[edinburgh-pm] Perl certification, quick poll

[David R. Baird]

I wonder what exists for other languages? Job offerings I see 
generally specify either some variety of relevant 
experience/track record, and/or a CS degree. As a self-taught 
Perl hacker looking for work, and without a CS degree, Perl 
certification seems attractive, but I suspect it wouldn't add as 
much leverage to my CV as I might wish. Unless this kind of thing 
is pretty standard for jobs using other languages. 

I think a CV is supposed to list your skills, and supply 
supporting evidence that you really do possess these skills. A 
certification might be perceived as being there because you 
couldn't supply any other evidence, such as previous jobs, 
contributions to decent OSS projects, code samples/CPAN modules, 
or a CS degree. 

Of course, your question was specifically about using 
certification as a hook for HR types, rather than other 
programmers involved in a recruitment process. I'm always 
thinking about giving up the contracting tightrope and looking 
for some steady work, so any insights into what makes these 
people jump would be interesting. I suspect that as long as the 
buzzwords used in your CV match the buzzwords mentioned in the 
job spec, that would give them the initial hook they need. But 
that opinion may reflect my own situation more than the real job 
market, as I may be about to find out...

d.


On 4 Sep 2003 at 11:22, Rory Macdonald wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> I'm currently chatting with Tim Maher (a Seattle perl monger) about the
> issue of Perl Certification. Tim is currently working on an article on
> this topic and I thought it would be interesting to see what the
> Edinburgh collective thought about it.
> 
> At this time there isn't a serious or widely respected Perl
> Certification out there. I'd simply (at this stage) like to know whether
> you would like to see the creation of a serious[1] Perl Certification
> programme.
> 
> I'll get the ball rolling by simply saying, as someone who is currently
> job hunting, I would love to be able to stamp my CV with a respected
> "Perl Certified" differentiator for all those HR/recruitment types out
> there to catch their toes on. 
> 
> Regards
> 
> Rory
> 
> 
> [1] "Serious" in this context is touted (by Tim) as a certification
> procedure whose tests are;
> 
> 	designed by subject matter experts 
>         
>         compliant with established psychometric principles (validity,
>         reliability, etc.) 
>         
>         administered under tightly regulated conditions 
>         
>         controlled by a respected organization 
>         
>         endorsed by influential organizations 
>         
>         equipped with feedback mechanisms, to facilitate identification
>         and correction of errors 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Rory Macdonald <rory at employees.org>



-- 
Dr. David R. Baird
ZeroFive Web Design
dave at zerofive.co.uk
http://www.zerofive.co.uk