03/25/2009 01:59:22 AM EST

The practice of cheating to pass an exam is appalling! There are many individuals that are trying to get certified through hard work and diligence. These people, who gain their certification through questionable tactics and morels, do not have what it takes to achieve the highly sought after certificates on their own. This is the sort of thing that the brainstem jocks would be guilty of in high school. The people doing these things are more than likely to make inferior software, because they lack the know-how to write stable code, granted there are people out there that pass the exams honestly and still write bad code, but these people would be the exception to the rule, but with the spreading cancer of lame brain cheaters, throws the curve off and allow the practice of bad code to infiltrate our computers.

United StatesCode_Addict

03/25/2009 04:11:28 AM EST

this is a big problem here in Nigeria, i refused to take such exams because i believed they have lost their credibility. its very easy to find a "certified" professional here who doesn't no bit from bite. this should have been sorted out a long time ago!

NigeriaAyotunde Ayoko

03/25/2009 06:50:48 AM EST

Certification exams are bullcrap, and all the people know that. But for Microsoft, Sun, Cisco and related it's another way to make money. They told you if you have a number of certified professionals... their products will be cheaper for you and you could eventually become partner... although that "professionals" have no idea about IT. I've only passed exams when my company has asked me to do it, and of course they pay the exam.

United StatesTom

03/25/2009 08:10:18 AM EST

Wow! It's people like this that completely nullify any efforts people like me make to better themselves and get certification to back that up. Due to my location I was advised by recruiters to get a false address in another location because despite my experience, employers have a preconception of the "local skill base" in my area! Instead of getting a false address I decided to get a Microsoft cert for my field. I figured 'a test doesn't lie right?' Guess I'll be renting a Toronto mail box from now on!

CanadaWhat morons!

03/25/2009 10:32:31 AM EST

All these comments are very true, however this problem can only be fix by Microsoft.They need to start changing the exam questions more regularly now that they know the problem that is taking place with cheating.But i guest the money is good so Microsoft does not want to change anything.Microsoft does not care once they make money.I have even call microsoft and ask them about the dumps and they said they dont care what you use to prepare for your exam.So guys microsoft does not care if they did they would have change the questions very often so that it would be hard to guest. Ken My Regards

Trinidad & Tobagoken

03/25/2009 11:01:01 AM EST

I've long thought that the certifications are just another way to make money. I don't need to go in and retake my masters every 18 month or so, so why should I have to take a certifiaction every year or 18 months. It's just business and means nothing to me if some one says they have a certification. All it means is that you are good at taking multiple choice tests with the minimum of study from a few how to take the test books. They are no guarantee of in depth knowledge or any experience. When I took the dba test for MS I passed, and I'm not a dba or even close to one, I can develope code on a db but I'm no dba or have I ever worked at being a dba.

United StatesMel

03/25/2009 11:11:06 AM EST

This is one of the few reasons that I have stopped taking these exams. That and the fact that I think they are BS. Some people are not good at taking test. That is why I really like the Red Hat exams. They are all live test with no questions ( I believe that is still true). I believe this approach levels out the playing field. And one last note. Why should we pay for certifications when all that mean we are going to be supporting their systems and making recommendations to use their products. If they are going to charge for the test then I think they should be slashing the prices. Just my 2 cents. Take it for what it is worth.

United StatesJosh

03/25/2009 11:11:43 AM EST

Everyone, My name is Darby Weaver - real one (I'm being impersonated currently on the other site that David is rumored to have an account on and the one he failed to mention has taken up the banner of where Sadikhov has left off). Basically members of that forum (Umm... the author - maybe might want to clear the air here and clarify) were a lot of forum members of Sadihkov.com where drastic changes have taken place to what was once the largest filesharing and certification "I have a doubt" on a question site in the world. The author claims that it is still this way. However, it is not quite true, Sadikhov.com has done the following: 1. Banning members who span for dump sites. 2. Removed sharing/offers/requests 100% from the forum. 3. Is currently cleaning 171,000 posts that may have anything that looks like illegal content. And was doing for 5 weeks prior to this article. I questions the motives of the author now that there is currently a small Cyber-War going on between the two sites over "Forum-Spamming", Identity-Theft, and illegal file-shring and braindumping activities. The other forum is called certcollection.org. It has been reported to more than 200 vendors now. The Site Admins steal their members names and personal information and apparently even their "shares" are more marketing ploys and EVIL SPYWARE. I'll be honest after having cleaned many thouands of pages - I don't recall seeing one post about gaming certifications on Sadikhov.com. I would hope the author would point me to on and I'd remove it asap. Again, I question the motives of the author. The Sadikhov.com staff is working diligently night and day to clean that forum. The current staff are particularly excited and have been enthusiastically taking the challenge to heart. They, as a team, have now nearly completed what most people who are familiar with most of dump sites of the world said simply could not ever be done. Of course dumpers are unhappy. Expect to see more articles of this type from the disgruntled and the members who sought to go where Sadikhovians now refer to as "CrapCollection". Sadiq Saad and Slim Shady... "Shady Hajjar" have taken may name, picture, and my own certifications as "HOSTAGE". They have done this with a few members of the Sadikhov Team in an effort to shield themselves from the authorities and to attract more members to their site. Most of the posts and members of the site appear to be bits or proxy members using proxy sites and fake names. Enter at your own risk. David worthington, please tell the whole story. This is on my blog now and you can take a look at how modern day "Cyber-Samuri's" help take a bite out of Cyber-Pirates, Cyber-Dumpers, and Cyber-Terrorits. Strangely enough these guys are from countries associated with terrorists too. Ouch! It's true though. ============================================== David one of the members had this to say about your article. I think they are questioning your motives for being a member of those sites. I hate to read this Article. My Cents - 1. I believe the one who wrote the article is a member @ SK and crapcollection too. 2. He referred Crapcollection to us. That's wierd. 3. Thank god He used the word "UNTIL RECENTLY" Sadikhov.com Yaayy!! Congratulations Darby / FS your hard work paid off. However a bit angry that SK was even mentioned on this article.

