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Out on a LIMSThe Blog for People Who Risk Life and LIMS on a Daily Basis

Certification Questioning

Volume IIEntry 16 of 90 in 20151 min read2 comments ↓

Written by Gloria Metrick on . Published as written. It may not reflect how these systems work today.

For some reason, I recently keep getting asked if I'm certified in one thing or another. Since I work mainly with LabWare LIMS and ELN and Thermo Scientific SampleManager LIMS/LES, I will answer that, here, so that it's public knowledge, although I think I've made it fairly public even before this.

LabWare LIMS and ELN:  My company is not a LabWare partner and, as such, does not follow the certification process. I offer expertise in V5 and V6, which is better than you'll get by getting a certified person, which only means they were able to pass a test upon coming out of a course. Certification has nothing to do with product or industry experience.

Thermo Scientific SampleManager LIMS/LES: As far as I know, there is no certification available. As such, no-one is certified on this product. As such, I find it surprising that anyone asks this question.

Bottom line: If you want someone who has experience, give me a call. If you're not interested in experience but prefer certification, then there are plenty of certified and junior people out there that the staffing companies would be more than glad to send to you so that they can train them on your dime.

Gloria Metrick
GeoMetrick Enterprises
http://www.GeoMetrick.com/

The conversation

2 comments from 1 person on March 31, 2015. Gloria replied once.

  1. LiMS Journal (@LIMSjournal)

    Spot on Gloria. I do not look at certifications at all when I go to hire contractors or employees. I hire based on experience and references. I find that people who look for certs are generally recruiters who are too lazy to actually learn anything about what their clients really need. They go for keywords and then throw stuff at the wall (client) to see if it sticks so they can make a buck.

    BTW, I never use recruiters. When we go searching for folks we get them through referrals.

    1. Gloria MetrickAuthor

      I hate to be too down on recruiters. There are some good ones out there who work hard to learn their industry and to keep everyone involved up-to-date. However, as you mentioned, there are those who are exactly the opposite. I try to be polite to those who call me saying they have a LIMS they need to find a person for but when I ask "which LIMS" they don't know what I'm talking about, asking, "Do you mean to tell me there's more than one kind?!?!?!" Sigh...

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