SchweppesAle Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Yea, so I've already started studying up for the Zend Certification Exam. I was wondering if anyone here has already taken it and whether they found it beneficial to their career in terms of finding a job, compensation, etc. If not, are there any other certifications which may be more useful to a recent college graduate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roopurt18 Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 I've not met an employer yet that cared about Zend certification but my experience is rather limited. I also have a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science and a minor in Physics, so I don't have much need for certification either IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchweppesAle Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 I've not met an employer yet that cared about Zend certification but my experience is rather limited. I also have a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science and a minor in Physics, so I don't have much need for certification either IMO. was that sarcasm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abazoskib Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 I've not met an employer yet that cared about Zend certification but my experience is rather limited. I also have a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science and a minor in Physics, so I don't have much need for certification either IMO. was that sarcasm? I would say dont get certifications until you get a job. Usually, they will pay for you to get certified, and/or you'll know what they are looking for you to be certified in. There are tons of different things you can get, and you'll be wasting money if you for example get certified in Linux, but land a job working with Windows servers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roopurt18 Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 was that sarcasm? No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchweppesAle Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 I've not met an employer yet that cared about Zend certification but my experience is rather limited. I also have a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science and a minor in Physics, so I don't have much need for certification either IMO. was that sarcasm? I would say dont get certifications until you get a job. Usually, they will pay for you to get certified, and/or you'll know what they are looking for you to be certified in. There are tons of different things you can get, and you'll be wasting money if you for example get certified in Linux, but land a job working with Windows servers. Easier said than done. Most jobs in my area are demanding at least 5years professional experience in PHP. I only have about a year and a half and a BS in Computer Science Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corbin Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Well, a Zend Cert doesn't exactly equate to professional experience. (I should probably state that I have very limited work experience.) From what I've gathered from similar threads, no one cares about Zend Certs. I've never taken the exam, but from some sample questions and what I've heard it's too easy to mean anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nafetski Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 If it's not for your own personal growth as a developer - it will probably be a complete waste of money. Honestly in our field, only one thing reigns supreme...and that is experience. The hardest part is of course getting that first job that nets you the experience - but I honestly feel any time spent getting a Zend cert would be better spent writing lots more php code My route to software engineer went.. College: Music Major - Fail out after 2 years. Education Major - Fail out after 1 semester. Computer Science - Fail out after 1 semester. Professional Work Experience Job #1 - Worked for a psychotic ego-manic real estate broker Temp Job #1 - Bartender Job #2 - Worked for a psychotic ego-manic 'media group' (I use that term very loosely) Temp Job #2 - Bartender Job #3 - Got my first "real" job as a junior developer at a financial institution At Job #3 - Got diagnosed with ADHD At Job #3 - After 2 months on ADD meds, became a programming rockstar and a huge salary increase. Job #4 - Software Engineer At Job #4 - Promoted to Lead Software Engineer I can tell you it's rough. You have to dig through some shit to earn your stripes. Everyone and their mom who has read an Oreily Book feels like they can be a software developer, so the competition at the bottom is fierce. Once you prove yourself ahead of the scrubs, you'll have some great stuff on your resume and the process gets easier and easier. I can't stress this enough.. Be confident. Write good code. Understand EVERYTHING YOU CAN. (Server configs, DBA, PHP/MySQL/Javascript/CSS/XML/Actionscript(Having a very basic working knowledge has made me thousands)) Never stop learning. Use frameworks.. they will force you into best coding practices, introduce you to new ways of doing things, and most importantly - will get you to a point where you're comfortable working in and around other peoples code. Once you get to a level where you understand the innerworkings of how client/server web technologies work, reading technical documentation becomes a breeze and your productivity will shoot through the roof Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phpdeveloper82 Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Yea, so I've already started studying up for the Zend Certification Exam. I was wondering if anyone here has already taken it and whether they found it beneficial to their career in terms of finding a job, compensation, etc. If not, are there any other certifications which may be more useful to a recent college graduate? Good to know that you have started preparing for Zend Certification. Yes. There are many advantage of getting certification. When I started my freelance works, the certification really helps me to find a good client. Some of the features from my personal views are: 1. You are certified from the Zend Inc, the php company. So you have the basic knowledge of php programming. 2. You are listed on Zend Yellow page, that means you have an identity on web. Nowadays anyone can create a personal website with few dollars. 3. PHP is very simple but beyond that simplicity, we have to consider about many kinds of security problems. The certification covers all such topics and you will get knowledge about that. And once you understand all these attacks and remedies, you can do better coding and thus improve your standards. One more suggestion is, if you are a fresh graduate, it is good to follow the certification guide but attend the exam after minimum of 1 Year industry experience. The question is not very simple for beginners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel0 Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 What kind of degree did you graduate with? It sort of makes a difference whether it was computer science, history or something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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