NYCPHP Meetup

[Kristina Anderson]

Really hope the questions about Left Outer Joins using COALESCE and how 
to get mail() to work on a Windows box aren't on the cert test??

Or I'm doo doo. :)

PS I'm not sure how to say "fogged a mirror" in Latin but we can look 
it up!

> on 2008-04-23 17:25 Peter Sawczynec said the following:
> > I believe the most beneficial PHP+ cert that we can strive for 
would be
> > more on par with a Cisco cert. An acknowledged, industry heavy 
weight,
> 
> Note that the lower-level Cisco certs (i.e. everything but the CCIE 
or 
> its equivalent) now have a multitude of boot-camps available for them 
to 
> push you through in a weekend, and therefore their value, both real 
and 
> perceived, is slipping. It's been a while since I've studied the 
finer 
> trivia of Cisco kit, but I'm confident I could muster a passing score 
> all the way up to CCNP without studying for more than a weekend--a 
week, 
> tops. Would you let me loose on your routers *only* knowing *that*? 
(The 
> fact that I deal with Cisco kit in other ways on a daily basis 
> notwithstanding...)
> 
> What makes the CCIE so valuable is that it contains both a written 
and a 
> lab component, and the latter is damn *hard* -- it has a real failure 
> rate in the double digits -- so that it's unlikely that you'll be 
able 
> to pass it through book learning alone. That is to say: in order to 
pass 
> it, you're most likely an experienced practitioner already.
> 
> I see a lot of talk about certifications, and I have to reiterate the 
> question: why bother? In other words, what are you trying to 
accomplish? 
> In order for it to really fulfill its mission, a certification 
basically 
> needs to substantiate someone's years of experience and actual 
ability 
> to perform: it's a *certification* that you can *do something* that 
> isn't just your word for it, and it comes from an impartial third 
party 
> (whoever they may be).
> 
> Of course, it matters a bit who the certifying authority is (which is 
> why people value degrees from real colleges over mail-order degrees), 
> but unless there is a statutory requirement for licensure and 
> registration, the only value of the certification "in the 
marketplace" 
> is what the holders are actually doing: if you've got a certificate 
that 
> is, in a word, achievable in a week's intensive course, it's 
worthless 
> except to paper collectors, and the market will value the 
certification 
> accordingly.
> 
> > difficult but well worth while cert. I believe that the cert should 
be
> > advanced, sophisticated and relatively difficult -- the PHP+ cert 
should
> > not be about qualifying entry-level initiates, it would be used for
> > qualifying middle to expert level.
> 
> Peter has successfully compiled the correct here. I would take it 
> further: the exam should be QUITE difficult, and dilettantes should 
NOT 
> be able to pass it.
> 
> Make a certification more like the PE, where you must show verifiable 
> years of experience (signed off by another in the field), and have a 
> tough exam on top of that (and I'm not even counting the EIT), or 
more 
> like the CCIE, with a very difficult pair of exams, *written and 
> practical*, and then you'd have a certification that is worth 
bandying 
> about--something that conveys the elusive "I should get paid more 
> because I'm *demonstrably* worth it" message.
> 
> Oh yes, it should also need to be renewed every 7 years or so, not 
just 
> to generate income for the certifying authority, but to demonstrate 
that 
> you're still at the level you claim to be.
> 
> > There could/should be a separate entry-level cert if needed.
> 
> Given the field of programming, I would suggest the "fog a mirror" 
> certification. For $29.95, I'll provide you with a certificate 
suitable 
> for framing. For $39.95, I'll even make it 3 color. (Latin available 
> upon request, and only to Kristina.)
> 
> > Peter
> 
> //jbaltz
> -- 
> jerry b. altzman        jbaltz at altzman.com     www.jbaltz.com
> thank you for contributing to the heat death of the universe.
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