Re: Certification

In a message dated 4/3/98 10:14:09 AM Central Standard Time,
CORNELLS@MERCYHEALTH.COM writes:

<< Thus, it make perfect sense to me that "10% just ain't
 enough..." to switch permanent positions and definitely isn't enough to
 jump into the consulting area.  At least not for me, maybe not for
 David's client, and maybe not for a lot of people.  It's a "sellers"
 market for IT talent these days, and people can afford to be
 choosey, especially if they're not in all that much of a hurry to bail
 out of what they're currently in.
 
 FWIW
 Scott Cornell
 Mercy Information System >>

<<Funny thing about this.  There is more than money, as you point out.  I
have turned down offers well over 20% just because of the area the jobs
were located.  I enjoy the security of the town I live in now.  When the
time comes, I will make a move.  Many things will be taken into
consideration to figure "the right time", money is one of them.

Bradley V. Stone        
bvstone@taylorcorp.com
http://prairie.lakes.com/~bvstone/>>

Not to beat a dead horse but that was exactly my point.  Actually, this
candidate would have gone to a company with more stable hours due to the type
of business), a raise, and with NO relocation.  The company was literally
located a few blocks over from her current employer.

Granted, losing the placement fee really hurt...but you sure can't win them
all.  My disgust comes into play when this lady, who was a talented
programmer, used the excuse of "10% is not enough" when the real issue was
that she would be facing new technology for her - she would have had to move
outside the lines of her comfort zone.  I think what Dean may have been
alluding to was the failure to see the big picture here - as I mentioned,
based on her existing salary level and what I've seen and had several other
JDE positions go for, she could have dramatically increased her marketability
and salary after only a year or two.  As for the the client in this case, they
were going to invest $14-18K in training for her during her first year of
employment.  While the 10% was somewhat below the norm, I thought it was quite
reasonable in this case.

Perhaps not so much the JDE certifications but the training and exposure was
to be the advantage.  There comes a time in most careers where the decision
has to be made whether or not your skill development needs to be vertical or
horizontal.  Vertical skill development makes sense for consultants where it
is important to be known as "heavy hitters" when working for established
customers.  Most AS/400 gurus I know,  I suspect, would rather not work on
BPCS, Lawson, MAPICS, JDE, and homegrown RPG3 code all within the same year...

However, not every branch can reach the top of the tree.  It makes much more
sense to broaden skills for most permanent employees, where knowing about more
stuff equals more job opportunities outside the company and certainly more
career path flexibility within the company.  And, that's where the
certifications come in as a benefit - whether practical, earned, resume
padding, or whatever.  Bottom line - a certification will never hurt with the
max pain to be the loss of your time taken if it never amounts to much.  If
your company will pay for the certification, it would be foolish to pass up
the opportunity.

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