W3C Schools Certification

[Dazza30]

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Can someone please advise,

I've been involved in web development for over 8 years now and affiliate marketing for 4, recently I decided to leave aff work behind to concentrate on web dev.

Since I don't have any formal quals in web dev I enrolled at my local college to sit a course for a supposid industry recognised qual, problem is the course has now been pulled and the qual dropped.

The head of IT at the college has advised me to sit the W3C online certificates, but I'm not sure if there worth bothering with.

Please advise?

[scriptmonkey]

Would it influence you if you were going to employ someone that they had a W3 Schools certification?

I'd be much more interested in their actual ability than their pieces of paper.

What is it for? Do you want employment, or a fancy badge to put on your website?

[danielovincenzo]

Having W3C Schools Certification is indeed a great factor for a web developer. This is a valid proof that you're indeed capable and qualified in your field. I suggest that you pursue it.

[Dazza30]

Hi Scriptmonkey thanks for your response!

To be honest, I like many people I've come across in web development are unsure if there is a nationally recognised qualification that employers expect a perspective employee to have.

Unlike most other industries there does not seem to be one, but there are institutions such CIW and W3C offering qualifications that are either recognised or ignored by employers.

So the question is if employers don't expect qualifications, how do they sort the quality applicants from the chaff?

Oh and yes I am planning on going back into employment.

[Dazza30]

Thanks for your reply Daniel,

So are you saying potential employers see W3C quals as trustworthy?

[scriptmonkey]

Dazza, I'd say that when you apply for a job, whatever qualification you have, or are working towards, it's up to you how you present it to your prospective employer.
E.g.
1) I am a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), which displays actual skills in burble, burble, burble.
2) I am W3 Schools Certified (XML, HTML, etc.), which is a qualification in burble, burble, burble.

They won't know as much as you do, and will be happy to take your word for it, obviously the Microsoft one is the more widely known (not much to do with web development though), but, when you attend the interview, the spin is all yours

If you've been in aff marketing for 4 years, then you must have some work that you can show, much more valuable than a qualification I'm sure.

[jonsp]

Hi Scriptmonkey thanks for your response!

To be honest, I like many people I've come across in web development are unsure if there is a nationally recognised qualification that employers expect a perspective employee to have.

Unlike most other industries there does not seem to be one, but there are institutions such CIW and W3C offering qualifications that are either recognised or ignored by employers.

So the question is if employers don't expect qualifications, how do they sort the quality applicants from the chaff?

Oh and yes I am planning on going back into employment.

I used to be an asp.net/sql server contractor and found that employers very rarely take notice of qualifications - a lot of people hiring in this industry are "self taught" themselves so don't see the value in certification etc. Usually an employer will know the skills he needs and the way he likes his team to work and will quickly sort the wheat from the chaff with a series of questions, often over the telephone first then face to face. Also I'd guess as you've been in aff marketing you have some urls to make a portfolio? If so that's going to do you a lot more good than a piece of paper.

[scriptmonkey]

a lot of people hiring in this industry are "self taught" themselves so don't see the value in certification etc.

So true, I wouldn't necessarily employ anyone because of certification, I'd set them some tasks and if they could do them, then they've got the job, oh, and I'd have to like them as well.

[pete_coles]

I'd agree with the guys telling you not to bother really. W3C as a movement is great, and web standards is something I believe in fully, but in reality it's behind the curve, as most regulatory bodies and institutions are due to the amount of red tape to get through. If you want proof of this sort of thing, check the national curriculum for teaching web development in schools. Last time I did, it was still teaching tables & font tags, and this was only around 18 months ago.

What this means in reality is that, by the time you have your qualification in your hand, it's probably out of date in the eyes of the industry. Trust me, I've got a BA in interactive design and it's been little or no help in my job at any point.

Your time is better spent IMO keeping up to date with latest web progressions and techniques, and stay up to date as much as possible.

[Dazza30]

Cheers everyone for the usefull answers!

It seems i've stumbled across something quite rare! "A consencus"
I've asked this same question on other forums and basically received the same answer from those that genuinely wanted to help!

Oh and I've decided to stick with aff for a while, I need to brush up on php and javascript before I pimp myself around the industry

Thanks again

[Starshape]

Dazza,
I think you have made the right choice. I've been in web dev for 7 years and software for 5 years before that. The only qualifications I have ever seen any employers take note of (except for degrees) are Microsoft and CISCO.

It might be an idea to sign up for a few of the recruitment sites and see what kind of skills your local web companies are looking for, then concentrate on that when you are brushing up your skills.

One thing I will say is that don't count on your potential employers not knowing as much as you. Almost every IT job interview I've been at has had someone technical asking questions at some stage or another. Your best bet is knowing what you are talking about and having some evidence to back that up.

Hope this helps.

Thomas