Dotnet

It seems Nigerians are not keen on dotNET. How many Nigerians have MCAD for dotNET?

I don't blame who is emphasizing on certificate. Nigerians are interested in Certificate not skills esp government works. It is not everybody who study to be on his own. Some study to get good work no matter how deep they are into programming they will still target NNPC and co. In Nigeria for now Certificate( and People you know) still outsmart skills maybe tomorrow it will change. Consider yourself being an Oracle Certified DBA, do u think that you will not get job pass somebody has is Oracle himself without Oracle certification. Have the skill and get certified unless you don't want to work in Niaja.

Practice, Practice, Develop develop is what is important experience is more important than certificates. I used to have all Microsoft, the Sun it was easy stuff get the book read like hell pass the exam and you think you know it all. Best way to learn is by doing a project that is the only experience I will look for when hiring anyone except graduates who have no industrial experience.

Different strokes for different folks.

@akwanashie, sorry I only gave my point of view. Actually I am not an employee, I write programs and sell and sometimes get hired to work on certain projects.

Anyway what will you do when you get employed with a certificate and have no skills. Or are the employers ignorant of what they need ?

Ah, am not against certifications, but I don't want us to take it to be more important than getting the skills.
Most of the time you discover that after getting the skills you find out that the certification is of little importance.
After all it's just another way of making money for the companies(oracle, microsoft, e.t.c).

I don't know of DBAs and Network Admins, but in the programming world, your products speak louder than your certificates. This is because most of the time you use a combination of different technologies in building your solution.

Well Am only telling my point of view.

If you really want/need a certificate go for it, but keep in mind it doesn't make you an expert.

Companies want evidence that you are capable of performing your job or task - certifications are proof that you can perform your job. You can program for fun or as a hubby, that is not enough to get you a good paying job; I am sure it applies to so many areas.

That been said, I do think that practical experiences count very much