Re: cert discussion

[zwicky <zwicky@pterodactyl.neu.sgi.com>]

I am siezed by an intense sense of deja-vu. Look, it's the
certification discussion again! Exactly the same as last time!
I have no standing in this discussion, but because I have a short
attention span for these arguments, I'm going to weigh in anyway,
in the hope of making the discussion more interesting to me, and
with any luck more useful to the certification question.

Certification is repeatedly, vocally, passionately desired by large
subsets of its membership. This does NOT mean that certification is
the best way of determining that somebody is a good system
administrator, or the best way of adding prestige to the profession.
It really doesn't matter in the least.

Discussions of college degree programs and apprenticeship are all very
well, but they're irrelevant.  Neither college degrees nor
apprenticeship will solve the problems that are causing people to
demand certificates.

Who wants certificates?

	-Employers who are trying to rank employees RIGHT NOW.
	-Existing system administrators who want an easily understandable
	credential.
	-Everybody who's jealous of Microsoft Certified Engineers.

College degrees and apprenticeships solve the problem for people who
want to learn how to be system administrators. But it's not going to
do a thing for people who already *are* system administrators and the
people who want to hire them. Everybody is welcome to discuss
apprenticeships and degree programs, and work on setting them up, but
they don't in any way conflict with or replace certification, any more
than the existence of Microsoft's certification make BSCS degrees
irrelevant.

Here are some questions of interest about certification:

	0) Which of the following best describes your attitude towards 
certification?
		a) It's the best idea since sliced bread.
		b) Sure, why not?
		c) It's an OK idea, but there are more important things SAGE
		could be doing.
		d) It's fundamentally meaningless and silly.
		e) It's actively harmful to the profession.
		f) It's morally wrong.

	If you answered E or F, please justify your answer. If you answered
anything else, SAGE might as well go on working on certification.

	1) How much would you be willing to pay for a SAGE certificate?
(This to some extent controls possible testing options -- reliably
grading essay questions is *expensive*.)

	2) Which of the following best describes your attitude towards
multiple-choice testing for certificates?
		a) Sounds like a fine idea to me.
		b) It's pointless, but since the whole thing is pointless,
		why not?
		c) Not only is it pointless, it's offensive and possibly
		immoral. 

	3) What process should SAGE use to develop and test the tests? Who
do we know who knows how other people do this?

	4) Which of the following models do you prefer?
		a) You must be a SAGE member to get a SAGE certification.
		b) You don't have to be a SAGE member, but we charge 
		extra.
		c) It doesn't matter at all whether or not you're a member.

	5) Can you give one example of a testing/certification program you
think SAGE's should be like, and why?

	6) Can you give one example of something you think is horribly
wrong with an existing testing/certification program, which SAGE
should avoid doing?

	Elizabeth Zwicky
	zwicky@neu.sgi.com