Where can I get C++ certification?

[GSR]

Dear all,

I understand this is not relate to LabVIEW, but relate to me (a LabVIEWer). Is there any C++ certification by Microsoft?

Thanks

[Louis Manfredi]

Hi Zmarcoz:

I was in a similar position to you a few years back. A few points to make:

First, in (partial) answer to your specific question, a few years back I taught myself basics of C++ using Metrowerks Codewarrior U. No particular certification, but it was free web-based learning, I learned a lot, I recall even the compiler was near free. So a good place to start, first learn the stuff, then worry about the certification. From what I understand Metrowerks is sort of a thing of the past, but their parent company Freescale, still sells some of their stuff & perhaps runs the Codewarrior U. Little enough difference, I think between one flavor of C++ and another-- at least at the entry level.

Second, as it turned out for me everything I did to reinvent myself made little difference in the long run.-- Getting my (no longer current) CLD certification, learning a little C++, etc. didn't really end up making that much difference for me in my search for gainful employment. Got a few consulting gigs through the CLD, was happy to be able say I wasn't totally ignorant of C, even though I never got a job as a result. The LabVIEW was almost always helpful not on its own, but as a compliment to my broad experience in the wind industry. None of the programming skills had that much to do with my ultimate return to steady employment. As it turned out, what did it for me was my skill and experience in my old industry, and friends and contacts in that industry. So here I am, working for someone I went to school with 35 years ago, working in a field I've been in off & on for 35 years. I've written maybe a few hundred lines of C or C++ code in the line of duty over those years (far less than I've written to teach myself the languages). Currently I still do some LabVIEW programming, maybe 5% of my time, but for me its just a tool, not an ends unto itself.

So, maybe for you the best thing to do is to focus on the field where you have your degrees & where you've spent the most time, make sure your colleagues in that field know you've got programming skills in LabVIEW that might give you and edge, might help you to be more useful in that field.

Third-- An on this point I'm most certain! Don't get panicky or down on yourself during the job hunt. Its a down economy. Its not your fault if you don't find a job, unless you give up looking. You might have to chase 20 leads (or more) to get an interview, might have to go on a half dozen inteviews (or more) to get an offer. Best to be chasing several leads at once, that way the ones that don't pan out don't hurt as much if there's other ones that still might work. I'd pretty much gone into zombie mode, putting in applications without much hope, and out of the blue my old college pal calls to see if I'm available to consult, which eventually grew into a full-time permanent position. Keep an upbeat outlook & present an upbeat public image-- including in public forums like LAVA-- (even if upbeat is not totally real) and things will work out eventually.

Best Regards, Louis

[Dan DeFriese]

QUOTE (zmarcoz @ Mar 17 2009, 02:54 PM)

Dear all,

I understand this is not relate to LabVIEW, but relate to me (a LabVIEWer). Is there any C++ certification by Microsoft?

Thanks

Microsoft has certifications out the wazoo http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/default.mspx#CERT. They have freely downloadable "Express" Editions of all their Visual Studio development tools (Visual C++, Visual Basic, etc...). Just browse around the Microsoft.com and msdn.com websites.

[GSR]

QUOTE (Dan DeFriese @ Mar 18 2009, 11:45 AM)

Microsoft has certifications out the wazoo http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/default.mspx#CERT. They have freely downloadable "Express" Editions of all their Visual Studio development tools (Visual C++, Visual Basic, etc...). Just browse around the Microsoft.com and msdn.com websites.

Thanks

QUOTE (Louis Manfredi @ Mar 17 2009, 09:30 PM)

Hi Zmarcoz:

I was in a similar position to you a few years back. A few points to make:

First, in (partial) answer to your specific question, a few years back I taught myself basics of C++ using Metrowerks Codewarrior U. No particular certification, but it was free web-based learning, I learned a lot, I recall even the compiler was near free. So a good place to start, first learn the stuff, then worry about the certification. From what I understand Metrowerks is sort of a thing of the past, but their parent company Freescale, still sells some of their stuff & perhaps runs the Codewarrior U. Little enough difference, I think between one flavor of C++ and another-- at least at the entry level.

Second, as it turned out for me everything I did to reinvent myself made little difference in the long run.-- Getting my (no longer current) CLD certification, learning a little C++, etc. didn't really end up making

that

much difference for me in my search for gainful employment. Got a few consulting gigs through the CLD, was happy to be able say I wasn't totally ignorant of C, even though I never got a job as a result. The LabVIEW was almost always helpful not on its own, but as a compliment to my broad experience in the wind industry. None of the programming skills had

that

much to do with my ultimate return to steady employment. As it turned out, what did it for me was my skill and experience in my old industry, and friends and contacts in that industry. So here I am, working for someone I went to school with 35 years ago, working in a field I've been in off & on for 35 years. I've written maybe a few hundred lines of C or C++ code in the line of duty over those years (far less than I've written to teach myself the languages). Currently I still do some LabVIEW programming, maybe 5% of my time, but for me its just a tool, not an ends unto itself.

So, maybe for you the best thing to do is to focus on the field where you have your degrees & where you've spent the most time, make sure your colleagues in that field know you've got programming skills in LabVIEW that might give you and edge, might help you to be more useful in that field.

Third-- An on this point I'm most certain! Don't get panicky or down on yourself during the job hunt. Its a down economy. Its not your fault if you don't find a job, unless you give up looking. You might have to chase 20 leads (or more) to get an interview, might have to go on a half dozen inteviews (or more) to get an offer. Best to be chasing several leads at once, that way the ones that don't pan out don't hurt as much if there's other ones that still might work. I'd pretty much gone into zombie mode, putting in applications without much hope, and out of the blue my old college pal calls to see if I'm available to consult, which eventually grew into a full-time permanent position. Keep an upbeat outlook & present an upbeat public image-- including in public forums like LAVA-- (even if upbeat is not totally real) and things will work out eventually.

Best Regards, Louis

Really thanks so much that you are willing to type so long to tell me so much information and suggestion :worship: