I agree with John, and the article.

We see a lot of guys come through with the certifications and they can regurgitate the canned answers from their certifications, but when you ask them actual details about that question they falter, exposing a lack of true understanding.

Where I disagree with the article, is the need for certification if you have the experience.

If your resume and references speak for themselves then the certifications are a waste of time and money.

The people that have always worked out the best have been the ones that have a solid knowledge of the technology and real world experience putting that technology to work.

The best advice is, know your craft, never stop learning and tinkering, get the experience by working with good people and always stay on top of the specs and APIs.

It's not easy, but then it's not brain surgery either.

I believe skills come first, in whatever your chosen field is.

Without them you won’t last long enough to obtain meaningful experience and probably won’t be interested in gettting certified.

I don’t think hands-on experience is required for certification, though.

How can one gain the experience required to get certified?

Employers want experienced people with certifications yet are unwilling to provide the necessary experience to get certified.

And if you get certified they will not let you gain the experience!

Regarding the “requisite education” to become a CPA — here are the current requirements as posted on the Board of Accountancy site.

EDUCATION

All first-time applicants must be;

of good moral character;
be residents of Missouri or have a place of business in Missouri or, as an employee, be regularly employed in Missouri to be eligible to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination; and

Have 150 semester hours of general college education to include;

a baccalaureate degree or higher;
33 semester hours in accounting (at least 1 course in Auditing and at least 18 semester hours of the accounting courses must be upper division accounting )
27 semester hours in general business courses(i.e. Marketing, Management, Economics, Finance, etc)

For the sake of those of us without an accounting background, can describe the “what the requisite education for a CPA is”?

Thanks

Perhaps a meaningful parallel can be drawn from other professions.

For example, I was once a practicing CPA. I believe that anyone can sit for the CPA review provided they possess the requisite education.

Should they pass the battery of tests, they still will not be licensed to practice as a CPA until they have acquired the requisite experience.

You can be an accountant in a public accounting firm, but you cannot attach the designation CPA to your name without both passing the test AND acquiring the experience.

I will be glad to answer your questions. Here are the answers you’ve been looking for:

Will Getting Business Analyst Training Help?

Business Analyst Training will help you get a job … IF the training provides you with handson experience and practical skills in addition.

Traditional business analyst classroom training is not designed to help you get a business analyst job. They are designed to pass on information to you in the shortest possible time.

If your goal is to get a job, then the business analyst training you enroll for has to provide handson experience and practical BA skills as well … otherwise, you need to get the training and then arrange for the handson experience and prcatical skills separately

How To Get An Associate BA or Junior BA position

You need to drop the associate BA versus junior BA from your vocabularly. My doing that, you are already underselling yourself.
You are looking for a BA position that matches your skillsets … because you are a business analyst period!

The truth is that Hiring Managers are not really interested in hiring business analysts without handson experience and practical skills.

The chances of getting a job without handson experience or practical skills when the economy was good was quite low … and now in the current economic recession … it is next to nil.

You need to get business analyst training that includes handson experience and practical skills or just get the business analyst training and then find a way to get handson experience and practical skills.

Anything else would be like going round the mountain … remember that you are competing with experienced business analysts who may be willing to work for less pay … so you have to give the hiring managers what they want

Please read this article for more information:
http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/02/26/how-to-get-an-it-business-analyst-job/

Will getting training help?

I am not looking for senior positions.

I am looking for associate BA or junior BA positions.

What do hiring managers look for in a candidates applying for such jobs with no hands-on experience?