Congrats on wresting back some ability to move forward.

As far as certification, my humble opinion after 25+ years in academic (and now Library) IT work, is that certifications are only for hiring managers who want something to check off on an applicant or pointy-haired bosses who don't actually understand IT.  I got one certification (A+) in my early days, and it was all-but useless.  I've taken certification courses over the years too, and the simulated environments never match the real-world, and the required pace of the course doesn't allow for many questions on how to apply the material to an existing system.  Over the years, the folks who have had certifications are no better (and often worse) than those who don't.  

That is not to say that continuous learning is not central to being successful in IT!  Definitely look for ways to broaden their perspective and deepen their understanding and -- vitally -- time and projects to explore and learn.  IT is much more of a trade than an academic pursuit, and it takes "hands on" experience to really grasp how things work and can be leveraged together to build quality and efficient tools.  

I would be suspicious that an IT worker looking to gain lots of certifications, is looking to change jobs for something that pays better because the certifications get them in the door.

I know it's not what you were looking for, sorry.

Erich



On Tuesday, August 16, 2022 at 15:48, Bing Tina eloquently inscribed:

> Hello everyone,
> 
> I am throwing out this question out there to see what comes back.  We
> recently hired our own IT person for the library, only.  We are a part of a
> healthcare system with a small academic college. Anything relating to the
> library was delegated not just to the back burner but rather the storage shed
> where the only key to it is in the hands of the janitor that retired 9 years ago.
> Now we have an IT guy that is quickly being indoctrinated into the finer
> aspects of electronic resources, authentication (Open Athens), Discovery
> Services, link resolvers, Excel, Powershell, VBA, Python etc.
> 
> He was asked to obtain certifications to help meet requirements for his
> position/title and for academic accreditation needs.  What
> certification(s), if any, do you require of your IT workers?  Since this
> is a new position, we did not require any certs to qualify for the job. 
> Any insight would be appreciated.
> 
> Tina
> 
> ​Kristina Bing, MLIS
> Librarian, Sentara Healthcare Library
> 757.388.3693
> 
> [cid:03d76aaf-f360-46cf-b25a-
> 27d9866f1ec8]<https://www.skor.stacksdiscovery.com/quick-links-0> The
> Journal of Clinical Oncology
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> Library is dedicated to producing and delivering the highest-quality
> resources in education, policy, clinical research and clinical practice
> in order to improve the health of patients with cancer, available at
> Sentara Healthcare
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> 
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