[thelist] developer ethics?

Joel Canfield Joel at spinhead.com
Thu Mar 7 09:12:01 CST 2002


>>>What makes you think that someone with a cert won't use
>WYSIWYGs only?
>>>
>
>JC> Who designed THAT certification? I assume we're talking about some
>JC> future cert that we're in the process of designing, or at least
>JC> influencing.
>
>wasn't the original poster trying to say that you *could* have
>any number of certifications but still use frontpage as your
>editor of choice for your day to day job.

They were replying to this:

"a test or cert is just a starting point. i'd sure rather have an applicant
with
a cert than someone who used to be a plumber or uses WYSIWYGs only. at least
they've proven 'some knowledge' as opposed to near total ignorance, which is
entirely possible without some kind of test or cert."

So, my reply addressed the concept that someone could have whatever cert
we're talking about without knowing enough HTML to hand code a site. IOW, if
they design using ONLY WYSIWYGs, they're not going to be able to get the
cert in the first place?


As I see it, there are three possible stands on certification (if there are
others, please let me know)
1. Certifications are meaningless and should be ignored.
2. Certifications show SOME level of knowledge, but should be verified by
real-world experience or some other quantifiable element
3. Certification is all that matters; cert = skill

I, like the poster of the above quote, think it's #2. What do you think?



>
>the fact that someone has a certification to any level doesn't
>necessarily mean that are going to use what they have learnt
>to improve their work rather than using it as part of their
>sales pitch.

Which is why a cert is only a starting point (see the quote above) as
opposed to the ending point.

joel



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