I am pondering whether or not to take the MS "070-483 : Programming in C#" certification test. I am have previously taken a C# training class provided by work, but have not been paid to program C#. I have messed around with C# on my own and have written about 3000 lines of code, so I know a little The reason for the question is that C# on my resume would help on my current job search. Would C# certification be considered experience? I did a little research on MS certifications. MS says "brain dumps" are "not legal", but they are easily found for sale with guarantees that you will pass or you get your money back. The brain dumps boast that they contain actual test questions, so they appear to be real cheats. If I was an employer, I would weigh MS certifications with a boulder sized grain of salt. Thoughts?
My take is that if you know C#, put it on your resume. Meaning, if you are comfortable with it, and programming in it won't slow you down. I've been in development at different levels for 15 years now (just realized it's been that long), and don't have a single certification. I've never been asked to get one either, so I don't put much weight on them. Small programming tests given by interviewers was how I showed I knew something. I never was asked C# specific questions. It was always theory and concepts...which never really got used in day to day coding, haha.
I've always thought that certifications are dumb. I have about 13 years of experience, and have been participating in the interview process for years. I ask people to demonstrate their proficiency by either doing a code project, or whiteboarding with me in the interview. A good interviewer can tell if you know what you're doing. I've never once looked at or cared about a certification.
Depends on what you're trying to do. I agree w/the above posters that it's less relevant/important if you're planning on being employed by a company--because yes, once you get the interview, it's less relevant. It might help in getting certain interviews, but if you're experienced, I'm sure you'll find some interviews along the way. However, if you're looking to become a contract developer or do some kind of independent work, certifications can definitely help (some industries more than others). You have to find ways to sell yourself and get new work/bids, and you won't always get in front of the right people face-to-face. Certs can help open doors or push you past other candidates when big companies are sorting through hundreds of resumes for relatively fungible dev jobs. So in short, it's more about marketability before the interview than anything else.
Getting Microsoft certified is like writing your own ticket. But don't expect to go in there and breeze through the tests. You have to know a lot to get certified.
It's less important to be certified and more important to know things. If you can code put it on your resume, set up a public repository (like GitHub), and just make projects. You will get a job if you're persistent.
The certification might help you get the interview. But then you're first interview will probably be online where your interviewer watches you program something in c# to solve an algorithmic problem. I think www.leetcode.com is a great source for showing what to expect. Lots of problems you can tackle in c# and it will compile and run your solutions.
That is my thought as well. Good to know. My last two jobs were contracts. More random luck than an actual plan. So far, half the jobs I have applied for have been contracts.
around 2004 , I went with a friend of a freind! a guy with a PHD in Chemical Engineering working part-time in community college to a used books store,he picked up all materials he could have on MS certificate (2000 based), and a few scattered booklet of linux-Unix,Orcal, Apache/Red hat etc, with tiny network of old x486 PC and a few months self studies he got his certificate, he landed a senior level job after all in a multinational company. Maybe things has changed now days, I'm not an expert by any means but it seems like Internet security certificate which I thinks needs programming background along with MSc will comes in handy when a window of opportunity comes
