Putting a Value on IT Certifications - Part 1 "Certification Denial"

Becoming certified in anything IT, well... those that have a big name and are widely popular and in demand, e.g., Cisco, Microsoft, ITIL, PMI, and (ISC)2, has been a need and definite positive influence for any job seekers in the IT market.  Each certificate can help classify you in a higher pay scale, open up options for a lead engineer/expert, security officer, or management position at many companies.  Your possibilities are endless, that is, if you can back up what you've proven on the test.

Certification Cheaters Ruined Me! - "Certification Denial"

Until recently, I had been extremely anti-cert, meaning, I didn't value the knowledge held by someone with an IT certification.  To me, you can know your stuff inside and out better than anyone that is certified.

To give you a little bit of background on why I have always been a bit hesitant and negative about IT certifications and their overall value, let me explain.

I started working for the University in 2002 as a student employee. We had a "certified professional" on staff, certified MCSE in Windows NT 4.0, who had been with the University a couple of years before I arrived.    There were times that I had to show him how to do basic things within Windows NT, even analyzing the event logs.  Talk about a disappointment of having an "MCSE" on staff and them not being able to perform basic server operations! He did not live up to what I expected of MCSE status, that is for sure.

Since I had to help him with his two servers, I had admin access to them as well. When it came time to have him stay or go, I was tasked to break something on it as long as it was easily fixable.  It was an easy fix in my eyes, simply check a box in the options of an application he was supposed to be the expert on and it's fixed.  It took him over a week to figure it out and he was certified in it! Long story short, he is no longer with us.

The second and probably most disappointing was an Instructional Designer we had from 2003 to 2005.  I just checked, and still listed on his resume are the following certifications: Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), Certified Novell Engineer (CNE), Enterprise Certified Novell Engineer (ECNE), Novell Authorized Instructor (NAI).  Seriously, this guy knows absolutely NOTHING about computers! He also is a Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD).  What ticked me off the most when he came down to our office and asked that we format a floppy disk because he couldn't figure it out. Other strange things... he wanted to receive his spam messages (we had no right to block them in his eyes), he would wear sweatpants and t-shirts to meetings with faculty and staff, and play his ukulele on a rock outside of one of the buildings. Some students would even toss him change when walking by, based on the fact that he looked like a transient in the clothes he was wearing. My guess? He could teach and learn the certs from a book without needing real world experience, besides that he knew nothing besides what the book said or directed him to say.

Continuing on, I've had coworkers who studied only brain dumps, then pass the test without having all the experience that should be reflective of the cert.

So, pretty much, from the official start of my IT career, the way I perceived a Microsoft Certified Professional was ruined. They way I viewed it was, you can be a good test taker, book smart, and study dumps to pass any IT certification exam.

I now have a change of mind. :)

Next: Putting a Value on IT Certifications - Part 2

Putting a Value on IT Certifications - Part 3