From: Gregory Seidman <gsslist+ruby@...>
Date: 2007-12-09T02:22:11+09:00
Subject: Re: ruby certification

On Sun, Dec 09, 2007 at 02:00:21AM +0900, Giles Bowkett wrote:
> > Do you think you need it to get a job at all? Only if you aren't any good,
> > and the only way you can get a job is to bamboozle someone who doesn't have
> > th technical expertise to know any better, in which case you DO need the
> > certification. Alternately, if you choose to be a consultant you may find a
> > certification (or more than one) valuable in convincing customers that you
> > are the right one for the contract.
> 
> That really isn't fair and could very well be inaccurate as well. It
> may be true for the United States but there are many other countries
> out there. Without investigating the usefulness or non-usefulness of
> certifications in those countries' labor markets, the claim you're
> making here lacks context and makes unkind assumptions.

Okay, I'll buy that. I will amend my comments in that I mean them to apply
only to the U.S., and maybe only on the East Coast.

> If you come from any of a number of other contexts besides the
> background of an American named Greg who has an Ivy League education
> and certainly sounds like a white guy, certifications could in fact be
> very valuable.

American, yes, and in an East Coast market. Being white, named Greg, and/or
Ivy League educated is irrelevant. It is possible that college-educated is
relevant, however.

> Giles Bowkett
--Greg