From qhartman at gmail.com  Tue Aug  8 09:33:09 2017
From: qhartman at gmail.com (Quentin Hartman)
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2017 09:33:09 -0600
Subject: [clue] Net+ cert worth it?
In-Reply-To: <33151920.30155.1500401136732.JavaMail.root@thegeek.nu>
References: <CAKuUP=faH0oK0Ls5-Nc+7PkcA0kJp-1NzX=f8b-X33uraMPusg@mail.gmail.com>
	<33151920.30155.1500401136732.JavaMail.root@thegeek.nu>
Message-ID: <CAA1jYCOT1jUsni_U7M0_W+V-bHFRr2gi82zSzUWnXk6r+4uPJQ@mail.gmail.com>

Late to the show here, but figure I'd amplify David's point a little. I've
been in the "biz" for about 20 years, I have only a couple certs, and only
one of them was earned less than 15 years ago.

I'm now leading the technical side of a mid-sized DevOps consultancy
(shameless plug: We're hiring! Email me off-list if you want to learn
more!) and have a major hand in our recruiting efforts. For me, certs mean
almost nothing as far an item on your resume. They just make me ask you
harder questions in the interview. However, there are some orgs that
require certifications, so as David pointed out, they can be a
foot-in-the-door thing.

They do have some indirect value though. And, as my practice is looking to
up our street cred with clients, we are pursuing certifications for our
staff so we can add those bullets to our sales materials. So they have
ancillary value there. When I'm interviewing people it's usually pretty
easy to tell the people who have formal training versus those that don't.
I'm much more likely to get a good impression from people who have had
formal training because their understanding of things is more complete and
accurate. So, if getting a cert leads you to have that deeper, more
accurate understanding of a subject that is important to know during the
interview process, it can help.

Speaking to N+ specifically, if you have never studied networking formally,
it's a good place to start and provides a pretty decent foundation.

QH


On Tue, Jul 18, 2017 at 12:05 PM, David L. Willson <DLWillson at thegeek.nu>
wrote:

> Training and certification is my life-long area of concentration. I am
> Network+ certified forever, because I got the cert a million years ago,
> before it was normal for certs to expire. I also took and passed
> Microsoft's Network Essentials (or was it Fundamentals?). Anyway...
>
> Find the most *practical* material you can, and practice. Your ROI is not
> simple. The letters after your name add little to your salary value, alone,
> and maybe nothing, depending on the company they're in. However, if you
> *practice* your way to the cert, especially with a group of committed
> peers, you will benefit in more than salary.
>
> - You will make and keep a commitment. Willingness and ability
> (reliability) are (is) probably more important than any other skill.
> - Your network troubleshooting will improve. (I like Element K material
> for formalizing the T-shooting process, but I think experience and
> developed intuition matter as much as good process.)
> - If you study with peers, your social skills will improve. Especially if
> you maintain an expectation that you will not let them down.
> - You will enjoy the time you spend studying and practicing and you might
> even enjoy the challenge of the exam.
>
> All those things will add tremendously to your salary negotiation skill,
> and to your benefit to the team you are placed on, which is measured
> against your costs, of which salary is one, to determine your value. You
> want to keep your value to your employer positive. (You make a reverse
> measure when determining whether to stay in a job, or seek/accept a new
> offer.)
>
> --
> David L. Willson
> Teacher, Engineer, Evangelist
> COA LFCS CCAH RHCE CLP
> Mobile 720-333-LANS(5267)
> http://sofree.us
>
> This is a good time for a r3VOLution.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Hi!
>
> Looking around for some advice.  It's pretty hard in my land to get
> reliable help with network problems, so I've more or less decided to try
> and help myself.  I live in a mostly linux universe 95+ % centos  (mix of 6
> & 7),   I'm wondering if it's worth getting Net+ and what the most
> efficient way to study for the test would be?   Looks like the self-study
> materials and the test would be roughly 500 bucks, give or take, assuming I
> pass it on the first go.
>
> Do people who have it think it's worth it?  Was the ROI there for the time
> and the money?   Advice appreciated, thank you.
>
> Mike B
>
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