RE: the ora certified masters cert, yet again

Waleed,
Without wanting to cause offence here (honestly!) I couldn't disagree more with this.
At least in the UK right now the Oracle job market is VERY tight. We already have to compete with people padding their CVs and bluffing their way into interviews (a practice which I'm pathologically incapable of). There is a genuine demand for those 3 letters on a CV. Agencies are getting 200 applications for each job. Talent does not make you stand out from the crowd.
At least a couple of times in the VERY recent past I've gone through my CV with recruiters and they've been pleased that I'm certified because it's in the job spec. that they've been given.
Maybe in easier times it's possible to rely on your ability. I agree that in a perfect world that would always be the case. These are dark days though and you have to use EVERYTHING. If you can't get into an interview you can't prove your skills.

Kevin,
I sympathise totally. These are hard times. I think you have to decide whether the outlay's worth it on a commercial basis rather than an intellectual one. I don't care how much the certification is devalued if it makes the difference between missing and getting an interview. For what it's worth my total outlay for 7.3, 8, 8i and 9i has been the cost of the 7 exams
(discounted because I was a Technet member) and a 9i New Features book. I
took the exams over lunch. And I think I've had my money's worth.

Finally re. HR departments and agencies. They won't work harder than they need to. Why would they? They deal with hundreds of different sets of skills. Why would they care if 8.1.6 is 8i? They'll do a pattern match and phone the best matches. Hell, I'd do the same myself. The alternative is painstaking and (at least for agencies) would ensure they went out of business.

It's nearing the end of the day here. If you were geographically closer I'd buy you all a drink.

regards to all,
Mike

-----Original Message-----
Sent: 27 June 2002 18:18
To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L

<snip>

So as long you have the confidence that you can market yourself and your skills then certification means nothing but if you have nothing to sell then probably buying a certificate could help.

Regards,

Waleed  

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