On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 02:14:21AM -0500, Richard Chonak wrote:
> Bottom line: just because HR is somewhat bureaucratic, that doesn't 
> imply that the company stinks.

I second this.  The reality is, most HR departments, and even a fair
number of hiring managers, don't really know what they need...  And
many outsource the early stages of the process for that reason.  They
depend on the team to vette candidates.  As long as the hiring manager
knows what he doesn't know, and is otherwise a good manager (i.e.
knows how to depend on his team), it can still be a great place to
work.  I've worked in at least one shop that fit that description...

But they still need a practical way of slicing through the gargantuan
stack of BS resumes they get for every job opening...  I don't really
approve of certifications as a requirement, but I get it.  I don't
think my success stemmed from having on my resume the one Unix
certificate (from U-Mass Lowell) that I have earned, but I'm betting I
have missed out on at least one or two pretty good opportunities
because I didn't have the right one.

A more practical answer:  If there's one that focuses on something you
want to learn, choose that one (I suggest focusing on this goal first,
it will probably make you happier).  If there's one that you can pass
easily that well represents the skills you want to sell to an
employer, choose that one.  If neither of those apply, and you're
mostly after maximization of pay, I might suggest studying software
engineering instead.  On the whole, the software engineers I know seem
more generally satisfied with their current roles and/or opportunities
than the sysadmin types I know do.  YMMV.

-- 
Derek D. Martin    http://www.pizzashack.org/   GPG Key ID: 0xDFBEAD02
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