Why Get Certified If You Know How To Do Your Job? — Part 2
I began my certification journey back in 1998 and as I mentioned before, people continually ask for my opinion on IT certifications.
Is it worth spending the time and money getting certified if you already know your job? Are certifications going to add value to your resume if you already have a college degree? Can certifications really help you move up, get a new job and help your career?
There are pros and cons to the argument and my last article Part 1 – The argument FOR certifications made the case for getting certified and for staying current.
This installment will outline some of the arguments made against getting certified.
[NOTES FROM THE FIELD] — As I pointed out in Part 1, I’ve been a big fan of certifications because it made getting where I am today easier for me as I’ve progressed throughout my career in IT and over the past seven years at Microsoft.
Where I am as of today in my career, the effectiveness of technical certifications is somewhat waning because my role has shifted to more of a service delivery manager / technical resource manager (the part of my role that was more technical in the past is less so today).
Having said that, I still feel that I MUST keep my technical skills as up to date as possible for both the benefit of myself career wise and for the benefit of servicing of my customers.
Part 2 – The Argument AGAINST Certifications
There are some slivers of truth in some of the points that come from the pundits on why certification doesn’t matter, is irrelevant, and matters as much as a college degree, training, years of expertise and so on.
I don’t necessarily agree with all of these counterpoints that I have outlined below, however, they are more solid reasons for having the opinion of “why bother.”
Here are a few points where I can at least see where the counter argument is coming from. These are also the counter-points I hear the most.
- Some people test really well and memorize facts well but are worthless in practical application — certification muddies that because it is a simple one shot test or a series of tests
I can’t really argue with this one as it is the case some of the time. However, if this is the only thing that’s keeping you from getting certified then you really need to take a look at the benefits of certification that I outlined in Part 1.
- Nothing can replace on the job experience
This one is also true, nothing really can replace on the job experience. Sometimes though you may have to intern or cross train to get that experience and I always argue that if getting certified wipes out some of that training time so much the better.
- Technology changes so quickly that by the time you certify WITH the suggested amount of experience with a given product (generally up to two years) the next release of a product becomes available
I have always maintained that if you’re not interested in a fast ride you need to go find something else to do because technology moves at warp speed.
- There are too many paper certified individuals in the field that cannot do the work
That has been a truth. I say “has” because the dotcom bubble burst and the current recession have removed many of them from the workforce. Are there still some? Sure. That’s why you do want to have the experience to go with the paper.
- If you already have a college degree you don’t need to get certified
Ask anyone saddled with college loans how well their job search is (or was) when they first got out of college. Many of them will complain it was as if the paper was useless AND they were stuck with $25,000.00 in student loans.
College degrees get you in the door as can certifications — both are paper; what sets you apart from the next person holding one or both? If it is not skill and experience it had better be drive and determination.
- Certifications are just another revenue stream for companies
I sometimes feel that way too but I like to look at it as a necessary “evil” if you will. That and the total costs of ALL of my certifications to date still have cost less than ALL of my friend’s student loans.
He has 16 years of experience and a couple college degrees to my 10 years of experience, self study and a folder full of certifications. He has two weeks more vacation than I do but I earn about 35% more than he does in base pay. (That goes back to having more drive and determination when I had less skill and experience).
The moral of this story is partly “right place, right time” and what drive you have / what risk you want to take in the workplace (in that more risk can lead to more reward).
- I’ve been working here for X years; getting certified now has little merit for me or has little value to my employer
This is another one of those tough arguments. If you do not see the value you’ll never convince your manager of it. Maybe you don’t want to be bothered convincing them either.
You’ll never know what unexpected force will shake you off your old line of thinking. What if you convinced your manager of the value of having team members certify on a technology and it has some positive effect?
Perhaps your company now could handle warrantee work in house; if that converted into a net cost savings and that was all due to your efforts of driving that. Good for the review there. Additionally, if your manage moves on and the next one in is a bigger proponent for certification you’re already on the same sheet of music.
Keep In Mind …
There will always be people who are against certification and those who see real value in it. In the end it’s up to you to determine if IT certifications are right for your career or not. I hope that both the arguments for getting certified and the arguments against will help you make the right decision.
I also hope you’ve enjoyed this article and I am looking forward to any feedback you have on it. Additionally, I welcome any topics of interest that you would like to see and based on demand and column space I’ll do what I can to deliver them to you.
Best of luck in your studies.
Related Posts:
- Why Get Certified If You Know How To Do Your Job? — Part 1
- How To Become MCITP Certified Server Administrator
- How to Become a CWNA Certified Wireless Network Admin
- IT Cert Anyone? Sure … But Which One’s for Me?
- How to make sure IT certifications actually matter
- Certification 101
- Microsoft’s Performance-Based Testing Pilot & Certification Stats
One Response to “Why Get Certified If You Know How To Do Your Job? — Part 2”
Adam Ruth Says:
April 9th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
As I mentioned on your part I post, much depends on what the certification is. Personally, I favour the idea of “punching above your weight” and getting certified in something just beyond what you’re expecting to be doing in the near future. That way you’ll get some good training outside of your comfort zone, and it helps to overcome the problem of the technology passing by your certs.
For example, if you’re a Windows programmer, get an MSCE. If you’re a Windows sys admin, get an MCSD.
Just a thought.