Oh. My. God.

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I have just visited CertGuard for the first time. Very good site - the design & graphics etc leaves a bit to be desired, but the content there is so good I spent about an hour trawling through it.

Now I'm sure people will laugh at me here (me with my 133t rep and all that ) but I discovered something there that, although I had heard about before, I'd never actually seen. Apparently the rumours I'd heard about people taking your cert tests for you and passing them are not only true, but there are sites OPENLY ADVERTISING ON THE NET that will provide this service! I went to the 'About' certification site and the very first link I clicked on took me to one of them (I won't repost the link here for obvious reasons) where, for a fee of around $3000, you can 'get certified - no test, no cramming, no study'.

That basically makes my MCSE, which I took an entire year to study for full time, absolutely worthless. How many people are out there that have 'earned' their MCSE in this way? Jesus Henry Christ, this makes even braindumpers look good - at least they had to memorise the frickin answers before taking their exams

Now I know why my 70-216 instructor laughed and said 'there are far worse things going on than that' when I told him about a couple of dumpers on my CBT course...

 

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WOW! never heard of that, thats shocking

 

Yep... welcome to the other shady side of certifications: gunmen.

Unfortunately, NOT getting certifications is NOT an option, whether you believe the MCSE to be "worthless" or not. If we don't continue to certify (and learn the "right way" so that we're actually able to DO the job when we are given that opportunity), the cheaters will have an edge over us simply because they'll have the certifications and we won't. Thus, just "giving up" isn't a viable option. The best thing we can do is inform people about the dangers that IT certification cheating has on the industry.

 

Well said Michael, at the end of the day the dumpers and cheaters would be caught out in the interview stage if they do land an interview that is. However, on the flip side what Michael has stated above is very true. I suppose it all depends on individuals but I for one want to have an edge by studying the right way for certs to enhance my future career prospects.

 

I have heard about this phenomenon of cert buying and I consider it very dishonourable.

 

Wow, although I know these sorts of things go on in every walk of education, it just seems unbelievable how open they are about it.

Problem for these people are that when they're tested in the interviews, they will fall very very short.

 

I've heard of this practice. It's one of the reasons you have to show a photo ID at the exam center before sitting the test. I guess part of the fee is for the fake ID.

 

It's not difficult at all: if you can't do the job, you're released. That's why many companies have a 3-month probationary period for new hires.

 

Only if the interviewer is good. If the interviewer is as poor as his/her interviewee, they'll not be able to detect their true lack of knowledge and experience.

 

Someone posted a site a year or two ago from the States where you could buy a certificate.

So that's not even the certification - just the piece of paper with your name on that you can hang on the wall.

How pointless is that?

 

How do people manage to get round this when you need some form of photo ID when you go for an exam?

 

I saw a woman doing a crossword today and she was sitting down with a Thesaurus by her side which she frequently used to get the answers in order to finish the puzzle. She was pleased that she'd finished it and thats fine by me, if she's happy then i'm happy. Nothing wrong with that.

But...

It struck me how much of a similar situation it was to Braindumping. The Thesaurus is a similar tool to a Braindump (maybe not as bad, but the principle is the same).

Personally, i think that if you need to go down this route, then you won't get very far at all.

I'd propose that anyone that has earned their MCSE through valid methods wouldn't be concerned at all as they should know that it takes a hell of a lot more than 4 letters to be able to be competent at a job. As long as i can study hard and progress i won't be feeling too stressed out about other guys cheating their way upward.

After all, take the Thesaurus away from the woman and she loses the ability to finish the crossword. There will undoubtably come a point where a Thesuarus is unavailable, what happens then ? She can't do the crossword.

Food for thought.

 

Im not 100% on that analogy
a core skill in any job is information gathering, research, FINDING the answers to problems
so using a thesauras is more like using google rather than a braindump

a braindump would be glancing at todays paper on the shelf and then filling in all the answers for yesturdays from memory

 

Lol Phoenix, talk about 'picking flies' - you've taken my post a bit too serious i think.

I know its not a classic analogy but i'm sure you get what i was trying to say.

It was just to point out the benefits and gains of working things out for yourself, then to progress with those gains, that woman could have been using a Thesaurus all of her life with no real gain.

It was more a philosophical subject that had a small bearing on learning than a direct IT comparison.

I was wondering who would be first to try and pick it apart.

 

Remember before photo driving licences were introduced and when the tests just consisted of a practical?

People were paid to take driving tests for other people.