MB> When applying for a job in network admin, experience will
 MB> get you a lot further than a certification.  The only place
 DW> As I have not applied for any I will not dispute this.  It's just that I 
 DW> have "heard" (the infamous word) from many that they, 
 DW> the companies out there, are looking for the certs.  I 
This is where the jobhunting technique of learning about the company(s) you 
are applying to (or in some cases, the site you are applying to) comes in.
Hiring in large entities may be governed by paper policy; said policy may 
state "applicant must have X certifiction(s) for this position". Sometimes if 
you read the actual job description/advertisement is will say "X certificate 
OR x timeperiod of experience in this area".
Other companies that are more impressed by accomplishment then paper, will 
want to hear all about your real world, self-motivated (wasn't nobody TOLD 
you to set up that system, was there?) experience below. 
 DW> worried me.  I have no industrial expierence.  Infact 
 DW> the only real world expierence I have is what it took 
 DW> for me to turn a single node bbs system into a 5 
 DW> machine lan utilizing a satellite downlink for Fidonet 
 DW> mail.  I started this with no prior knowledge and 
 DW> though Lantastic was pretty easy to just get it going I 
 DW> did learn the in's and out's of the network (Mostly 
 DW> from reading and participating in messages here). 
Sell the hell out of the above in your resume and in any interviews. A guy 
comes to me with a CNE certificate and no experience; I know that guy can 
pass an exam. I have no idea if he can accomplish any useful work.
A guy comes to me with no paper, and the above experience; I know this guy 
can be handed a box of parts, some manuals, and with that and his own 
resources (like Fidonet) he can produce some kind of useful result. For the 
small shops or the large ones not bound by corporate policy, which do you 
think is more impressive?
--- Maximus 2.02
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