[consulting] Drupal Certification and Requirements

[Bill Fitzgerald]

Ashraf Amayreh wrote:
> In the end the ultimate decision is not a risk-free endeavor. But I 
> agree with Victor, a company has to be prepared to truly nurture 
> people rather than draining them and expecting perfection and leaving 
> no margins for an error or a delay here or there. When I want someone 
> who I would consider an asset, I would not care in the least what 
> languages he worked with, it usually takes so little time for an 
> exceptional developer to get acquainted with new technology if given a 
> book or a kick start. In case of drupal expertise, just look for 
> someone with contributions such as modules or patches to modules or 
> core. It's that simple.
Absolutely, although I would also say that, in a talented dev, the right 
personality can outweigh a lack of specific Drupal experience, as 
php/Drupal can be learned. The ability to work constructively within a 
team is much more difficult to teach/learn.

It also gets down to whether you view a hire as a short term solution to 
a specific problem (ie, need more code!), or as a long-term relationship 
with a person and their continually developing skill set. This also has 
ramifications for how a shop structures deliverables and the development 
schedules. Creative people (and great developers are creative people) do 
their best work when they have the time to research, experiment, make 
the occasional mistake, and then implement a solution. Looking at hiring 
as part of your company's mission, and as an offshoot of your 
development philosophy, helps to clarify what you look for in applicants.

I have yet to see any certification be of much use in judging any of 
these attributes.

Cheers,

Bill

-- 
Bill Fitzgerald
http://www.funnymonkey.com
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