From: "M. Edward (Ed) Borasky" <znmeb@...>
Date: 2006-11-11T12:46:36+09:00
Subject: Re: looking for some feedback about Certification

pat eyler wrote:
> Aaah, nothing like a good controversial topic to stir up a holy war
> for the weekend.
>
> I've posted two different requests for feedback on a project over at 
> my blog:
>
> http://on-ruby.blogspot.com/2006/11/ruby-certification-is-it-worth-it.html 
>
> http://on-ruby.blogspot.com/2006/11/ruby-certification-what-should-it.html 
>
>
> They boil down to this:  I've been asked to help a university put 
> together a
> continuing education program to teach Ruby.  It will be a three course
> series and will end with a Ruby Certification for the students completing
> it.  I'd like to collect your opinions about two things:
>  1) Is Ruby ready for/in need of a certification program?
>  2) What should be in a program like this?
>
> I'd like to collect the feedback in blog comments (easier to refer
> to them, etc.), but I realize that just bringing it up here is liable to
> cause a mailstrom of emails, news posts, etc. -- please, at least
> try to keep it civil if you're going to reply here (for whatever value
> of here is appropriate for the way you consume ruby-talk)
>
>
> I'll now slink away and hide in the corner for a bit.
>
OK ... here goes:

1. Microsoft certifications, Cisco certifications and Red Hat 
certifications should be the model. One of these says you are 
*competent* to perform certain tasks. I refuse to listen to whining from 
people who *don't* have them about how meaningless they are. Were I 
hiring people who required these skills, I would clearly state in the 
job posting that applications/resumes from uncertified people would not 
be considered. That's legal and fair.

2. If I were hiring a *programmer*, I would look for an applicable 
college degree from an accredited institution, not a certificate based 
on a pass/fail set of courses. Again, if a degree is required, there's 
no point in the weasel words "or equivalent experience". That's legal 
and that's fair. With hundreds of applicants for a single position, 
employers can afford to be picky.

If there were a "Ruby vendor" I might answer differently. But there is 
no Microsoft, Cisco or Red Hat for Ruby -- there isn't even a 
Sun/Java-like standard. Ruby is a language built and used by a 
community, not a corporation.

Now there *are* fine people -- on this list -- who run excellent Ruby 
and Rails programming courses. If some university wants to attempt to 
compete with them, fine, but if I were hiring Ruby or Rails programmers, 
I'd hire competent programmers with the right attitudes and a background 
in the application domain and send them off to the fine Ruby/Rails 
training that already exists.