What are people's opinions on the Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 Developer certification?
www.macromedia.com/support/training/certified_professional_program/dwmx2004_developer.html
Has it made a difference to anyone, good or bad?

Edited by - ganseki on 26 Jan 2005 00:52:46

I think it's important. My certs are dormant currently; I have no real <i>extra</i> time to study/pay/test/cross-fingers. I do feel I get (job) calls and (a bit) more leverage having any certification that says Macromedia on it. I plan to be certified in DW/FL Developer by the end of this year or next, but then Studio MX2006 may be out. <img src=../images/dmxzone/forum/icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>

In a way I think it's a fair price ($150), too bad <i>per</i> test, so be ready! MM provides a sample quiz (small) and references to study, but of course it's not Jeopardy.

Also, for cheaper start, W3C Schools offer <i>HTML Developer Certificate</i> (HTML 4.01, XHTML, and CSS), <i>XML</i>, and <i>ASP</i> test/certs for $59. (www.w3schools.com/cert/)

I've got a few other certs that no one really seems to have heard about and have learned my lesson there!
Are there other <i>better</i>? options that I ought to consider? I've done CIW training and could take if I found the time, but as Chris says its a question of finding the time so I want to focus on things that are going to give me a definite advantage.

£80 English quid isn't as damaging to my bank balance as £2,000 for a micro$oft cert and it sounds like it may well pay for itself in terms of winning more bids, a better ROI for me?

Any advance news on MX2006?

Live the life you love
Love the life you live

Simon

Personal ROI...now that <i>is</i> a concept! Hehe.

<b>For hiring:</b> Generally, in the U.S., we have a lot of un-tech H.R. (Human Resources) people who scout people on Job/Resume Sites and have their keywords they filter against but have no clue what they are or mean.

Common un-tech answers to un-tech questions: "JavaScript & Java are <u>not</u> the same thing!"... "No, XML is not a typo for XHTML"

<b>For project/bid scouters:</b> Generally it's similar to the above when they try to find a freelancer to fill a desk for 3-10 months, but we generally have more semi-tech savvy calls.

Common semi-tech answers to semi-tech questions: "Yes, I am fully aware of the differences between JavaScript & Java"... "Yes, I do Flash programming <i><u>&</u></i> Actionscript, they are the same thing... ... ... oh, well, now you know too. *fake grin*"

how many of the test are you looking at to gain the certification?

gotta be more than one surely ?

regards
Dave

Simon asked about DMX2004 Developer, for me W3C Schools, for $59, is easier to tackle first and can push to DMX2004 Developer and probably Flash MX2004 Developer.

There's no real FW cert, not even for Designer. I'd pay $80 for FW cert if I'm already paying $150 for lerger ones here in the U.S.

I don't use ColdFusion myself, and I'm more 90% PHP right now so the CF tests don't conern me right now...how about everyone else? ColdFusion certs?

I think the DW is the most personally desired, but Flash Dev/Design cert is more appealling for client courting. Why would a client care if you use DW? It offers no reward to them in their eyes. That's another reason why I like that cheaper "Web Developer" cert from W3Schools, since that's more broad if I'm doing web apps at all. What'ch ya think?

How widely recognised is the W3Schools cert?
I've got something I took online called "Technical Web Developer" cert - It was a 1 year course and covered quite a bit, but no one's ever heard of it and I don't feel that it was worth the money I spent.
I don't think there's any point in trophy hunting and having a wall full of certificates if they're meaningless beyond massaging my ego

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>How widely recognised is the W3Schools cert?<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>
Pratically none, but the W3C has a name and the basic cert is called "The HTML Developer Certificate" and covers HTML/XHTML/CSS, so for $59 it seemed like a good start. besides I would post a cert logo on my bio page, so any awards you have (DMXzone MajMember <img src=../images/dmxzone/forum/icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle> and cert's should be shown off like Boy Scout badges! hehe.

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>I've got something I took online called "Technical Web Developer" cert - It was a 1 year course and covered quite a bit, but no one's ever heard of it and I don't feel that it was worth the money I spent.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>
Is there an official logo for the course/cert? If so - show it off. If not, make one dude! You're not misleading anyone by creating a logo/badge for a cert you own/earned! Promote yourself. <img src=../images/dmxzone/forum/icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>I don't think there's any point in trophy hunting and having a wall full of certificates if they're meaningless beyond massaging my ego<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>
I understand with a course that lasts longer than a month, but don't hate because it's not as popular.

I'd like to get a few more people's opinions on this...
How do I go about getting a poll set up?

Live the life you love
Love the life you live

Simon

www.dmxzone.com/index.asp?TypeId=11

if you dont see the 'add new' button,
just let us know what you want in the poll and me or chris will sort it for you.

regards
Dave

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote> www.dmxzone.com/index.asp?TypeId=11

if you dont see the 'add new' button,
just let us know what you want in the poll and me or chris will sort it for you. <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>
DOH! don't I feel silly now <img src=../images/dmxzone/forum/icon_smile_blush.gif border=0 align=middle>

I see you posted up the poll for approval. (www.dmxzone.com/ShowDetail.asp?NewsId=7697)

I suggest you add the other certifications available:
<ul><li>Certified Dreamweaver MX Developer (retired)</li><li>Certified Flash MX2004 Developer or MX Developer (retired)</li><li>Certified Flash MX or MX2004 Designer</li><li>Certified ColdFusion MX Developer</li><li>Certified Web Site Developer (Macromedia) (retired)</li></ul>

And to my knowledge, there is no "Studio" cert. (macromedia.com/support/training/certified_professional_program/faq.html#item-4)

*Me: Flash 4 certification, and XML, Intranets, MS Access 2K, Databases, DW, FW, FH, & Flash 5/MX certificates from MMU (Macromedia University).

Edited by - ccharlton on 28 Jan 2005 19:09:02

Many thanks Chris
I've blatantly robbed those ideas from you, though I'm hoping there will be lots of other suggestions as all those are MM Certs. As you said the W3C Schools offer their own courses and I'm wondering if they're better value for money.

Live the life you love
Love the life you live

Simon

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>...all those are MM Certs. As you said the W3C Schools offer their own courses and I'm wondering if they're better value for money.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>
Yup, I hope we get to see others post in the reply of the poll, I too would love to know what's out there (Pacific & Atlantic Ocean areas).

Certified Web Site Developer that's a retired one too, and maybe put that it's MM's (so people don't think it's a general one that others are getting).

What u think?