Need help from programmer types

[RikWriter]

A close friend of mine who has worked IT for several years quit his job to take courses in: Visual Basic, Microsoft .net framework 2.0 application development foundation, Microsoft .net framework 2.0 web based client development, and Designing and developing web apps with Microsoft .net framework. He's going to be getting his MCTS and MCPD from these courses. (Forgive me if I screwed any of that up, I have no idea what any of it means except it involves learning the Visual Basic language to build web pages.)
Now although he has worked IT, he has no programming experience whatsoever.
He is of the belief that he can use this certification to get a high-paying job immediately---like $80K a year; and I, not knowing diddly about the subject, was wondering if you guys know if he will be able to do this or if most companies would require experience before paying him that much.
He's bought completely into the line the school has told him about how easy it will be to get a job with this certification, and I want to make sure he's not being conned.
Thanks in advance for any info you can give.

[pwm2]

Where I live, there is too much people developing web services, and too little poeple with experience and knowledge to develop stand-aline applications, embedded systems or similar. To get a good salary, it helps to be better than the rest in the specific niche, or to have experience in an niche where there are not enough people available.

[PhotoJourno]

Rikwriter,

Certifications are good and bad.
For learning the actual product operation and programming, they are as effective as the person going through it. However, any IT guy will tell you that no matter what you read, when you walk into a Server Farm for some maintenance or Network work, it is a whole different arena.
Certifications are still a bit on the plus side when you are at a job interview, though where I live (California) there are more people with Certifications than valid Drivers Licenses, so it makes very little difference (We're talking Microsoft Certs - If he was Cisco Certified, CAD, etc is another story, is like a mini career, imagine for instance a cop doing his job, but becoming a paramedic at the same time. Extremely useful on the field).

Other than that, Certifications are fairly overrated.

Let me end with this. If I were considering certifications (I am an old MCSE-I, I got it while working for Microsoft back in the late 90s), I'd be watching the following:

- Not worth throwing all your chips in ( Will not guarantee a job, as a certification does NOT mean practical experience, which means speed and accuracy).

- While doing IT work, if that is one's venue of work, getting Certified is always useful, and does not look bad. It can get you an extra few $ a year, but not enough to scream home about.

- Certifications are really another way to make money. Certifications are only as good as the particular product is out there (say XP Certified, you now know all about XP), but when another upgrade comes along (Vista), your Certification is obsolete. So Microsoft has a really good way of letting you upgrade your certification, they probably still give you your little card, and a lapel pin, and maybe a Microsoft Action Figure (I have one I scrounged from my boss back at MS, he's got a mousepad hanging from the belt, quite funny). But Oh, the course is still somewhere upwards $500 and more, $300 if you learn it yourself, and the testing is $100 a try (at least, it used to be the case back then).

I hope this info helps. I too have friends that get certified while on the job, and others who quit to study full time as if it were a career. It just never worked out for the latter. One of them comes to mind, installing Blinds for a Construction Company, and another who is now a dentist. I kid you not.

The one getting his certs on the job, is still working at Livermore Natl Labs. Scared of layoffs, but hanging in there.

[rhys]

studying while working is better. Employers want experience. They want to know what you can do. They don't want a bunch of papers saying what you ought to be able to do.

I have a shedload of certificates and qualifications. I have 3 qualifications to the level of a degree (a degree equivalent) in computing that have got me absolutely nowhere. I have degree from the University of Wales. That hasn't got me anywhere although the fact I have a degree does elevate me from those that do not as a degree is a much more recognised qualification worldwide than an HND.

So... to recap - paper qualifications are paper qualifications and job experience is worth a shed load more.

I run my own photography business. If I were to employ somebody then I would ask two questions:
1st - can they do the job.
2nd - are they honest (ie if they have a criminal record then the door's over there).

My wife runs her own business. If she can't trust somebody she employs, she doesn't employ them. She's not so fussed about qualifications either and is more likely to employ somebody who's obviously trying to succeed. If they're in college one day a week then she'll smile on that. If they dropped out of highschool she wouldn't touch them.

[PhotoJourno]

I like Rhys's way to explain it. When contracting a photographer, one spends a second looking at the Academy of Art Diploma, but will go through the portfolio and photos extremely carefully. Then, if the choice has to be made between an elementary school dropout and a person with a degree, one may give the edge to the person with the degree (assuming that they are better at interacting with people, etc). But the Diploma alone will not get you any photo jobs, guaranteed.

[Pete]

I think people are forgetting the one key detail here, which isn't anything to do with qualifications or experience.

Communication.

Having a well laid out and clear CV (or resume) is the key thing. If the recruiter is confused or frustrated when reading the CV, then it goes in the bin, regardless of how technically good the applicant is.

If you display good communication skills on your CV and lay things out in a clear and organised manner, then you'll gain big points with the recruiter.

[rhys]

Resume's are so much blah. It's 10-1 that somebody else composed the guy's resume for them.

[Pete]

I've read enough of them to know. They're absolutely key to getting your foot in the door. You can be the best person in the world for the job, but if your CV is a tangled mess, you'll never get anywhere.

Good CV writing (or finding someone who can do it for you) is totally paramount in getting you to interview stage. Communication skills are key in getting the role.