Programming Certification

DannyD

I am looking at getting certified in c++ or another language here in Ireland.Anyone know test centers / certification details, preferably in Cork ?

thanks in advance.

phaxx

Well, there's the Fas Net College thing, dunno if that would be any good to you. They do courses in various subjects, one of which is ms vc++. You sign up, pay the €120 or so, do the course from home using their java thingy, then when you've completed all that you take an exam (real world exam, you travel to somewhere) and that's it.

http://www.fas-netcollege.com/

DannyD

Thank But I'm looking for something more internationally recognised like the MCSE perhaps.

I'm also looking for something which is not product specific, eg. c++ not MsVc++.

Thanks for the link though.

Hobbes

Originally posted by DannyD
Thank But I'm looking for something more internationally recognised like the MCSE perhaps.

Be warned MS AFAIK are changing their MSCE soon.

Certification will only get you so far. Your broad answer seems to suggest you don't program in anything? I would look at each thing and see which your the most comfy with before proceeding. Nearly all commerical based languges have test centers here.

Here are details for Java.
http://www.javaprepare.com/

I'm trying to dig up the certification site in Ireland (I have it somewhere). You should note that the exam is not easy, I would guess the others aren't either (MCSE, C++).

flyz

Originally posted by DannyD
Thank But I'm looking for something more internationally recognised like the MCSE perhaps.

I'm also looking for something which is not product specific, eg. c++ not MsVc++.

Thanks for the link though.

Well unless you opt for the MS C++ certification which you can get through PFH in Cork then I don't know where you'll get any similar certification in C++, which is internationally recogonised, unless you do a degree or something by night. You might find something here www.nightcourses.com or www.corkcollegeofcommerce.ie

Also you mentioned that you wanted to get certified in some languange , c++ or other. Well if you'd looked at the fas-netcollege.com website properly then you would have seen that there's also a couple of Java courses there also, that's not product specific.

bonkey

There tends to be few "inedependant" certifications in the which are widfely recognised in the IT world.

MS have the MCSEs, but these are of questionable merit. Most employers in teh programming arena I know look on them quite skeptically. To be honest, they look on most qualifications skeptically, and put far more faith in experience.


Also, they have a habit of "retiring" qualifications by replacing each exam when a new version comes out. OK - this isnt too big an issue, because its effectively the same as requalification, but basically if you want to keep the certification, you have to make sure you're always using the latest version of the software, or at least that you know about it when it comes time to requalify.

This is not dissimilar to companies like Cisco who have their various qualification levels, as do most Firewall and Security Product vendors.

In the "programming language" arena, only Java really stands out as having some really noteworthy, stable qualifications that I can think of.

One option, which is easy, but of limited / questionable benefit in an Irish context would be to do on-line certification with someone like brainbench.

To be honest, there is nothing to beat a formal qualification - a course from some nationally recognised group or something like that. To be honest, though, I know SFA about whats available in this region.

jc

reitoei

The Microsoft exams can be done at any time you wish, you can order the study material online. The MS material, generally, is bad, so you're better off learning C++ yourself from a GOOD book as opposed to relying on MS to point you in the right direction.

There are a myriad of tutorials, braindumps and mock exams on the web to prepare you for the exam.

Do these religiously until you are fairly sure you have the exam licked, as the MS exams are expensive, if you make a half hearted attempt at them you will fail, there is no doubt.

When you feel confident, you can take the exam at one of many testing centres, check www.vue.com for availability and register online.

As was said previously, MS qualifications become obsolete quickly, so in some cases it's worth waiting for the newer exams to come out. In your case, I'd wait for the .NET exam and go for that one. Better make sure you have a powerful machine though, the .NET IDE is big and hungry. Forget trying to run it on a bog standard Wintel box, you'll need ****loads of RAM and a decent OS on there to get it moving.

The .NET IDE is sweet though.

MS exams are a good way to get on the first rung of the commercial programming ladder, but as in most cases, experience is the key.

Good luck.