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Advice on .NET Certs

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  • 20-09-2011 10:58am
    #1
    SlipperyPeople
    Registered Users Posts: 1,722 ✭✭✭


    Hi,

    Looking for advice on what microsoft or .NET certificates that may be useful to do. I'm currently working in my first Software Development job after graduating from college last summer...what would be a good place to start?

    I was looking at the MCTS Windows Application Development with microsoft .NET
    but I really don't know which exam would be best to start with...

    thanks in advance.


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    #2
    Dean_Mc
    Registered Users Posts: 338 ✭✭Dean_Mc


    Don't bother would be my advice,

    I was not able to go to college because of various life decisions, yet I wanted to move into a career in development. Like you, I wanted to get some sort of qualification to quantify my knowledge to employers.

    The problem with these and other certs of this ilk is that they can be brain dumped, that is people can buy the answers from others who have memorised them. This has had an effect of lowering the value of these certs to prospective employers.

    Since you already have a development role I would concentrate on that, years experience, right or wrong, is what counts in most managers eyes. Second to that, and the vehicle I used, are personal projects.

    Many places want to see you can actually plan and write software, the best thing I have ever done was to use the time I would have spent studying for those certs to develop and maintain some small open source projects on GitHub. I also found this more enjoyable and learned practical skills like MVVM, intefaced based programming and Windows Phone development.

    This is of course only my opinion, but as someone who broke into the industry (with a great company) having no qualifications or certs, I think my opinion carries a certain level of weight.


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    #3
    Robdude
    Closed Accounts Posts: 709 ✭✭✭Robdude


    In my experience - the tests aren't a big deal to most employers. I've worked at companies that were 'MS Gold Partners' and part of their scoring system to determine if they were a Gold partner or not was the number of certs the employees had (along with a lot else).

    That company encouraged employees to take them. But only for the points.

    Most other places I've been at don't put a lot of value in them. I think the important thing is to show that you are doing *something* more than just showing up to work and not getting fired.


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