256: Drupal 8 Certification Crash Course at Texas Camp 2017!

At DrupalCon Baltimore, I got the chance to chat with David Porter and David Stinemetze from Rackspace. Listen to this conversation to learn a little more about the Daves, Drupal at Rackspace, and the value of Acquia's certification program to individuals and organisations. If you can make it, don't miss your chance to get a 10% discount on taking an Acquia certification exam by taking the Drupal 8 certification crash course at Texas Camp 2017!

The Texas Camp 2017 Drupal 8 Certification Crash Course: a full day of Drupal 8 learning goodness on June 2nd!

"We're hoping to get as many people certified as possible" - Dave Porter

Crash Course Origin Story

I asked Dave Stinemetze what he was looking for coming to DrupalCon Baltimore: "At Rackspace, we're currently on Drupal 7; we're looking to move to Drupal 8. One of the things our team wanted to do was increase our competency with Drupal 8, which included going to sessions, seeing lessons learned from companies who have already made this migration ... you know, starting to get a game plan together."

Both Daves recently got Acquia Drupal 8 certification. I asked about their motivation for doing that. Dave Stinemetze explains, "I've spent so much time in Drupal 7 and Drupal 8 ... it's an idea. It wasn't something I'd had hands on experience with. For me, doing the certification was actually my introduction to transitioning from D7 to D8. I just went head down into the study guides, into the manuals, everything I could find. I started aggregating all these data, taking notes ... [on] all these things that have changed. I placed all my notes up on Guthub, so they're available for anyone."

Why Certification?

Dave Porter adds, "Originally, when I got the D7 certification, I was the only one in San Antonio ... and until Monday, I was still the only one. That was a nice credential to have for myself and for Rackspace. It's important to know that Acquia did the right thing, forcing the fact that there needed to be certification. There needed to be something to give people some kind of credential to validate that they know what they're doing. Because Drupal gives all of us a job. And for us to work in the technology and profession we like, to be who we are, to wear what we want, to go where we want to go and be a part of this community. That certification only solidifies that even more."

"It's important to know that Acquia did the right thing, forcing the fact that there needed to be certification. There needed to be something to give people some kind of credential to validate that they know what they're doing."

"If you go to any of the big agencies and you've got that credential, it's going to separate you from the rest of the people (unless you're one of the big names). But other than that, it's a path for a lot of the people that are coming into Drupal. Drupal is growing; it's appealing to more developers, especially more PHP developers. So giving them a path, a way into the community that really verifies their knowledge and competence, I think it's invaluable."

Dave Stinemetze rounds out the picture, pointing out that being a verified expert also helps internally at Rackspace (and I' sure this goes elsewhere, too), "We're selling ourselves to our stakeholders and we're creating that perception of expertise within our own business. That has value in and of itself."

Conversation Video

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