Re: Re[2]: [Survey] What would you like to ask IBM about RPG cer

Experience does pay.  However length of service at any one company or number of 
companies
does not necessarily indicate experience.  I've seen individuals with years of 
experience in the
field who would not try anything new without being beaten with a stick.  
Conversation with one
gentleman.  "Hey, why don't you do that with Query?"  "I've not been trained."  
"Have you tried it?"
"I've not been trained."  Turns out that I truly believe that he didn't want to 
use Query because 
about the only programs he could write are those that could be banged out with 
Query.  He floated
through the interview process.

There is a market for certification.  It is a tool used to measure experience, 
however controversial.
At least the people who came up with the test tried.  I've been on interviews 
where once they've
seen my experience and my CCP then the interview was strictly about personal 
skills.  They came
right out and said that the certification speaks for itself.  Managers need to 
measure skills.  Systems
personnel are tools hired to perform a task.  Do you go to your managers saying 
'I want to hire
someone to grow them and watch them blossom.'?  Or do you say 'We have this and 
that which
needs to be done.  I feel that, to complete these assignments and future 
assignments, we need to
hire more staff.'?  I am an individualist and only use the tool analogy to make 
a point.

The individual is the primary person responsible for attaining that experience. 
 Where they can
work can be a huge factor by staying current on OS levels, purchasing 
magazines, having decent
Internet access, supplying training materials, participation in conferences, 
letting employees try, etc.

SNIP>Years of experience pay 
     off in terms of skill and wisdom that cannot be matched in a 
     classroom. 

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