Cart is empty 10% of what we read,
20% of what we hear,
30% of what we see,
50% of what we hear and see,
70% of what we say and write and
90% of what we actually participate in.
The more the involvement, the more we learn and remember in the long run.
~Edgar Dale
The Case for Certification
The Argument FOR Certifications:
Why would someone that’s been working for a company even bother to get certified especially if they already have a college degree and have been working for a number of years for that one employer?
Here are some points to consider.
• Show Your Value Through Certifications
By showing your skills are up to date you might be more in line for the next promotional progression in your role or for the next role. Your also showing your employer that you’re a valuable member of the team and that you’re willing to learn new things.
Additionally, you’ll be able to make a better argument for that next version of technology that you want to introduce into your enterprise. Perhaps part of the reason your company has been skittish is because they are concerned that the staff knows the current version better and would like to hold off on upgrades. You can take part of that argument away by getting certified on the new technology.
• Market Yourself By Getting Certified
There is also the marketability factor. You may not think you need to be marketable because you’re not planning on taking a new job anywhere else especially in this job market.
But it is that exact comment — this job market — that should make you WANT to prove you’re at the top of your game. If your job is outsourced and you’re lucky enough to keep it with the outsourcer you want to be able to make sure they understand just how valuable of a resource you are to the company which is now their customer. If the outsourcer brings in their own staffers you want to at least be up to their speed or faster and certifications help prove that on top of your own employment records and performance reviews that your skills are relevant. Certifications are a particularly unbiased barometer of your skills.
This scenario is also true for any downsizing that may come from your employer. If they are going to try to do more with less they will need the people at the top of their game and this is another way to show that.
Mergers of business or buy outs of companies also fall into this category.
• Stay Up-To-Date With Certifications
Going back to the college point; you have your BA, BS, MBA, etc — and just how long ago was that?
Certifications are an inexpensive way to show proof that you’re keeping your expertise current and up to date. You’re passing the industry’s measurement of knowledge based on their skill assessments of the role where they are certifying the results of your testing efforts.
Some people in technology today have simply made their way up through the ranks and it is a way for them to differentiate themselves from their peers. Nothing will make you stand out to management like taking on additional education and getting business aligning certifications, especially when they are not required and you are setting a new bar for the organization.
What has helped me grow and blossom in this “Digital Transformation” and “Hyper Connectivity” burst to where I am today was the fact that I had a strong employment track record, my skills were in demand (and they were in demand because I always kept them current to bleeding edge) and that I was certified on the newest relevant technologies for most major companies.
That is also part of what is keeping me afloat in the current storm.
Keep In Mind …
In summary, getting certified:
- Shows that your skills are current
- Shows initiative when certifying is not required
- Separates you from peers
- Verifies to management that the certification provider is effectively validating your skills for them
- Keeps you valuable and marketable in the event of a slowdown, takeover, merger, etc.
- Raises management’s confidence level when they need to move to newer technologies that the staff is ready for the challenge
- Provides you with personal satisfaction that you’ve mastered new material
As with any point there is always a counter-point. And as I mentioned, I am a fan of certification but there are some sensible points that come from the rabid “I wouldn’t accept a certification on a technology if the owner of the company offered it as an honorary gesture.”