ASP, javascript, Ajax certification

foxinabox

Howdy Folks,

Having programmed at college for four years I have since worked in business type IT roles since leaving college 3 years ago.

I want to change direction and give some development work a go for a couple of years. I'm specifically interested in doing some web development - ASP, Ajax, javascript, xhtml, css etc I reckon for potential employers to take me seriously I probably need to get certified.

Having searched online I'm wondering if there is any credible certification available for the above languages. Any ideas?

The closest thing I can find is the MS asp.net stuff. Is that very different?

ron_darrell

What have you programmed in to date? What web technologies are you familiar with? Most customers don't ask so much about your qualifications as what your portfolio looks like i.e. what sites have you worked on. Qualifications, while important to keep your skill base up to date, are more for HR departments than for employers (strange as that sounds).

Can you/have you already built up a portfolio? What areas of web development are you interested in (site design (the look of the site - you will need to be familiar with photoshop, illustrator, flash, Coldfusion, CSS, XHTML), site programming (you will need to be familiar with a web programming language e.g. ASP, PHP, ASP.Net, Java), backend support (you will need to be expert in Database design, optimisation, maintenance and have exposure to Oracle, MS SQL Server, MySQL or equivalent DBMS), site maintenance (you will need to be able to run and manage a web server e.g. IIS, APACHE etc, and be expert in the associated OS (Windows or UNIX))

As you can see there is quite a lot to it and for some of the larger sites you will need to bring in/work with others (i.e. you might be working on the design/look of the site while someone else is doing the programming based on a DB written by a DBA). If your portfolio is made up of sites like this, while big sites are impressive you need to be able to show what parts you worked on and how you interacted with the others on the team.

Best of luck to you, it's not easy but if you enjoy web tech it can be a lot of fun. If you need any help drop me a line.

-RD

foxinabox

Thanks a lot Ron,

Out of the areas you have mentioned I am interested in site programming.

In college I did lots of Java and ASP but nothing commercial that I could show. I have since done one site in php but thats it.

Do you think having a portfolio is a lot more valuable to employers than being certified in a language? Should I put my efforts in trying to get ad hoc work on sites rather than becoming certified?

patrickolee

I think certification does help. There's a sun java certified programmer, developer and architect. Doing the exams you will learn a lot and I have found it helps. But proven experience is always best obviously.

ron_darrell

It's a throw up here because the certification shows what you should be able to do and the portfolio shows what you have done. I'd advise working on a portfolio first. Apart from anything else it will give you experience of the field, what people are looking for, what you are able to do and (just as important) what you can't.

Have you looked around and seen what potential customers you have in your area? Maybe a club, pub or small business are looking for a website. Maybe they haven't thought of it yet but you can suggest it to them A few small sites like this, maybe taking each one as a learning curve for a different web tech (i.e. maybe one written in ASP, another in PHP, another using java applets/JSP, anotehr using flash etc). These then (while you are not looking to make a profit on them) become the backbone of your portfolio.

Personally, I was very lucky in that I had a little word of mouth from friends and colleagues when I went looking for my first web design job but not a huge portfolio (in point of fact the work I have taken on is taking so much of my time I still haven't had time to expand my portfolio). I think though you'll find this is the exception that proves the rule.

Best of luck with it all. You've experience with ASP (which personally I think is the best scripting language to start with) and java (both of which are in demand at the moment). Maybe look at expanding that knowledge and maybe learning PHP, ASP.Net & AJAX. Certification is possible but much better for you and your potential clients would be for you to showcase a site using these techs that you have built. Finally, remember your first client can be yourself. Get a homepage up and use it as an online advertisement of your skills.

-RD