United StatesDarby Weaver

03/25/2009 11:54:39 AM EST

I think studying for certifications is a great way for a person to learn a new skill. In my case, I come from a IBM mainframe programming environment to one with Microsoft Visual Basic. However, I have found that certifications without several years of experience are almost worthless of themselves. But they do show that a person knows something about the topic and is willing to learn new things. We all become specialists in whatever business we find ourselves, so it is always helpful to learn other skills within our business field.

United Statesrandy

03/25/2009 12:04:29 PM EST

Who really cares? If you write good code, you write good code. I don't have a single cert and every job that I've applied for that I really wanted...I've been offered a position. An employer that really cares about the quality of work their employees produce will administer an in-house test prior to an offer being given. Pass that test and prove your worth...fail and prove your worth. Pretty simple the way I see it.

United StatesAnd the Problem is...

03/26/2009 02:20:21 AM EST

No wonder the software doesn't work Half the time for 6 Months

United StatesTrying to learn

03/26/2009 04:07:59 PM EST

Experience and education should be viewed first. These tests merely show the person is dedicated enough to actually go out and spend some time leaning some questions and answers. But you must at least know that much. This is will ALL certifications, not just microsoft. Is this just more MS haterade? If you want a truly certified person, get a Master certified.

United StatesJimmyJ

03/26/2009 04:31:25 PM EST

I also think those who offer certification exams should not be lazy, but always vary their questions, not just randomly select from a given pool. Copyrighting is never the answer in this world, esle why are "opens systems" such a big success? Exams are the same at whatever level you take them. People tend to be busy with other things until the night before the exam. They then close themselves up and try to memorise the term's or year's work in one night. Believe it or not if they are able to retain the stuff in their memory and put it on paper the next day, they pass! They are also likely to remember it most of their lives, provided they use it her and there. The retention statics remain if force here, the more you apply it, the more you remember it. True certification exams should be more practical or hands on rather than theory! The people who have had more experience are more likely to fail these exams because they do not believe in memorizing (cheating as some would put it). The questions are just tricky and I wonder whether they are examining concepts or English knowledge, be real examiners! At work I might try several options before my solution actually works, you will never know the exact answer no matter how many years of experience!

New Zealandclinton muvezwa

03/27/2009 09:17:49 AM EST

At least MS changes their tests and offer interactive questions. The interactive questions are harder to memorize. those "open" systems certs you claim are a huge success tests are 100 times worse than MS tests, they get changed once a decade.... Hah Open systems until IBM buys them, there is nothing Open about IBM except "your wallet".

United StatesJimmyJ

03/30/2009 02:24:00 PM EST

Certifications, even valid ones are a joke. You want a good employee? Find out how they respond to situations they aren't familiar with.

United Stateslarry towers

03/30/2009 03:06:15 PM EST

I've passed 15 MS cert tests over the last 10 years the hard way. I'm MCSD in VB since 1998, and in C# since 2006, but I'm off the treadmill now. A guy I work with asked me what braindump site I used to get my certs, like that was the routine. When I failed one of the C#.NET tests a couple of years ago at a MS Certified Training facility, the owner offered to sell me the Q&A if I failed again. He showed me the Q&A - there were questions I just had on the test. After that, I decided it wasn't worth the effort.

United Statesjp

03/31/2009 08:13:36 PM EST

I find it funny that no one mentions the IT recruiters and Human Resource people who filter good resume's looking for those certifications. I have over 20 yrs of experience but until recently am forced to take certification tests. My resume finds the trash can if you don't have those stupid little letters on them. I use my experience and online training to pass them, most of them are pretty lame, not sure why anyone would cheat.

United StatesYunto Caribe

05/22/2009 08:10:42 AM EST

I think it is all crap personally! Never in my experience in IT has anyone every tried to share their problem using trickery or same style as the exam questions... Basically a customer will just be honest and tell you what you need to know, in order for you to work out what the problem is, most people I'm guessing will use basic logical troubleshooting skills based on their understanding of how the technology works, and if they are really determined, they will find a solution, google.com is your friend. These certs in my view is just another money making scheme, I've always got the job I've gone for, over people with Degrees / MCSEs etc purely because I have been fortunate enough to gain some good experience and do some good network projects, oh and have done well on technical tests the employer has given me, verbally and written. I think they should scrap the tests all together, I would always go by experience over certifications any day

RomaniaMusto

12/30/2009 12:15:19 AM EST

I see a lot vantage points here. Here's the best thing in my opinion that certifications or any training program offers: A chance to get to learn and know the technologies and the breadth/depth to which a given expert is expected to be versed in those technologies. That's it. I've got my own walls covered in them and I work to earn ones in areas that I am working in and have experience with. Aside from that - one could just "braindump" a test every day and eventually be pretty wise with regard to trivia about any given area of expertise. Which in itself is one aspect of learning. People don't do that usually. They pass a single test and forget what the acronym stands for as they seek the next carrot. After a while they forget what they were taking the exam for in the first place. It's all marketing at the end of the day.

United StatesDarby Weaver