Let's say you claim 20 years of experience as a systems administrator.

What does that mean? Is your experience in Windows, Solaris, HP/UX, Linux, or what? Also, how much of each? Do you know Perl? Oracle? Cisco?

How does an employer know that your experience is with Solaris and not HP/UX? I suppose the employer could test you, but isn't that what a certification is all about?

I think it's very fair to say that standardized cert tests are far more objective than interview tech questions. I have been tech interviewed by some real bozos in my time. People who said I was wrong, when I was right. People who ask questions far more ridiculous than I would be asked on the crappiest cert exam.

In some fields, like health care, job specializations are extremely well defined. The credentials for doing those jobs are also very well defined.

You can look at somebody's credentials, and answer: yes or no; whether that person is technically qualified to be an R.N., or a phlebotomist, or whatever.

IT, by contrast, has always been pure slop. The credentials to do a job are arbitrary. What one employer considered a valid credential, another considers to be a negative. Practically no jobs in IT have hard requirements - except for security clearances.

Every employers was five years experience in each item of their list of technologies - and every employer has a different list.

Maybe if the jobs were better defined, then the credentials for those jobs could be better defined?

Same is true of drivers licence, or a licence to practice law, or medicine, no?

Is it fair to say the CPA is bullshit because once you have been a CPA for 20 years, the experience counts more than the credential?

I wonder if those posting about certs being all route memorization have their CCIE? Or RHCE?

Actually I wonder if they have any certs at all, since the route memorization claim is bullshit.

I must admit, a lot of the multiple guess cert questions do not really test your ability.

But could certs be better implemented, and thereby more worthwhile?

Bend over and grease yourself up.

Essentially money buys votes. The politico that can raise the most money wins, time after time.

The politicos get their money from the big corporations, and foreign interests. Politicos essentially work for those corporations, and foreign interests.

Repubs, or dems, do not represent you, or I. Most people do not understand this. Repubs and dems ineffectually shake their fists at one another, both thinking the other party is to blame; while corporations, foreign interests, and their lackey politicians do whatever they want.

US workers could stop the abuse, but they won't. US workers could organize and bring about change, but they would rather shake their fists at the other party.

The Real Solution to the Visa Worker Scam
http://www.techtoil.org/2015/07/what-stem-workers-need-to-do-but.html

About 99% of US politicians want to increase the visa workers. You cannot vote the problem away, and you certainly cannot petition the problem away.

There is only one solution, workers need to organize, raise money, and lobby congress. In DC, money talks and bullshit walks.

The streaming services don't need him around anyhow.

It's more about whether you want to sit next to somebody covered in his own puke, or maybe somebody who pisses himself and just sits in it. Or maybe you want to be crammed against Mr. Tuberculosis hacking his lungs out, right in your face.

Always fun to stand out in the freezing rain while the bus is an hour late.

And for women especially, there are issues of being physically attacked while waiting in the dark.

I could go on.

MATE is what I use. Does what I need, not hugely bloated.

I was very happy with Ubuntu before Gnome 3.

I stopped using Ubuntu when Gnome 3 came out. I could never understand why they insisted on a far less functional DE.

I have hated Gnome 3 ever since, and refuse to use it.

It is just a matter of vendor lock-in, and network effect.

Office desktops are like office copying machines. Nobody is really passionate about them.

Windows is just a standard issue office tool. It would be more trouble than it's worth to try to move away from Windows, so we stay with it.

If they ever get a completed distro.

https://devuan.org/

That is my understanding.

You will be assimilated - just like with Microsoft.

> Because being an anti-social prick is so very superior.

No because enough already. PC mush heads are making BFDs out of nothing. They are straining as hard as they can to find something victimizing in every innocent thing people do. And it really is insanely annoying, and people get along less, not more.

> The problem with certifications is that brain dumps are a big business.

That was a real issue, about 15 years ago.

There was a huge scandal, I think the company was Troy Tech. They had actual questions, and actual answers.

The industry went ballistic. Law suits were filed. And steps were taken to prevent that happening again.

Yes, there are companies out there that promise to sell you the real Q&A, but they don't. The are probably selling you the Q&A from 15 years ago.

College doesn't prove you know shit. You can put almost anything on resume to "prove" you have experience.

Interview tech questions are even worse than certifications.