Comptia Certificates Help Linux Cause?

[CMonster]

http://www.softwarechoice.org/

Can it be that the entire world has gone mad -mad about Linux and opensource software? It looks like Comptia has taken up the cause of freedom.

[lynchmob]

I like to see this kind of thing: noteworthy organizations making sense
Now,only if those certs were free....
lynch

[SeanC]

I'm looking at taking the Linux+ next year.

Like all CompTIA certs, they're an excellent base to launch a vendor certification stream from.

Sean

[Mntsnow]

looks like Comptia is looking to CASH in on the opensource movement lol Now if they were truly supporting the opensource movement they would offer the certifications for free But NO...They want to be somewhat like "MS, SUN and Others" and make a buck for doing something.

Just my fun poke at the base idea behind "Opensource is free" idea

Enjoy

[SeanC]

It's still better then Redhat charging many thousands of dollars for their RHCE and RHCA courses and exams. Not quite as bad as Microsoft but up there.

Sean

[lynchmob]

Plus they're lifetime certs.MS makes you retest to stay certified(NT4 to w2k MCSE for instance)every couple of years.Dont know about RH.
lynch

[Mntsnow]

So your saying a lifetime cert is better?
I personally dont think so. Technology changes. by having certifications that expire it allows those that stay current with the technology and futher their knowledge prove what they know. Just like my MCSE cert. it becomes outdated and unless I choose to stay up with the technology I will not be able to claim that level of knowledge with the next generation.

Back when I turned wrenches for a living I had to go thru re-certifications every 2 years for emissions and every 5 years for safety inspections and ASE certifications expire so that you have to prove your knowledge on a consistant & ongoing basis. Would you prefer to have someone with CURRENT & PROVEN knowledge working on your car or just any body that says "yeah I can do it"?

[CMonster]

Right... darn straight.... and those bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees should all expire too!

(funny thing about carrying an idea to it's logical conclusion)

I think we should leave it to the consumer or perspective employer to ask "When did you receive your certification." I realize that the computer industry changes faster than "dog years" and that a 2-year old PC is like a 14-year old TV, but it seems to me that most certs expire because of a shameless gouging process of the cert vendors.

I don't see, however, how a certification process can be compared with opensource software? It seems to me that Comptia is providing a service, not a product.

Somehow it always seems like the idea of opensource gets confused with giving away things for free.

I will go on record here as saying that I believe the OpenSource/GNU software model is a terrible idea for a capitalist economy...
*if it were applied as policy across the board.

If the entertainment industry adhered to the opensource philosophy, for example, musicians and actors would never be able to get fair compensation for their work.

I think opensource and closed source can coexist, and should; each can challenge the other to be better, and if you expect me to pay big bucks for your software then make it the better alternative. Only I insist that the playing field must be level; competition is good but illegal monopolistic tactics must not be tolerated.

Because opensource code is often donated with no expectation of recompense, it wouldn't be fair to expect a for-profit business to adopt such a model. However, donations for opensource software are encouraged, and vendors of such software can still make money by charging for the act of distribution, materials, service, and support.

[lynchmob]

Oh,your quite right.But like SeanC noted,they are a good base to launch a certification stream from.And who wants to keep taking entry-level certs every couple of years.
So I'm not really saying they're better because they are permanent, but that they should'nt have to be renewed because of thier basic-skills nature.
I think I said that right.
lynch

[CMonster]

and make a buck for doing something.

-sweet music to my ears

[Mntsnow]

Damn right those bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees should all expire too! That way they have to come down to my level of schooling too...level out the playing field

Like I stated in the beginning. Was just a fun way to twist the Opensource idea Personally I think it's great that CompTIA is offering the new certs but still a Lifetime cert is a bit over the top in my opinion. Heck I probably dont remember half of what I did for my NT4 & Win2K MCSE certifications since I dont use that knowledge each and every day. but now I'm just rambling so I'm just signing off

[SeanC]

CompTIA even says (in a manner of speaking anyway) that their certifications are entry level.

I'd hate to have to take my A+ over when I have about 8 years experience with PC hardware and basic OS principles. I only took the A+ to prove that I do know what's on my resume. Same reason I'm going to take the Network+.

I don't think vendor specific certs should be lifetime but I also think there should be a fixed amount of time your cert is good for, like Cisco. Every 5 years, you have to re-certify. Which is good because their stuff will have probably changed enough to warrent re-certifying.

If MS adopts the Cisco method of 5 years before requiring to re-certify on their products that would help.

They could stagger their new product releases far enough apart so people have time to learn the new version and then re-certify without having to focus on multiple products. For example, release Windows Server then give people 6 months to focus on learning and re-certifying on the new Windows Server. Then after that 6 or so months, release the new version of Exchange Server, give another 6 month or so for people to learn it and recertify on it, etc... etc... etc...

I know a few people who were MCSE on the Windows NT platform software and when Windows 2000 came out, they were fine with recertifying because it was 5+ years since they certified on NT. But now I've heard that Microsoft wants people to re-certify on the Windows 2003 server for their MCSE or they loose it. Those people just said "forget it" because they can't spend that kind of money and time.

Just my opinion.

Sean