Are you a certified LabVIEW developer?

[jaking]

For developers and engineers using NI software, certification is a proven way to boost career potential because it inspires confidence in technical skills.

Are you a certified LabVIEW developer? Share how NI certification has helped you and enhanced your career.

If you're considering whether to become certified or not, here are a few things to think about. 

Jennifer King

NI Content Coordinator

[jcarmody]

1. My current employer wanted a LabVIEW developer.
2. I had CLD and some experience on my resume.
3. The interviewers didn't ask me anything about LabVIEW (one showed me some code and assumed I understood it, but didn't ask).
4. I got the job, but I expect I would have if I only had LabVIEW experience.  Perhaps I would have been asked more questions.

[James@Home]

The elusive CLD certificate...

I've been planning on taking the exam for many years and seem to always put it off.

However, only a few jobs that sparked my curiosity have listed LabVIEW certification as a requirement.

In addition, whether I am being interviewed or I am interviewing others, the CLD is only a 'foot in the door'.
A short discussion and an example or two will quickly expose LabVIEW programming skills or the lack thereof.

Many programmers can write good code for an exam, but is that their normal programming style?

Maybe, maybe not?

I still have it on my 'To Do' list, but don't think my procrastination has hurt my career.

James' two cents..

[Mark_Yedinak]

I am not a CLD but rather a CLA. For me though I found that going through the certification process has significantly improved my coding skills by reinforcing good coding style and best practices. Going through the process allowed me to evaluate my current practices and improve unpon them. I can confidently say that the code I write today is much more organized, easier to read and maintain as well as better quality. This is in large part to going through the certification process.

[LV_Pro]

A previous poster mentioned ' foot in the door' rather dismissively, but in today's job situation anything that differentiates one applicant from the mass is a plus.

[smercurio_fc]

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@LV_Pro wrote:
A previous poster mentioned ' foot in the door' rather dismissively, but in today's job situation anything that differentiates one applicant from the mass is a plus.

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Until the mass all get certified...

[yenknip]

I was a CLD, for 2 months. Before that I was a CLAD for a couple of months too. I have been using LabVIEW for 4 years, but I have putting off the certifications until recently because I am trying for a promotion; and anything that I can give my manager will help.

With regards the exams themselves, the architect exam was definitely difficult and I was suprised at how quickly 4 hours went by. However I must have done what the markers were looking for because I passed it. My exam style and my actual style are similar, but I was fervently going for points by fullfilling the specification sheet, rather than spending time studying a large project and splitting it into modules.

I suppose that a lot of work place practice and experience allowed me to instinctivly create a solid architecture and begin fleshing it out.

[Ben]

I have been with my current employer since before the certifications** were invented so they did not help me get my postion.

Management looks very fondly at certifications to help distinguish us from our competition with phrass like "More Certified Architects under one roof than anyone else in the world."*

Although certification is a plus when interviewing with us, it is not a requirements since we are capable of developing our own internally (at one time I think I had been involved in about a dozen CLAs).

The certification of our rookies has a good effect on our shop. We all work together to help get the noobs certified. To that end the certifications provide structure to their development and do to the interaction with alredy certified it helps reinforce the experienced developers as well in the form of review.

So the certifications get them ready to start working up to being a developer that can carry their own. So certification provides a good start.

Just my 2 cents,

Ben

* No longer valid but give us time.

** My boss was the 5th CLA and I believe I was the 54th.

[James@Home]

Howdy Putnam, what a diference a day makes...

I spent today at a cereer fair near NASA trying to find some help from the many out of work.
I would have loved to have seen just one resume that had CLD or even a CLAD on it.
The closest I came was one that listed some training, but had never done any programming.

Second place went to one who could mispell "labview" on his resume.

When it's not LabVIEW, I assume ignorance. 

But, I did ask a couple of questions to confirm my suspicions.

What a timely rebuttle, hope you are doing well.

Kudos sir!!

James

[LV_Pro]

James, I'm currently in New Orleans, helping one of my girls move into a new apartment, while she is in graduate school at Tulane.

Hey, if you need any contract LabVIEW work ...