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epicdave
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Joined: 11 Oct 2007
Posts: 20
Location: New York
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Does it exist and if so, where can I find it?
The IBM link tells me to "read the book". Given that the book in question is over 700 pages, and the test surely doesn't cover everything the book does, a study guide sure would be helpful :-) |
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dick scherrer
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Joined: 23 Nov 2006
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Location: Inside the Matrix
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Well, i suspect this won't be well received in these days of "certification" without "Qualification".
One of the biggest problems with many "certifications" is that the people who have them know almost nothing - they somehow got thru a test.
For my $.02, if one doesn't know and understand all 700 pages, one has no business even sitting for the test.
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epicdave
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Joined: 11 Oct 2007
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Location: New York
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Well, i suspect this won't be well received in these days of "certification" without "Qualification".
One of the biggest problems with many "certifications" is that the people who have them know almost nothing - they somehow got thru a test.
For my $.02, if one doesn't know and understand all 700 pages, one has no business even sitting for the test. |
First, I do agree with you in that many many people who hold certifications are not qualified in the fields for which they are certified. Frankly, I blame large companies who force their employees to acquire certs en masse and thus inundate the field with certificate holders who learned just enough to pass a test their manager volunTold them to acquire.
Second, given that many of us are not blessed with a photographic memory of every 700 page computer manual we've read, studying is a necessity. Further, as many of these tests to not cover all sections of a given book equally (or even properly IMHO), it's helpful to know what to concentrate on.
So, point is that I agree with the necessity to be familiar with the contents of said book (Introduction to the New Mainframe in this case), but as being able to download the entire contents into my brain and regurgitate random data from it at will is not a skill I possess, a study guide would be most helpful.
Oh, and before someone tells me to spend the $10 to take the practice test, that's not very helpful as there are multiple exams and Mr. Scherrer is correct in his contention that studying strictly for the exam is missing the point  |
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dick scherrer
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Joined: 23 Nov 2006
Posts: 19244
Location: Inside the Matrix
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Hi Dave,
Thanks for the reply.
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| Frankly, I blame large companies who force their employees to acquire certs en masse and thus inundate the field with certificate holders who learned just enough to pass a test their manager volunTold them to acquire. |
Yup. And another major contributor is the number of doofus managers who make it a requirement that a contractor or new permanent employee be certified and they use the certification instead of conducting any kind of decent interview.
Been several places where a "certified" someone was "walked out" by security because they could not do the job. They could answer lots of questions, but could not actually do what was needed.
/rant off. . . 
I'm not aware of a study guide, but will keep an eye out.
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pauly_william
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Joined: 15 Oct 2007
Posts: 27
Location: Canada
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| Has anyone taken said test? I'm going to taking it at SHARE and curious to see if it was helpful to people assessing where they're at knowledge wise and what areas they should focus on. |
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