> On the other - and to my mind, more important - hand, one thing that > such a qualification will never provide is a demonstation that the > possessor of said qualification has got a "CLUE"(TM) [1] - viz: a deep > comprehension of the issues of network security, rather than the mere > ability to parrot-rote the "N" different software security > certification systems that are in use worldwide. Actually, certifications have a long and (dis-)honorable history, and often start at a level **between** parroting and expertise. Consider the old terms '`apprentice'', ``journeyman'' and ``master'': An apprentice is learning something, and probably spends a lot of time parroting his masters without interpretation. He does not know the rules, just parts of them. He works under direct supervision. A journeyman has learned something, and is ready to put it to use. He knows the rules, and how to put them into practice. He may have been selected to journeyman rank by his master or may have passed an examination. He works without supervision, but his work is inspected by a master. A master knows the rules, how to apply them and when to break them. He has proven this by doing a ``master piece'', and his peers have elected him to their rank. (phew!) I just went through a course on (analytic) project management, to put beside my experience doing the work. If I aspired to the rank of journeyman, and expected to do that task all the time, I might be well-advised to stand the certification exam for journeyman. And if I did it full-time, I'd expect to wave my certificate at the customers to say ``see, I'm a journeyman. I can do this stuff''. The customer might want to bring in a consultant (a real one: a master) to write the requirements and inspect the completed work, but that's their call. --dave In a different life, I was the consultant brought in to specify and inspect. The person doing the <work> was a journeyman <worker>, but a master project manager. -- David Collier-Brown, | Always do right. This will gratify some people 185 Ellerslie Ave., | and astonish the rest. -- Mark Twain Willowdale, Ontario | davecbat_private, canada.sun.com M2N 1Y3. 416-223-8968 | http://java.science.yorku.ca/~davecb
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Apr 13 2001 - 12:57:19 PDT