I am one of these people mentioned in the article. I am net to the tech scene, but deep in my heart I am a geek hardcore. The training, and certifications have helped me get my position, but to be honest there were people in my classes who had no business getting the certifications. They were not in any qay capable of the duties they were qualified for. I do think that most HR people would catch that in the interviews, but I think that is overly optimistic.

The certifications certainly help new people get started, and get hired to get the needed experience. The experience is what truly merits the higher salaries, and more respect. I have my MCSE, MCSA, A+, and Networkng+ certs. I was shipped by my work to SGI for 6 weeks of Hardcore Unix training, and now I am tossed into the real working enviroment. This is tough stuff, and I am no fool. I am constantly pouring through my books, hitting google multiple times daily, and doing my best to keep up.

There has to be a mix, and realization by everyone that Certs are a good start, and nothing more. They should allow an individual that doesn that have the expereince to gain a junior position to start learning. I do understand both sids completely. The more I learn the more I realize there is much more to learn, and I will never learn it all. I certainly am going to try though. :)

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