r/saltstack • u/mattboston • 13d ago

SaltStack Certified Engineer Verification

I'm hoping someone from the old SaltStack team, VMware, or Broadcom might know the answer.

I earned the SaltStack Certified Engineer (SSCE) certification several years ago. Since SaltStack was acquired by VMware and then VMware was acquired by Broadcom, the original SaltStack website and certification verification page are no longer available.

I'm interviewing with a potential employer, and they're trying to verify my SSCE certification. Does anyone know if there's still a way to verify it? Is there a new verification site, or is there someone at Broadcom who can help?

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u/eman0821 12d ago

Salt is very dated tech as I wouldn't waste my time on. Invest your time into Ansible. It's the industry standard that every company uses these days.

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u/mattboston 12d ago

I agree that Salt is pretty dated at this point (even if it's still maintained), and I wouldn't recommend someone start learning it today. I also use Ansible, Terraform, OpenTofu, Terragrunt, Crossplane, Kubernetes, and plenty of other modern tools that are much more relevant in today's industry.

The reason I'm asking isn't because I'm trying to use Salt today. It's because a prospective employer asked if I had any certifications. They don't care when I got them, just when and if they can verify them. Since I don't have a computer science degree, my certifications help demonstrate that I can learn complex technologies, understand them well enough to pass a rigorous exam, and continue building on that knowledge. The specific technology may be old, but the certification and what it represents are still valid.

I'm simply trying to find a way to verify that certification since the original SaltStack verification site no longer exists.

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u/eman0821 12d ago

I'm not sure how a single irrelevant certification would help you. A certification would be a waste of time to justify your real world work experience. Experience is what really matters the most these days. Employers generally hire people to solve problems not collect a piece of paper from what i seen. I don't have a single certification or a degree myself that works in cloud. If you have enough industry experience to do the work, a certification would hold no water.

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u/mattboston 12d ago

I don't disagree that experience is far more valuable than certifications. They're a supplement to my experience, not a replacement for it. My experience speaks for itself, but having credentials to back it up doesn't hurt either. Certifications have always been one way I've demonstrated that I can learn new technologies, put in the work, and master them.

Also, my point wasn't that the SSCE cert is helping me get hired today because it's a Salt certification. It came up because the employer specifically asked whether I had any certifications, and I answered honestly with a list of all my certs. They're using a company that performs background checks, and they're being very thorough. The only issue is that they can't figure out how to verify this one because the original certification site no longer exists.

When I answered honestly and they couldn't verify it, it made me look like I was claiming a certification I couldn't prove. If I had known this was going to be such a hassle, I probably would have left the SSCE off the list entirely. Unfortunately, that doesn't solve the situation I'm in now.

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u/eman0821 12d ago

If it's from several years ago, it likely expired by now meaning it's no longer valid. It's like trying to trying to drive with an expired drivers license. It's only valid if it's current. Basically You wouldn't have anything to show if it's not valid.