Certification Strategy

I've asked this in the past but it's been a while ago.

Why do you get certifications?

I was going to create a poll but decided to let people answer free text. Personally for me, money/securing higher level roles is my main reason. Filling in knowledge gaps is another reason why. I don't personally like doing certification to try to learn a new concept. I feel weird learning something I don't use and listing it on my resume as being knowledgable in it. Not saying that's right or wrong that's just my take.

Anyway I just wanted to get your thoughts on a wonderful Tuesday.

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Comments

bpenn

I take them to get the knowledge I need to help me do the job/perform better. I find that if I actually apply myself and REALLY learn the material then ther certification more often then not helps me achieve this.

I try not to rely on them for jobs, though they do check the box, especially since I am DOD.

tahjzhuan

I've always done the work, then acquired the cert to show proficiency in what I was doing. Also learning for the sake of knowledge and filling in knowledge gaps. Certifying now as a means to shift positions and focus. Currently learning technologies I'm interested in working with.

E Double U

More money and opportunities.

I was working as a contractor building pc's when I got my first cert. A colleague asked did I have A+ and I had no idea what that was. He said he would get a raise for getting it so I studied and got it. Each cert after that had to do with me noticing someone else with it, inquiring about it, and them encouraging me to do the same. Considering that my current and former employer pay for training and reimburse for exams, I believe that it is foolish to not take advantage. Plus, I like having a certification to match the skills that I have acquired in a certain role. I have a nice alphabet soup at the bottom of my resume.

N2IT

bpenn - I've all but broken that habit for the check box. I started off with that strategy and it ended up costing me a lot of money and didn't really help out a lot. It did some of course, but the ROI was low from my life experiences.

Part of my job is as an agile pm, and the agile material really does help out a lot and I am not fearful listing it because I can talk to it and manage accordingly. However if I was to one off a CISSP or something like that it would wig me out in an interview because even though I could probably microwave the material and even "justify" the experience it still wouldn't feel right.

N2IT

I think all of these are healthy valid reasons to get certifications. For me it's just a matter of making sure I actually know what the hell I am talking about. I don't want to oversell and under deliver. That is worse case scenario imo. Not that I am afraid of failing, I am not, but I am afraid of stretching the truth and failing.

beads

tahjzhuan wrote: »

I've always done the work, then acquired the cert to show proficiency in what I was doing. Also learning for the sake of knowledge and filling in knowledge gaps. Certifying now as a means to shift positions and focus. Currently learning technologies I'm interested in working with.

Closer to this model. Certs force me to fill in the gaps developed over time and to show/prove proficiency. Shows earned mastery this way not a proficiency in passing a test. There is a difference.

- b/eads

kurosaki00

Because they are requested in job postings/get you more $$$

srabiee

My #1 reason (at this point in my quest to obtain certs) is to learn new software and technologies in my lab environment at home, and then take the exam to prove competency and add to the resume. This is especially the case when, for example, my job uses VMware virtualization products exclusively but I want to learn Microsoft products like Hyper-V and SCVMM. I either have to change jobs or lab it at home and self-study.

#2 reason is to open doors to future job prospects, more responsibility, and earn more money.

Zorodzai

When I started out I wanted to certify in EVERYTHING !! Now I only really pursue certifications if I have a deep rooted interest in the area (i.e. MS SQL) or it's aligned to my career growth (project management and security paths).

dave0212

kurosaki00 wrote: »

Because they are requested in job postings/get you more $$$

Similar but usually because my boss wants me to, i.e. just completed CISA as they want all consultants to hold it. I am generally focused on just learning things these days, I like certification as it provides a structure learning process which is why I usually push people down that path as well, but as I need skills more than bits of paper that is my current focus, most of the stuff I do is purely theory and the application of it.

For instance my current bed time reading is "Threat Modeling: Designing for Security"

nster

N2IT wrote: »

I don't personally like doing certification to try to learn a new concept. I feel weird learning something I don't use and listing it on my resume as being knowledgeable in it.

This can be somewhat mitigated by stating in a Resume what the person has experience with / is good with.

Doing entry-level certs to learn can be expected: CompTIA certs, CCENT, MTAs etc are usually expected to be for people who have little or no experience. The slightly higher end certs such as an MCTS or a CCNA can be viewed as such as well if a lot of labbing was done

dave330i

More money. Why spend money when it isn't to help you earn more money.

aspiringsoul

In order to acquire More knowledge....

Knowledge is power....

Power is money...

markulous

Well all but one of my certs were from WGU, so I had to. But I ultimately went to school to be more valuable and thus earn more money.

I'm planning on going for my MCSA after WGU though, which should hopefully open up doors for sys admin stuff while I get more experience with that.

kurosaki00

It's always about money or rep. If just info, you can just buy the books or do the labs.