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I have held positions in a variety of areas where it would be appropriate to take specialized training and take a certification test in that particular area. Examples of this are Project Management and Business Analyst certifications.
There are also many national and international associations that we professionals have at our disposal. I have never been prone to joining these formal associations and while I have held many high level positions in project management and business analysis, I am not certified. I have actually done formal trainings to organizations on the principals of project management yet I am uncertified.
I have never felt it was necessary to get a formal certification in the areas that I work in. It certainly has not had a negative impact on my career but lately I have been wondering if there might be some value to joining an international association, and getting formal training and certification in my areas of expertise.
Are certifications common in your field and if so, are you certified? I’m interested in other people’s thoughts on the subject.
Discuss…
This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007 at 8:59 pm and is filed under Climbing the ladder.
Tags: career growth, certification, networking, professional association, training
August 23rd, 2007 at 9:45 am
Hi there! Yes, I am PMP certified. Mostly because my company offered to put me through their internal training program and paid for the test and membership to PMI. However, I am actually really glad I did it. While I agree that certifications are ‘nice to have’ the PMP is such a pain in the neck and expensive to get and maintain that I think anyone that does it is seen as having proof that they are organized and capable of long term business commitment. Plus, from now on if I change companies, they know they don’t have to pay for me to get certified!
I also think it tends to hold the same weight in management positions as an MBA these days. And really, it’s a lot quicker and cheaper to get your PMP certification (even if you are audited – yup they audit randomly) than MBA as long as you have 5-7 years of Project Management experience. Of course, once you are through the 2 years of MBA pain you have it for life. There are pros and Cons to both. Unfortunately, at least in the DC area it seems that you have to have one or the other (or both) to move up the management ladder.
August 23rd, 2007 at 11:18 am
Certification is extremely common in my field - many people tend to use the terms “accountant” and “CPA” interchangeably, especially when they talk about getting their small-business books or taxes done.
However, I don’t have it. I never wanted to work in public accounting, which was much less family-friendly in my early career, and that’s a requirement (in addition to a college degree, a professional exam, and annual continuing education) for obtaining it. I’ve considered pursuing my CMA (certification in management accounting), which is more applicable to the accounting I do, but it’s far less recognized and I haven’t gone very far with it. In my observation, an MBA is designed for people who didn’t major in a business area as undergrads, and since I did, I don’t see it in my future.
I’m pretty sure that certification would have gotten me further career-wise, but for the most part I’m comfortable with the level I’ve reached. I also suspect that not pursuing it is probably, deep down, a sign of my lack of passion for my profession.
August 24th, 2007 at 12:58 am
There are certifications available in my area of expertise (configuration management) but I have not pursued them. My view was influenced heavily by my former boss and mentor, who didn’t think the coursework was very applicable to our specialized type of work. Now, some of my colleagues have their certification and I’m thinking it could be a good move. However, I plan to make a career change in 2-3 years to a different kind of work, so I won’t pursue the cert.
I have belonged to some professional management and business organizations. Membership can definitely have its rewards - visibility,networking, educational opportunities, etc. Unfortunately, over time the groups I joined evolved to mainly a social function and I withdrew. If I’m going to have social time, I’ll spend it with the people who mean most to me, not fellow business people.
August 25th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
Certification is very common in my area as well (HR) and many companies require it for you to be an HR Manager or above. I am definitely considering getting SOMETHING in the near future- whether it be my MBA, my Masters in HR or just getting a PHR ceritification. It will certainly help my career in the future.
March 7th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
[...] ago I posted on the subject of professional certifications here on Who Stole My Stapler. I don’t have one and have never felt the need to get one in [...]
March 19th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Like Denise says, certifications are very common in our area - HR. I am currently certified as a SPHR - Senior Professional Human Resources and find it very helpful. I had my MBA when I started my HR career but focused on mostly Employee Relations/Labor Law - so this helped me to be more well-rounded and get a bit more industry cred. Hope this is helpful.
Good topic.