Re: ICCA members -- CONSULT400

Patrick,

I have the CCP from ICCP with a few proficiency certificates added on. As
an independent consultant I know that it has helped me get some private
customers.

When I got it in 1987 it was mostly for my on benefit and not very many
companies really gave a d*** (or money). Since then it seems to be changing
but with the the certificates woods getting as thick as fleas it may fall
out of value again.

One thing the ICCP has always worked on is to try to keep the government
from requiring a license to be an IT professional. Because with the
government it will turn into more of a good ole boys club than a true
competency proof or at least will run it at a lowest common denominator.
Also, if they can't stop that to at least make their certification
effectively the license since it is skill and experience based with a
requirement to stay current.

The CCP itself is more of the general IT skills & professionalism that are
needed no matter what your involvement in IT. As part of the consolidation
of the old CCP, CDP, and CSP and to recognize that companies that do value
certification want specifics they have added proficiency certificates in
several areas as well as languages. Except for the languages they are
somewhat general and should show ability to handle the concepts. I think
with how all the details are changing at a rapid pace these fundamentals
are more important than the detailed certificates that are left behind in a
couple of years. If you don't have the fundamentals then you might not be
able to perform when the "Next Great Thing" comes along. Not to pick on you
but I noticed that you were certified as a "Assoc. System Operator V4R1"
now that fewer and fewer systems are at V4R1 how valuable is it? It shows
that you knew the details then but what about the changes all the way to
V5R2? The CCP doesn't even touch OS/400 but it does say you know the
fundamentals and how to apply them and that every three years you are
committed to updating your knowledge or no longer being certified.

A lot of the value of the CCP though is in how you use it to market
yourself. YMMV!

I know that IBM has done the extra work to get some of their courses pre
approved by the ICCP to qualify towards 120 contact hours that are needed
every three years to keep your certified status.

Roger Vicker, CCP

Patrick Conner wrote:

> How many of you are members of the Independent Computer
> Consultants Assoc. (ICCA)? I was thinking of joining.
> Also, I've been looking at the Certified Computer
> Profession certification. Is that worth anything?
>
> Patrick Conner
>
> IBM Certified Specialist:
>     RPG IV Developer/Programmer
>     Assoc. System Operator V4R1
> www.ConnecTown.com
> (828) 244-0822

--
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