Suggestions to LPI

[Bryan J. Smith]

On Sun, 2003-06-29 at 21:51, Stacy Gildenston wrote:
> I'd like to ask a question.  We're putting together a one pager that 
> could be used for employees or even potential employees who need to 
> educate "higher ups" on why LPI is a great choice.  What I'd really like 
> to know is what sorts of things do you say to managers/HR people when 
> you are trying to get LPI certification recognition (whether it be 
> payment for it, or just recognition of it, whatever).  Where are their 
> minds at?
> Thanks for your time on this.  This discussion has generated a lot of 
> good thought, and I appreciate being able to talk with others on this 
> end about it.

My opinions are skewed because _none_ of my employers have offered to
pay for _anything_.  I've spent over $5K in the past 12 months in just
exam fees.  At the same time, my current employer is marketing my
certifications to clients, which has put me in a "professional pickle." 
One that I fear may come to a "head" in the very near future over some
sticky "logo usage" on their part (long story ;-).

In a nutshell, I never force the issue.  With companies on tight
budgets, most are cutting training.  So if all they are going to pay for
is the exam fees and my time, I'd much rather have them pay me nothing
so I owe them nothing.  God knows I've seen far too many people, in the
past, obtain certifications at a company, on company dollars, only to
see the company try to claim the certification -- with a few people
forgetting they signed such an agreement to either reimburse and/or let
the company hold the title (however the latter actually works).

Some people are just not going to get the value of anything.  And in
some cases, e.g., people that don't value IT certifications at all, you
can't do much.  That has been my problem largely.  The only time I think
people should want to see the corporate agenda change is when
non-Microsoft certifications are not respected as much.  And I have had
great success in those regards when given the ear to present.


-- 
Bryan J. Smith, E.I.   b.j.smith at ieee.org   http://thebs.org
If you want the stupid letters:   http://thebs.org/certs.pdf
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