[ale] Certification (cont'd)

[Andy]

Derek wrote:
> 
> At 03:16 PM 7/17/96 -0400, Christopher Fowler wrote:
> >When we go into and interview and we tell the employer that we "know Linux",
> >would it not look better to have a piece of paper that proves it. Some
> >employers ignore paper, but some don't.  It is a "win win" situation.
> 
> I don't agree, and I get worried when I hear phrases like "win win"... any
> employer who knows anything at ALL about Linux knows that pieces of paper
> are pretty much meaningless... and if you show him one, he'll wonder just
> what you're trying to disguise.  There was a running joke that seems to persist
> among several companies I've worked for, that CNE stood for "Certified No
> Experience." ... I agreed with it.  I knew more that was applicable to a given
> situation than ANY fresh CNE out of the classes did... only after someone has
> been a sysadmin for awhile do they really get the idea of how things work and
> what kinds of things need to happen.
> 
> See, it seems to me to also be contrary to the "spirit" of Linux to try to
> impose some sort of external structure on it such as a CLE/whatever.  If
> nothing else, are you intending to be certified in specific distributions,
> or just
> general kernel-hacking, or...?  UNIX is difficult enough to "certify" experience
> in, as someone else in this thread has mentioned already, without trying to
> make it even more complicated.
> 
> And finally, It also seems to me that an employer who can see the benefits
> of Linux (it works, it's free, it works WELL, etc.) isn't going to need a piece
> of paper... he'll either trust you, or ask a lot of detailed questions to
> make you
> prove it ("Explain DNS."), or he'll just wait and fire you if you lied.  The
> kind
> of employer who needs a piece of paper to give him confidence won't be
> choosing Linux in the first place... it's not established, it's not a "major
> player",
> and it's free (a major strike; these sort of superiors believe that nobody
> would give anything away for free.)... these employers will go for SCO, or
> one of the other "name" brands.  If you doubt me, I know of a large number
> of major corporations who still buy EXCLUSIVELY IBM-brand hardware, and
> nothing but... DESPITE the common perception by the average bear that Blue
> hardware is nothing but a pile of trouble and less effective than any of the
> other
> "name" players such as Compaq, Dell, and Gateway... just to hit on some of
> the top ones.
> 
>     finger for PGP key -*- lorimer at alliance.net -*- Vote Brain/Pinky in '96!
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>           "I toasted the enemy, cursed the flag, saluted the glass
>             and dashed the King in the fireplace."  - Sir Rodney


What happens if The major "name" players start palying with Linux?