An ISP of their own (was RE: [rescue] Being jobless)

[N.Miller]

On Wednesday, July 30, 2003, at 06:00 PM, Curtis H. Wilbar Jr. wrote:
>
> They could probably buy it for a song now :-)

But who'd want to? ;-)  Cisco mgmt really touted the fact that
Lucent just sort of fell on it's face...of course, that was before
the bust.

They also played up the fact that mistakes the other two big
competitors made in aquisitions.  3-Com bought USR--USR being
big enough to be closer to a merger (meaning more issues to
deal with), and across the continent.  And Nortel buying companies
producing products outside of their area of expertise (Clarify).

One good thing did come at Cisco from the latter--since Clarify
was a competitor's product, it could not be used in a production
capacity at Cisco (company policy).  The were just getting started
on the spec'ing internal tech support replacement tool when I left.
Let me be clear: Clarify sucks rocks.

> Well, most certs are passable if you have half a brain, some 
> understanding,
> and a good memory.  They don't really test your ability to think.  They
> test your ability to know.  So most certs mean your a walking 
> dictionary...
> doesn't mean you know how to apply all that knowledge (yes, this is an
> extreme view).

Ditto on that.  I had a CCNP on my lab staff that new the hardware
backwards and forwards, but couldn't troubleshoot to save his fricking
life.  I had a 20-something UNIX admin with the same attitude, who
had better trouble-shooting skills.  From him, I could understand
the "certs are everything" attitude--he was trained to think that.
The network guy was old enough to know better (he was older than
I am).

> Not to mention all those people out there making sample tests, study 
> guides, etc.... the ones loaned to me for the CCNA had some of the 
> CCNA test questions I had during testing in there verbatim.
>
> I don't have high regards for certification.  CCIE is one of the 
> exceptions
> due to it's practical test.  This specifically tests your ability to 
> apply
> the knowledge and demonstrates skill rather than just a proficient 
> memory.

I have considered studying for several certs, but just don't have
the proper mind-set for all the memorization b.s.  I'd much rather
shell out the cash, spend a week in a cram lab setting, and immediately
take the test.

I don't know whether employers/other professionals take them seriously,
but one of the good things about the SANS GIAC certifications is that
you have to do a practical *and* the practical is scored partially on
it's 'originality'--meaning to get a really high score, you need to
know what came before and think of new and different approaches/
applications.

=Nadine=