Certification or Experience? Choose wisely in the IT & Telephony Field

It takes a certain type of person who can succeed naturally with any challenge they face. Most of us are not that person and we have to work much harder just to be successful. We are drowning in newer and newer technology which demands more and more capable personnel to manage the chores of maintaining servers and networks. Adding to that is the merging of telephony, which for IT is a hugely daunting task. How do you trust the person you hire, to do the job responsibly and maintain critical aspects of your business? Do you consider “experience” or rely on credentials?

A bit of both is what we expect will beat the “only”. If a person had just “book learning” and passed all the exams with top ranking, you would expect excellence however; challenges can quickly make or break a person. Someone who has had experience with a system, may have had similar problems in the past and has insight as to what to do to isolate and resolve issues. Especially when many problems may arise that are not of the type written in the books, but are more found in a real work environment. We can say from experience that all the places of business we’ve encountered, none are alike. Each business has its own unique way of doing things and has expectations that are equally individual.

It’s also clear that businesses demand personnel that manage IT to have a wide understanding of technology (and often much more). Something we see in increasing amount is the desire to have personnel with credentials and certifications to demonstrate expertise in areas crucial to businesses. A person who achieves the credentials of his or her field is also telling others that they are goal driven and will most likely continue an educational path.

There are some who have the education and credentials and still will change the battery when it’s obvious the tire is flat. Of course it may be an easy choice when things are going well and the path is cleared but, if you have complex situations, experience will be your better guide.

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