Free Certs?

[KALIDAWG8996]

Hi all, I'm a fairly computer literate person that's dabbled in PC, linux, and Mac OS's for over 15 years but, have never gone through any certification processes other than passing CLEP tests. I was wondering if there are any free basic certification courses that I may take specifically in security and PC networking and general knowledge that I may take and get certified. Many Thanks!

[Coded-Dude]

Brainbench used to be completely free....until they had a large enough user base. I think they still offer some free tests, but you have to register. Found a link(below), but I am not sure if all those tests are free or if you just get to pick one.

http://www.brainbench.com/xml/bb/common/testcenter/freetests.xml#sponsored

[lazyworm]

Speaking as a hiring manager in the tech field, I don't look at certifications. And having
certs do not score much points with me other than showing you have initiative and drive
to spend the effort to get certified. i.e. helps with your personality scores, not tech
experience/knowledge.

For the companies that run and sell certifications, that's their bread and butter. Free
ones, if exist, would be watered down and very entry level.

[j1133s]

Hi all, I'm a fairly computer literate person that's dabbled in PC, linux, and Mac OS's for over 15 years but, have never gone through any certification processes other than passing CLEP tests. I was wondering if there are any free basic certification courses that I may take specifically in security and PC networking and general knowledge that I may take and get certified. Many Thanks!

If you are looking for a job, no degree so you are thinking about certifications? But you don't want to pay money (which IMHO many are way over priced and not worth it unless an employer pays for them). There's the networking route that you can try. Say, if you are into linux, you can join the local linux user's group and get the word out that way.

Also, and I don't mean to offend because I have no idea about you, becareful not to put anything you don't know on your resume. If the interviewer asks a question on something on your resume and you don't know... the interview pretty much will end right there.

[KALIDAWG8996]

No, i'm very PC/Mac literate and have used Linux, Win/DOS, Mac OS (System 7 up to OS X). Unfortunately, it seems I missed the bus on getting my vendor "certs" while I was in the service (electronics route) and it seems thats what many are looking for and disregard actual knowledge. I've passed many of my CLEP college exams on networking and system operations but, never had any formal training.

[BayAreaShooter]

I thought we were talking breath mints.

[tools2teach]

15 years in the industry, no certs, no problem finding a job. Experience, experience, experience. Certs and BS are over rated. Most job listing will say equivalent experience, which pretty much means what it says.

[AAShooter]

It depends on the hiring manager/company. Some need/want certs and some don't care. Same as degrees . . . some want them, some don't care. The biggest thing they do is provide an easy way of screening resumes.

You can drive yourself nuts trying to enhance your experience/knowledge for hiring managers unless you have a specific target in mind.

[Coded-Dude]

I've found that the larger companies(fortune 100) like certs/degrees a little more than some of the smaller businesses. If you can assert your knowledge and back it up you should be okay without one for most places.

[tools2teach]

For a company that is looking for a cert and/or a degree, the manager is going to be very limited in his selection process. The talent pool shrinks exponentially. Anyone can get a cert? It's called brain dumps, then you got a pool of incompetent candidates slipping through the screening process.

[r3dn3ck]

ditto lazyworm

[lazyworm]

Hmmm... are you in the job market? The tech market, at least in Bay Area, is HOT HOT HOT.
If you have the skills, you shouldn't have trouble getting multiple offers.

[NytWolf]

I thought we were talking breath mints.

They don't have very many technical breath mints.

[KALIDAWG8996]

Tools2teach, I completely agree with you. Certs are data dumps but, i'm not looking for a new industry. It's just so that I can actually show that I have some knowledge in the field. Besides, the tests are kind of fun lol. Kind of like jeopardy!