First of all, what can help you in the career in general, is your education (not training, but education, experience is much better then training, but education is very important; it can be formal or informal but should be real), you real knowledge, experience and personal qualities. In my opinion, certification is not education at all, not even close; it's a kind of bureaucracy, and it is used to simplify and "automate" hiring by some formal criteria. I personally never pay attention for such tiny detail as certification, would probably prefer people who decided not to waste time on it. Please understand that this is only my personal opinion; and I would respect is someone would suggest a very different opinion on this matter.
But in some companies or teams such certification is considered as a value, so it still can help you in some particular career move. But hardly more than that. I think even those who value certifications would basically agree that this is not fundamentally important. This is not real education and cannot be a proper substitute to it.
Also, it highly depends on what role do you want to play. There are people who does creative and innovative work; and all "real" software development is pretty much creative. And there are people who are more like the "trained personnel". For such roles, certification is more important. Besides, you can start as a person of the second category and later feel that it's not yours and gradually move to more creative work. It all depends on your attitudes, goals, personal traits, behavior and character.
—SA
Updated 4-Sep-12 4:53am
v2
Hi,
My Personal Opinion:
You need to read books and you have to do practice to get the certification of the microsoft. if you are really interested for the certification then go for it but do not use dump available in the market. Some of the company gives important to the certification. when interviewer have two choice and both perform well then you may have more chance then other opponent have.
Sometimes interviewer think that this guy is not only doing his work but he is also looking at his personal improvements. At least do something new, publish some articles, publish some opensource project every year or prepare for more certifications. this all options will make your profile impressive.
So my suggestion is doing something is better then nothing. so it will help you somewhere in your life. go for it.
Best of luck
Thanks
-Amit Gajjar
It really depends on which end of the industry you want to be in - computer networking or application development. For computer networking people, certifications are everything. They're even more important then conventional education for people just starting in the industry, and certification sets ( Microsoft's MCSE, for example) hold specific dollar values. The last time I cared enough to check, a brand new MCSE (with very little experience) started at something like 40k / yr.
However it's different for programmers. For programmers, conventional education is more valuable then certifications. Without a computer science degree, it's very difficult to get work as a coder. Certifications by themselves won't do it - unless it's a java cert. An SCJP still holds quite a bit of respect in the industry, is challenging to attain and Java coders with an SCJP start at a descent salary (the last time I looked) - somewhere around 60k / yr.
So the short answer for YOU is yes, getting something like a MSCD or a SCJP will help you get that first coding gig, but after getting a few years experience your degree and your experience will be what prospective employers will look for on your resume.
Hope this helps...
- Pete
Updated 4-Sep-12 9:39am
v2
As a personal opinion I think there are three factors affecting the choice.
First, Certifications are nice, often they can be achieved quite quickly and they may make your CV more attracting since you have proven specific knowledge on certain technology. The downside is that they typically aren't long lasting. What I mean is that the technology, focus areas etc. changes. So certificates are quite short term investments.
Second, continuing your educations. The lifetime of this investment is long(er). It takes time but also you get a wider perspective to your specific field and the surroundings. Upgrading for example B.Sc to M.Sc proves that you're able to do things but you can also percieve the bigger picture. Don't get me wrong, you may well percieve it already but it's not proven in a formal way
Third option, continue the studies but laterally. What I mean with this is that you study something that is related to the work you want to do but not the programming. As an example, if you're working with accounting systems, you already have the programming skills. What you could also do is to get a formal certificate on accounting related studies. This would give a new perspective to the solutions you perhaps already do and would prove to possible employees that you have wide expertise.
Which is the correct course depends largely on your personal motivations, social life, family situation etc. All of these will take time and effort, some more and some less. One question is, how much time you're able and willing to put on the studies.
Which ever direction you choose, one important thing is that you feel comfortable with it. So take your time to think about different options life has to offer :)
Best of luck!
I think you should go for higher education. As you have done BSC. It is 15 year graduation. Most of client asks for 16 year graduation course. So I would recommaand to go for higher studies.
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