Taking a little break right now, got a bit of a burn out, lack of sleep might have something to do with it :)
The ASP.NET MVC project I had in mind will have to wait a little bit, with a bit of luck it gives me time to find a good graphical designer as well, they seem so rare to find. If you know a good designer, please comment!
What I'm going to do however, is study for a Microsoft Certificate.
Normally I'm not into degrees, when I graduated I saw people graduate with the same degree as me, who could barely write HTML or C#, at which point I placed no value in the degree people have. I rather judge people on what they say and do, which is also the reason I never really bothered with certificates.
But even as a developer, you can't be blind to the world, certificates matter for non-developers. I admit it's a nice addition to a resume and leverage when it comes to negotiating your salary, however I'm starting to see some value in the certificate as well.
When you properly prepare for an exam, without cheating and learning all questions by heart, it's actually a good form of self-education. Even when you don't take the exam in the end, the stuff you pick up while learning the required matter for an exam is valuable.
All these little hidden things you learn about the .NET Framework help to broaden your background knowledge, tiny things which you'd never encounter normally. It helps you make you aware of all the features .NET offers you, and if it only helps you do one thing better, it still helped.
I could disappear for some weeks now to study and not write anything, but that's not me.
Instead, I've added a section to my wiki reserved for note taking and research on the exam itself.
It's not a tutorial, but I belief it does contain some nice "wow, that's cool"-things.
Going to keep you updated whenever I finish a chapter, with a small summary of the things I think are cool.
Hey David,
I fully agree with your points about certification. I was a C# developer for years before I looked into MS certs, but HR types seem to find them valuable.
I learned a lot going through the MCSD certification, but it took me almost 200 hours of study time.
Good luck with your studying.
John
It's good to see that you're putting the focus on the value you will get, not the value that recruiters/HR will get.
I take the same approach. I learn the material for my own benefit, and the certs are a bonus.
It's just a shame that the whole process of certification is devalued thanks to sites like certkiller, and thousands of people who pass the exams without actually understanding anything.
Good luck with your study :) I'm nearly done with my MCPD-EA (got 2 exams left).
Cheers!
Hi There
I'm doing the same exam next friday.
Good luck with it when you sit it.