[dba-SQLServer]MCDBA

I have always seen certifications as merely a tool for validating your
credentials to clients, or for competing for a position with an
organization.  It is a competition, after all, and given equal experience
the position will go to the one with the cert vs. one without.  Remember,
the people making these decisions often times do not have the experience to
make the best decision themselves.
 
Once in the door they are pretty much meaningless - experience and judgement
will get the job done over factiods learned in cramming for a certification.
 
Just my two cents.  Personally, I'll be beefing up on certs because there
are specific things I want to do in the next few years and I want every edge
on the competition I can get.
 
Mark Porter
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Wortz, Charles [mailto:CWortz at tea.state.tx.us]
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 7:58 AM
To: dba-sqlserver at databaseadvisors.com
Subject: RE: [dba-SQLServer]MCDBA


Steve,
 
Some bureaucracies look very favorably on degrees and certificates.  Some
look very favorably on  your past performance.  Which type are you now at
and which type are you looking at for a better paying job?
 

Charles Wortz 
Software Development Division 
Texas Education Agency 
1701 N. Congress Ave 
Austin, TX 78701-1494 
512-463-9493 
CWortz at tea.state.tx.us 
(SELECT * FROM users WHERE clue > 0) 

-----Original Message-----
From: Steven W. Erbach [mailto:serbach at new.rr.com] 
Sent: Tuesday 2003 Feb 25 10:56
To: dba-sqlserver at databaseadvisors.com
Subject: Re: [dba-SQLServer]MCDBA


Allan,
 
I can appreciate the structured learning bit. I was wondering because I had
a conversation with a good friend who, in the past, always kept up the
certifications that he had. He seems to be despairing of the cost and
bother. Unless one is focused very clearly on one skill these days,
certification can become very expensive very quickly. Some--Cisco, for
example--require re-certification every two years. I just wonder what that
buys you once you get it. Continued advancement? Better-paying jobs?
 
I looked up MCDBA certification classes in my area and found some being
offered by another old friend of mine in the Chicago area. The certification
tests apparently cannot be taken unless one also takes the courses. I found
that a bit of a put-off.
 
I was also curious that, on the Microsoft site, the MCDBA is geared for
those with big company experience and big servers and big databases. Somehow
I doubt that these required courses offer anything in the way of simulation
of huge databases or multiple platform connections...or do they?
 
I've worked with PCs since 1982 and on mainframes for a bit before that,
back to 1975. It seems demeaning somehow that I cannot take a certification
test without going through an approved set of courses for which I pay a
large sum of money. I'm perfectly capable of learning SQL Server--or
anything else, for that matter--just fine on my own or in connection with my
client experiences. I guess I'm whining about having to take those courses.
If I do and if I get an MCDBA, what does it mean?
 
Regards,
 
Steve Erbach
Scientific Marketing
Neenah, WI
 
"Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits." - Mark Twain




This transmittal may contain confidential information intended solely for
the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby
notified that you have received this transmittal in error; any review,
dissemination, distribution or copying of this transmittal is strictly
prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify
us immediately by reply or by telephone (collect at 907-564-1000) and ask to
speak with the message sender. In addition, please immediately delete this
message and all attachments. Thank you.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://databaseadvisors.com/pipermail/dba-sqlserver/attachments/20030225/950674ac/attachment.html>