Hi, I have a friend that is an expert in .Net programming but recently has been having problems getting work due to the mass outsourcing of IT to India. He has switched to training but many training companies require a MCT certification. The issue is that this type of certification takes time and money, and Microsoft keeps changing their systems every 2 or 3 years so if you are certified to teach .Net 2003 you have to re-take it to teach 2005. The other issue is that colleges require some kind of University qualification and his degree is not in computer science. Have anyone had experiences with Rutgers certifications ? http://skillcenter.rutgers.edu/ Are they a good alternative to show employers your skill for certain job? What about training? Anyone?
I've done some of the Rutgers skill center stuff. It's not easy. It's also neither a master's degree or the MCT by a long shot. I'm thinking that most employers who know what it is will put it (the Rutgers) at the same level as a Brainbench cert. although it has a bit more name recognition than Brainbench and doesn't look bad on a resume.
MCT enrollment is currently open until Feb. 28. If your friend has earned either MCAD (3 exams) or MCSD (5 exams) certification, then attaining MCT is a little easier. The deal breaker may be the demonstrate instructional presentation skills requirement. See this MS blog post for more details. I too, have taken Rutgers cert exams for IT. Those are fun. However, I agree with Coach regarding the similarities to Brainbench. Looks great on a resume, but doubtful as far as instructor acceptance is concerned.
Thanks, he has experience teaching at a continuing education department of a University so the experience requirements are not an issue. The issue is that he has only 1 exam of the MCAD but now you have .Net 2005 so he has to retake the exam as he did it with 2003. In addition, the MCT is only for the courses that you are certified so by the time you finish a 2005 .Net examination by then you may have a .Net 2006 or 2007. The problem is that the Microsoft path seems to be a never end story as you keep dishing out money for an endless number of exams. Has anyone had experience with the CompTIA? Is it better than MCT for training purposes?
For what it's worth, I ended up just doing Oracle after getting my MS certs (MCDBA, MCSD in C++). The front ends always change - but the data always ends up in the database eventually. Greg
Greg this is very think that the DBA at my workplce say. And in their cubical I also see number of MS certs on the wall, yet they are happy with the data side and word by word what you say.
Maybe so I am a dotNet developer and my wife has an Oracle background. When she was a community college instructor she had to learn a new Oracle version practically every year. However, dotNet has only had two major iterations since 2000! That's hardly a lot, and those that can architect in .Net 2.0 (not just write code) won't be outsourced to India anytime soon. This opinion is based on my many years in the Seattle market, and my six months in the Richmond, VA market. Good dotNet developers are very hard to find and keep.
