Reagarding CERTS and INTERNSHIPS

[Bill Mc Coy]

HI ,
i am a under-grad from university of Illinois , and presently continuing my masters in computer science .
I see that this forums are moderated by pros , who themselves seem highly experienced , and some of them would have been involved in hiring college grads , at some point in their career.

i passed SCJP amd presently preparing for MCTS in web development.
Can people here kindly guide me , and answer few questions i have in this regard.

1. Will these CERTS help me get an internship ,while i am in my course.

2. How much can these certs help me in finding a job after my course. I am a fresher with no experience. i joined in masters immediately after my undergrad. Will these CERTS help me over other few experienced fellows in my class.

3. regarding freshers, will these CERTS place me at an advantage over other freshers at job interview
[ July 09, 2008: Message edited by: Bill Mc Coy ]

[Joe San]

These CERTS should make a difference with respect to your 1, 2 and 3rd points.

[Henry Wong]

I don't know too much on the effect of certs, as they were practically non-existant, when I was in college. However, internships were very important.....

Keep in mind, internships are considered as job experience. And should appear in your resume as such, so I would make sure that you get as many summer internships as possible, during your time in college.

Henry

[Theodore Casser]

My suspicion is that the certs will probably make a (minor) difference in helping you to land internships, in so far as helping to distinguish you from your peers that are seeking the same positions. They'll probably also help you when you go looking for that first "real" job, though the internship will, as Henry pointed out, will probably serve better in that respect. It's kind of like a job ladder...

[Tim Holloway]

Most places in the US, I think that an SCJP and a Bachelor's Degree will get you past the mindless HR filters. Anything beyond that probably isn't going to register.

Some of us tend to look askance at people with too many certs - the only two that I've ever considered as being truly indicative of anything but the ability to memorize and regurgitate are the RHCE and the CCNA.

Memorize-and-regurgitate isn't considered an essential skill in software development. I have a certain reputation for being able to look up things in a hurry, but not of remembering them directly.

[arulk pillai]

Originally posted by Tim Holloway:
Most places in the US, I think that an SCJP and a Bachelor's Degree will get you past the mindless HR filters. Anything beyond that probably isn't going to register.

Some of us tend to look askance at people with too many certs - the only two that I've ever considered as being truly indicative of anything but the ability to memorize and regurgitate are the RHCE and the CCNA.

Memorize-and-regurgitate isn't considered an essential skill in software development. I have a certain reputation for being able to look up things in a hurry, but not of remembering them directly.

Could not agree more.

[James Mark]

cant agree with Tim Holloway...
If you go through Danchisholm for SCJP or DavidBridgeWater Questions for SCWCD you get to know how tough the certs are from the realworld.
I found the real world Programming a piece of cake after taking 2
certs.and I am looking for more..
If will give you tremendous amount of confidence to dug in and solve the issues in Coding or you can simply sees the solutions you want.

[Edvins Reisons]

Originally posted by Tim Holloway:


Some of us tend to look askance at people with too many certs

Yes, I see this "Do you not have anything better to do?" question . Not discussing it in depth, just one more initial barrier I feel certificates help me pass: it is spending a sizable amount of time and effort with each interviewer on questions below this level.