Re: Certification

[nina jones <ddi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Wouldn't a CPA exam be too broad?  What if someone was only doing certain 
>kinds of accounting?

> How well would it measure their capability in that one field versus degrading 
>them for not knowing all
> the fields?  Requiring a podiatrist to pass the medical exam with questions 
>that don't apply to his field
> would be like requiring a RPG programmer to be able to answer questions about 
>SEU even though that is not
> the editor they are currently using at the moment.  Wouldn't this just 
>measure their  ability to pass
> tests instead of actually getting the job done?  Couldn't the same be said 
>about many
> of the other exams?  Isn't this an argument being used against RPG 
>certification?

yeah, that's true.  there were many areas i crammed for on the cpa that i'll 
most likely never use.  but it
was good experience to learn about them, and there have been times that having 
the knowledge has proved
useful.

but that brings up a point.  a cpa is a certified public accountant - and the 
public part means that you
are expected to know some about all the range of topics a client may ask.

but in programming - there isn't a certified public programmer, is there?

accounting is a great deal about knowing the rules. in some cases, knowing the 
rules and legal ethics can
keep you and your client from jail.

programming is more logical skills.  and knowing the rules.  but if you know 
the rules, and you can't think
logically, you're not going to be a good programmer.  period.  and a poor 
programmer can cost their clients
much in grief, business, and more.  do they test for logical skills?  i 
remember the programming apptitude
test i took way back when, where we picked out patterns, etc.

interesting food for thought..

nj, cpa

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