[sdnog] NOC opportunity

[Nishal Goburdhan]

On 1 Dec 2020, at 11:38, Yasmin.Salih wrote:

> is it  like you making fun of this post , or it just seems to me :) ?!

hi yasmin,

i was joking :-)  (and i am pretty sure jan, and sander were too!)

certifications themselves are not a bad thing;  it required rigorous 
effort to study for, and take exams, and pass.  but certifications on 
their own, are not the only thing that you should  be looking for when 
you think about either hiring.  and they certainly should not be the 
only thing that you worry about when you plan your career.  i always 
make a joke about saying that i was trained as an economist, but i’ve 
spent the better part of my life doing this “internet” stuff.  trust 
me, you really do not want me to write a monetary policy for your 
country :-)   and, someone that’s much, much better at this 
“internet” stuff than i am, and who has done an incredible amount of 
work in the developing regions of the world, and has been a mentor to 
me, has a phd in nuclear physics.  again, i’m not sure he is going to 
want to run a nuclear power station these days either :-)

so, you shouldn’t use *just* certifications to judge people, or asses 
them for jobs.  in my experience hiring intelligent people that can 
problem solve (in general), and have the right attitude to working, and 
being able to fit into a team, are more important qualities than getting 
the super-smart-sysadmin that no-one can, or wants to, work with.

the “joke” was that the advert asked for CCNAs;  but did not pay 
attention to other important criteria - like experience.  i am sure that 
any network would be lucky to have the likes of jan and/or sander 
working with them.  even though neither have a CCNA  (and so, they would 
be ineligible for this job) their experience in the field, far outweighs 
the value that a CCNA would bring.

it was just poking fun :-)

best,
-n.