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Brainbench 1

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KornGeek

KornGeek

Programmer
Aug 1, 2002
1,961
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I've search the internet and have found a wide variety of opinions on this topic, so I thought I'd check in and see what Tek-Tips users think.

Brainbench offers some free certification tests and also paid memberships. Some companies seem to value these certifications, others seem to view them negatively, and most seem to not be too sure of what they even are.

What are your experiences with or opinions of Brainbench certifications?

Would you seek them out?
Would you put them on your resume?
Would they change your opinion either way if you saw them on an applicant's resume?
 
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Brainbench offers there own certifications?

Personally I would stick with certifications from the various vendors who's products you use. Microsoft, Oracle, MySQL, Cisco, Sun, VM Wan, EMC, Toshiba, Dell, HP, etc. All these vendors have certificaton programs to show that you know how to use and support there products. A vendors certification program is probably going to hold more weight than a third partys certification program.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)
MCTS (SQL 2005 / Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0: Configuration / Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: Configuration)
MCITP Database Administrator (SQL 2005) / Database Developer (SQL 2005)

--Anything is possible. All it takes is a little research. (Me)
[noevil]
 
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Honestly, I really don't know what to think of Brainbench. The positive about it is that if people look at them, it can be a general demonstration of competency for whatever the topic is, since it's a third-party certification given whatever their questions are on the online quiz.

Personally, I took a few of their quizzes back when they were offering all of them for free, and ended up with a few certificates from them. I have them on hand, but I really haven't mentioned what they are and what "levels" they are. Not too important, IMO, especially considering most employers don't look for competency in their new hires.
 
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At one company I worked at Brainbench certifications were considered a joke. Applicants resumes with Brainbench listed on them were laughed at and thrown in the trash, and those people were never even called for an interview. I never personally had any dealings with this, as it was all done by the department heads and I was just a flunky.



Hope This Helps!

ECAR
ECAR Technologies

"My work is a game, a very serious game." - M.C. Escher
 
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Are Brainbench certifications for, say, Oracle, honored by the technology manufacturer? Would you apply to Oracle with a Brainbench Oracle cert on your resume?

I think not. Folks like Oracle and MS don't look kindly on certification competition. Others in the know would much rather see "OEM" certs.

Brainbench is a certificate mill. They exist to take your money in return for (should you pass) feeling good about yourself.
 
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Late one night, when I couldn't sleep, I took a free Brainbench certification for PL/SQL. I was just playing around answering the questions quickly without double-checking my work and scored an 86%. Oddly enough, that certification got me my next contract. The client wanted some proof that I could code, which was difficult to prove over the phone from 500 miles away. Doesn't hurt to have that extra little piece of paper.

[sup]Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.[/sup][sup] ~George Bernard Shaw[/sup]
Consultant Developer/Analyst Oracle, Forms, Reports & PL/SQL (Windows)
My website: www.EmuProductsPlus.com
 
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I was curious about the brainbench certs, so yesterday while I had some down time, I swung over to there web site. In about a 90 minute window, I picked up 5 of there free certs.

The vendor certs are going to be a better bet.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)
MCTS (SQL 2005 / Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0: Configuration / Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: Configuration)
MCITP Database Administrator (SQL 2005) / Database Developer (SQL 2005)

--Anything is possible. All it takes is a little research. (Me)
[noevil]
 
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So they're giving free certs again? (They wanted to charge not soon after I got mine).

I found my list of Brainbench certifications just now, and saw a couple of them that should tell you what they're about (they were done in 2000): "Math Fundamentals", and "Windows 98 Navigation".

Needless to say, both of those were a joke.
 
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Yeah, they have like 20 or 30 certs available for free.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)
MCTS (SQL 2005 / Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0: Configuration / Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: Configuration)
MCITP Database Administrator (SQL 2005) / Database Developer (SQL 2005)

--Anything is possible. All it takes is a little research. (Me)
[noevil]
 
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I also have a bunch of Brainbench certifications. Unfortunately they aren't worth much as they are relatively easy to earn. Arguably, they are better than nothing though. If you don't have a lot of experience, you may want to keep them on your resume to emphasize your areas of competency.

If I were you, I'd get my certs through the manufacturer. They're tougher, more expensive, but universally recognized.
 
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The problem I have is that most of the subjects I would want to get certified for don't have a manufacturer cert available (to my admittedly limited knowledge). Mostly, it's programming languages and concepts.

About a year ago, I got a membership because it was at a discounted rate, and my employment history is difficult to verify (most of the companies are now out of business). I figured as long as I've got the membership, I might as well use it, so I now have a lot of their certifications.

However, I began to hear that some people view this as a negative. I was wondering if I should keep these on my resume or remove them.
 
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What certs are you looking for that you can't find info about. Some of the folks here may know what you are looking for.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)
MCTS (SQL 2005 / Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0: Configuration / Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: Configuration)
MCITP Database Administrator (SQL 2005) / Database Developer (SQL 2005)

--Anything is possible. All it takes is a little research. (Me)
[noevil]
 
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I would be interested in certs for languages such as VB.Net, C++, and C#.
 
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Thanks for the info. I'll have to look into those. See, it's dangerous to make plans based off assumptions.
 
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