[consulting] Drupal Certification (was: General consultant'svent)

[Nancy Wichmann]

Dries Buytaert wrote:

  While I'm skeptic about certification programs myself, I also see value in
them.   In a way, a masters degree from MIT or a PhD from Stanford is also a
certification.  Granted, there are many examples of bad certification
programs, but there are also examples of valuable certification programs;
e.g. the CISCO certification program is very thorough, hands-on and valued
by the market.

"Valued by the market" is a very subjective term. True, there may be some
companies that feel it shows something, but there are almost certainly many
other companies that feel that they don't want to pay for a "certified
xxxx." For example, I am a certified project manager (PMP) and many job ads
say "PMP preferred." However, I have never seen a company that absolutely
insists on it, even though it demonstrates a certain level of education,
training, and experience. And I have never seen an instance of it generating
a higher pay rate (although IBM has certain rules that partially apply).

As far as a "commercial entity at the heart," of course that's going to
happen, whether it be the DA or a spin-off. The administrators of any
certification are going to find it to be a full-time job and are going to
need a salary. That means there will be membership and testing fees at the
very least. No one will do this out of their love for the community. Look at
the Project Management Institute (pmi.org) as an example.

In short, certification will always mean more to the person who is certified
than it will to the person hiring him/her. It is not a panacea guaranteeing
a good Drupalista. I know project managers who are certified and yet
horrible at it; likewise I know PMs who are not certified and excellent at
it.

When I see teh marketplace clammoring for a certification, I might support
it. But until that happens, stop wasting the bandwidth discussing it. It is
simply meaningless.

Nancy E. Wichmann, PMP

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. -- Dr. Martin L. King,
Jr.
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