to talk this
over with, having the certification helps you land a job; but once you
have the job the company doesn't help you keep it up to date or to get
new ones.

Did you take some formal courses -- those 3-5 day deals costing $1500
or more -- or is it primarily self-study?

Steve Erbach


On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 09:29:06 -0500, Randall Anthony
<randall.anthony at cox.net> wrote:
> Steve,
> I find myself in a position similar to yours, unfortunately I got laid
> off in the process (lack of contractual funding, natch).
> 
> 1.  I was very much immersed in developing and maintaining dbases and
> applications from Access2.0 through A2K, using SQL and ASP pages for
> some.
> 
> 2.  As the work slowed down, my access to developing new apps
> disappeared.  Consequently, when push came to shove, my skillsets
> deteriorated.
> 
> 3.  The company I worked for was a division of a defense contractor
with
> a small IT department.  Last I heard that division's IT department is
> getting smaller.
> 
> 4.  So, during this "sabbatical", I decided to bite the bullet.  I've
> got one class left, SQL Server 2K Implementation and Administration.
> I'm now an MCP in ASP.Net development, I'm studying to pass the SQL
> Programming exam next week, then I have two exams left to get my
MCDBA.
> If I had achieved this while working, that company would have given me
a
> bonus and a pay raise, however, even if I had accomplished this with
> them, I still would have gotten the axe.
> 
> I have spoken with a number of professionals in the field when I was
> contemplating getting my Masters degree.  Most concurred that a
Masters
> would be beneficial if you were aiming for management type positions
> within the IT world, but the return on investment would be negligible
if
> I wished to remain technical.  Ergo, the next best thing to separate
> oneself from the pack in IT is to get certified (in my humble
opinion).
> 
> I'm starting to get more positive replies from companies I have
> submitted a resume to, and I feel fairly confident that I will be
> affiliated with someone soon.  I think that could be attributed to my
> obtaining certification.
> 
> Randy.
>
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