IBM cert with Sun Cert?

[Bhumika Thakkar]

Hi,

I've seen many people taking the IBM cert with all the sun certificates. How are they linked together? What job profiles would go for IBM certs?

I've taken SCJP, SCWCD, preparing for SCBCD. What other certifications would add value to my profile?

Thanks,

Bhumika.

[Theodore Casser]

It really depends on what you're doing. I have my IBM certs because my last firm was an IBM partner, so it was to my benefit, but since my current employer is not doing anything with it, I've not persued any further ones from their program.

That's how I'd decide on it -whatever makes sense, for your career, do.

[reubin haz]

Hi Bhumika, I have the same question as yours. I asked a similar question like this before, but answers aren't as good as what we expected. Then I think which certifications to choose is totally decided by your own interests and company's requirement/expectation that you are working in or you wanna work for.

I think because IBM has developed OS and SW that runs on Java based systems. Therefore, IBM's certifications are closely related to Sun's ones. Am I right?

[Amirthalingam Prasanna]

Hi,
Theodore is right. Go for IBM certs if it makes sense. For example when it comes to java if u r using or planning to use ibm products such as web sphere studio then going for a exam such as ibm certified enterprise developer is good. Some of these exams require you to achieve SCJP as part of the certification.
For more info check the IBM cert URL
http://www-03.ibm.com/certify/certs/index.shtml

[Peter Sin]

IMHO, vendor certifications make you look more professional. For general employers, it is no difference between SUN and IBM certifications because both of them are issued by big companies. For SUN certifications, you can claim that you can be competent in ANY hardware platforms. For IBM certifications, you can claim that you have specialised skills in IBM platform. It is the employer's choice for general skills or specialised skills. In other words, but very important, employer determines everything.
[ June 29, 2005: Message edited by: Peter Sin ]

[Theodore Casser]

Originally posted by Peter Sin:
IMHO, vendor certifications make you look more professional.

I have to disagree with the theory here. Vendor certifications, held on their own, do nothing to make you look more/less professional. It all depends on the employer.

I mean, let's face it. If your employer or potential employer uses BEA WebLogic, then it's not going to be of any advantage to become certified in IBM WebSphere, unless there's some chance that your employer might be using it or switching to it (or if some other company you're thinking of looking for work with might be using it). It's better, in my thoughts, to apply one's energies towards general certifications save where specifics give a distinct advantage in the moment.

(There's another downside to IBM certs that hasn't been touched on - they expire. So getting a given version of the certificate only certifies you until the new version of the app comes out... and you might find yourself upgrading one or more times before it's of any use to you. Just food for thought.)
[ June 29, 2005: Message edited by: Theodore Casser ]

[Peter Sin]

Originally posted by Theodore Casser:


I have to disagree with the theory here. Vendor certifications, held on their own, do nothing to make you look more/less professional. It all depends on the employer.

I mean, let's face it. If your employer or potential employer uses BEA WebLogic, then it's not going to be of any advantage to become certified in IBM WebSphere, unless there's some chance that your employer might be using it or switching to it (or if some other company you're thinking of looking for work with might be using it). It's better, in my thoughts, to apply one's energies towards general certifications save where specifics give a distinct advantage in the moment.

(There's another downside to IBM certs that hasn't been touched on - they expire. So getting a given version of the certificate only certifies you until the new version of the app comes out... and you might find yourself upgrading one or more times before it's of any use to you. Just food for thought.)

[ June 29, 2005: Message edited by: Theodore Casser ]

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Theodore Jonathan Casser
SCPJ2 1.2, SCWCD 1.3, SCDJWS
ICS, ICSE, ICD, ZCE
Passed IBM Exams 483 (J2EE Connectivity), 484 (J2EE Connectivity for 1.3) and 486 (OOAD with UML)
Submitted SCEA Part II on 28 Jun 05 - Awaiting SCEA II/III results!


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How about the employer uses JBoss or Tomcat ? There is no such certification in Tomcat and JBoss certification is not common. I think the employer will evaluate the skill of potential employee in terms of experinces in J2EE projects rather than certification alone. There is no difference among SUN, IBM and Weblogic certifications. It shows that the potential employee is skillful compared with others do not have any certification. It is the reason why I say vendor certifications make you look professional. Theodore, you look more professional than me because you have a lot of certifications !
[ June 29, 2005: Message edited by: Peter Sin ]

[Theodore Casser]

I suspect we could probably argue about this until the cows come home. It's a matter of opinion.

As for how professional or not my listing of letters looks, one has to remember that I also have the experience with those platforms to back it up. While certifications are pretty, my resume also makes clear why I got certified.