In my course this week we covered a varity of topics but the one I want to cover is certifications.  I am on the fence with the whole idea of certifications.  I agree that they can show a level of compatency in an individual but setting them as specific criteria for jobs is going overboard in my opinion.  Let me explain why I say this;

We go to college and get our degrees and we learn what we should and come out better and with allot of school loan dept, but in today's society have a degree is not good enough.  You need a degree and certifications.  The problem with this is that there are services that you can buy that will give you all of the questions to just about any certification that there is.  When this happens we get people with certification who do not know the material and then when it comes to a job their resumes get push through the system and someone who may know their job but just don't have the pieces of paper that says CERTIFICATION wont even get the chance to interview.  I call these people idiots as I have worked with many a technician/manager with certifications in just about everything but can troubleshoot their way out of a paper bag.