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What certifcations, licenses, or degrees do you have (that you don't need)?

M

Minjin

Platinum Member
The thread on the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam brought to mind this topic.

What certifications, licenses, degrees, or whatever have you gotten or would like to get, even though they are not necessary for your job?

It could be because you've thought about changing careers or because you just like the material and the idea of having that particular piece of paper. As a former electronics tech and current electrical engineer, I've always wanted to get my CET (certified electronics tech). It would be useless in my profession but I always thought it would be a pretty neat thing to have.

Does anyone else see this stuff as an interesting challenge, like climbing a mountain? No real gain except for the fact that you know you were able to do it.
 
BS in CS, soon to have an MS in CS, thought about certifications (ie Sun certified Java developer, Cisco certification), but then I thought screw that, the degree should trump it, not worth the extra cash / time. But, I an open to be proven wrong.
 
I have a BS in Economics that's effectively useless in my profession. I also have an Oregon CPA license that is useless (I thought I would relocate there at one time), but that is expiring this Spring.
 
All my Navy NEC's and certs mean diddly squat to the outside world. They just wanna know that I was in the Navy, and I worked on electronics.
After that they still need an interview to determine if I can do their job or not.
 
HAL9000 said:
I have a degree in philosophy, if anyone comes up with a more useless qualification I'll be impressed.
Click to expand...

Yup, that's delightfully useless 🙂

For me, BS & MS in CS and a shitload of certifications - what got me every computer job I ever had (and enabled me to start and sell a couple of software businesses) was my experience, my connections and the stuff i did fooling around on my own.
 
MCITP: Server Admin

Work wanted me to get it since it's a prerequisite for some HP certifications. They want me to get the HP certifications so they can become a HP Virtualization Elite partner.
 
I have a BS in Mechanical Engineering. I recently obtained two certifications. One makes me a certified welding engineer and the other makes a certified systems engineer. I don't think either are useless. I do welding in my job and I also do some systems engineering. I think it also looks great on the resume if I need to switch jobs in the future.
 
Schadenfroh said:
BS in CS, soon to have an MS in CS, thought about certifications (ie Sun certified Java developer, Cisco certification), but then I thought screw that, the degree should trump it, not worth the extra cash / time. But, I an open to be proven wrong.
Click to expand...

LOL. After 5 years, a degree in CS is pretty much worthless. After 5 years, experience will trump everything and your degree won't mean jack. When hiring, I don't care if someone has a PHd in CS if they can't do what I need them to do.
 
I'm a qualified auto mechanic. I realized soon after I started working in the industry that I didn't want to be a spanner spinner for the rest of my life. I now have a computer science degree and work as programmer.
 
Bachelors in Civil Engineering. Working on a Master of Engineering in same, almost half done. One year left.

I work as a Civil Eng Tech... You barely need a 3 year diploma to do that. One guy in my old office never finished, had a foreign bachelor in agriculture, but got the job.

Everyone else is working on getting their engineering license. I've barely started, and really don't know if I want to stick around. I'm starting to look into an economics degree...
 
CCNP, don't really get to use it since I work mostly on Juniper stuff, it's more of a safety net thing for me.
 
BSEE, nearly completed my MSEE, have an MCSE, and working on my PMP. I have a few other minor certs that aren't worth mentioning as well.
 
Licensed aircraft mechanic. I have my airframe and powerplant ticket, but I doubt I'll ever be a working mechanic. It might be helpful if I do finance work for an aviation-based business.
The basic skills are nice to have around the house though.
 
I don't need my BA industrial design, BS computer science, or A+, MCSE, CNA, SQL in my current job.
 
I have degrees in history and political science. Neither of which have proved to be an asset. Don't take arts degrees kids.
 
Pollock said:
How do you use yours?
Click to expand...

As an officer in the US Army, I utilize much of what I learned. Particularly when I was deployed to combat as an Infantry Platoon Leader, there are thousands of decisions you make and having a background in ethics and logic was a real help. There are few degrees that I would have found more useful in fact.
 
datalink7 said:
I have a degree in Philosophy too. However, I utilize mine all the time. I guess it depends on what you do with it.
Click to expand...

Well that's fair, it's useful in debates and thinking critically. But in terms of job prospects as a philosopher there isn't much.
 
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