-> Help me w/this built-in function!

I'm new to Oracle (but not new to SQL databases) and wonder...why can't I do the following with the DECODE() function?:

select	e.id
	e.lastname,
	e.firstname
	decode((select count(*) from qualifications q where q.id = e.id),3,'Qualified','Not Qualified')
from	employee e

I want the following and if the employee has three entries in the qualifications table, then I want the phrase 'Qualified' and if not, the 'Not Qualified':

id	lastname	firstname	
-------	---------------	--------------	--------------
123	Smith		Jim		Not Qualified
765	Doe		John		Qualified
444	Garner		Debbit		Qualified
231	Smith		Robin		Not Qualified
885	Lopez		Rick		Not Qualified

The SQL statement won't work as constructed above. Is it that the expression "select count(*)..." is a complex expression? It works for a simple expression, such as when specifying a column name. It even works with a "simplified" complex expression, such as "2 + 1". In this case the "Qualified" gets displayed. If I put "5 + 1" then "Not Qualified" is displayed. This is correct...but what about a complex expression like a sub-query?

Thanks in advance!

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