It seems Nigerians are not keen on dotNET. How many Nigerians have MCAD for dotNET?

what advantages does it offer?

I believe in the programming world, certificate is not much of an issue. The most important thing is your skills. Nobody will buy your programs just because you are certified, but poeple will buy your programs because they are good.
My advice is let's worry less about certificates and more about skills. That's the only way we can develop as programmers.

I don't blame who is emphasizing on certificate. Nigerians are interested in Certificate not skills esp government works. It is not everybody who study to be on his own. Some study to get good work no matter how deep they are into programming they will still target NNPC and co. In Nigeria for now Certificate( and People you know) still outsmart skills maybe tomorrow it will change. Consider yourself being an Oracle Certified DBA, do u think that you will not get job pass somebody has is Oracle himself without Oracle certification. Have the skill and get certified unless you don't want to work in Niaja.

chinedum:

It seems Nigerians are not keen on dotNET. How many Nigerians have MCAD for dotNET?

Where did you get that from anyway?

Most nigerians are not keen on any programming certification. It's mostly networking, Oracle.

Practice, Practice, Develop develop is what is important experience is more important than certificates. I used to have all Microsoft, the Sun it was easy stuff get the book read like hell pass the exam and you think you know it all. Best way to learn is by doing a project that is the only experience I will look for when hiring anyone except graduates who have no industrial experience.

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in the real world, you need something to back your skills.

Different strokes for different folks.

@akwanashie, sorry I only gave my point of view. Actually I am not an employee, I write programs and sell and sometimes get hired to work on certain projects.

Anyway what will you do when you get employed with a certificate and have no skills. Or are the employers ignorant of what they need ?

@IG
What you need to do is fire the HR manager who hired this guy and fire the goat too!

My point is no one will hire just because you’re certified or something, but being certified is important, it could be the difference in you being called up for an interview or not to start with.
If your so good why not just get certified, it’s never going to hurt ya chances, it’s always going to be a plus for you. Apart from that other benefits that come with being certified for a particular technology like monthly newsletter, access to network of fellow certified professionals, updates on the latest technology, discounts and free software, come on! Get your a55 up and get certified boy.

Ah, am not against certifications, but I don't want us to take it to be more important than getting the skills.
Most of the time you discover that after getting the skills you find out that the certification is of little importance.
After all it's just another way of making money for the companies(oracle, microsoft, e.t.c).

I don't know of DBAs and Network Admins, but in the programming world, your products speak louder than your certificates. This is because most of the time you use a combination of different technologies in building your solution.

Well Am only telling my point of view.

If you really want/need a certificate go for it, but keep in mind it doesn't make you an expert.

@IG, well said! well said! I see your point.

Companies want evidence that you are capable of performing your job or task - certifications are proof that you can perform your job. You can program for fun or as a hubby, that is not enough to get you a good paying job; I am sure it applies to so many areas.

That been said, I do think that practical experiences count very much