Too Many Certs?

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Can too many certs be a disadvantage when looking for employment?

 

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It would depend on the type of work you're going for and how long you have been in IT.

For instance my CV and certifications don't hurt me at all but that's because I have been in IT for over 12 years now.

 

It can definitely be a disadvantage, especially if you are just starting out in IT, think about it, if you were a hiring manager why would you hire someone to do helpdesk work etc when this person has so many high level certs, if he knows what he is doing it's just going to raise questions as to why he is applying for a job way below his skill set.

I believe that as a person starting out/looking for IT work your better off having as few certs as possible, if anything don't include higher level certs on your CV, your better off going to an interview and answering stuff that they expect you to be able to answer and more, than going all "certed" up and not being able to answer the simple questions.

 

If you've got relevant experience, you can't have too many certs. Many certs with experience can't be a disadvantage.

If you don't have relevant experience, you CAN have too many certs. Having too many certs can most certainly be a disadvantage.

 

I've lost jobs because of my certs before, some people plain just don't like them, even if you have experience to back them up.

 

One thing I noticed is that agencies aren't always aware of entry level cert's like A+...One pointed out that she had seen them on alot of C.V's but had no idea what it was, she was however more aware of microsoft certifications

 

More fool her for not thinking "you know what I might google that as it may help me place my candidates into suitable posititons"

 

Hi Jim,

I can sort of understand where you're coming from as I am an exam away from achieving the MCSE 2003 cert. I was contemplating upgrading it to MCTIP: EA after my achieving the MCSE 2003.

At the moment at work I have been working on HP SAN and recently VMware ESX servers v4.

I was under the impression that achieving the MS cert (MCSE) would help one to land job interviews.

Well that's my only reasoning of going for the cert. I'd take experience anytime though and do without the cert if that.

 

Perfectly put.

Obviously, in the second scenario, you don't have to disclose the certs on your CV, but if you have 50 Microsoft certs and you only disclosed 5 without having any IT industry experience, and the potential employer asks to have access to your on-line transcript, then that may not be seen in a good light...

 

I waited to get my MCSA until I felt comfortable and had enough experience to do so... This also made passing certifications a lot easier. If you're a consultant than I don't see why you can't have many certifications, but if you're just starting out then too many will hurt your chances of getting a job.

 

oookay

 

LOL meant to say a job not certified...

 

More like rum and coke for me... It's been a long week guys. TGIF!

 

Read around the net, many people that hire programmers say they will ditch a CV just because it has a cert on it.

They are not universally loved, this attitude is not uncommon for programmers, I suspect there are probably even a few system administrators that are less than keen.

So on average it probably won't hurt, but theres always the possibility that it will, regardless of the candidate or their experience level, its all down to the hiring managers perceptions and prejudices.

 

That's interesting, because I've seen many postings where they do prefer it if the candidate did have one or two certs.