A new year, and new resolutions. Do yours include getting professional certification this year?
Professional certification can be good in some situations:
Intermediate level people can benefit by showing employers they have attained a certain knowledge level. Also, preparing for the certification test helps a person determine areas where they are weak in knowledge, thus giving them the opportunity to improve in that area.
Some companies require certification for the job. In this case, an employer may pay for any needed training and the cost of acquiring certification. You may find you have to acquire certification before applying for a particular job.
Certification is an indication that you are serious about your profession. You have experience and training. You have also committed to a standard of professional ethics and continuing education.
Keep in mind that if you do get professional certification, it is not forever. Many certifications are good for 3 years. To keep your certification, you have to continue to work in that subject area, and you will have continuing education requirements. These typically include things such as taking classes, teaching classes, attending conferences, and writing papers.
Here are some certifications I know of that may be of interest to you:
Business Analyst
http://www.iiba.com
Certified Software Engineering Professional
http://www.computer.org/portal/pages/ieeecs/education/certification
Unified Modeling Language
http://www.uml.org
Rational Certified Professional a variety of subjects and tools, such as Object Oriented Analysis and Design or Requirements Management
http://www-306.ibm.com/software/rational/
Software Architect
http://www.opengroup.org/itac
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/architect/default.mspx
Project Manager
http://www.pmi.org/info/PDC_CertificationsOverview.asp
Most certifications are designed for specialists. If you are a generalist, you may find it difficult to impossible to get some certifications. In that case, you will be looking more at certifications such as IEEE Certified Software Engineering Professional, which covers a broad range of topics.
I hope your new year is off to a great start. I’m taking care of a bunch of little things here at the beginning of the year – finishing up a bunch of small tasks that really needed to get done. The rest of the month is plenty busy with 2 contracts and a seminar between now and the end of the month!
Drop me a note or comment on a post to let me know what things I can help you with this year. What kinds of tools or information do you need to be more successful in your job?
Geri
Geri:
Interesting piece on certification. You included the following:
“Certifications are designed
for specialists and most consultants are
generalists. They have the knowledge and skill,
but can not show enough continuous, recent
experience in one subject to get certified in
that subject. On the other hand, if the person
has a number of years experience as a consultant,
they are almost certainly very good at the job,
or they would not continue to get hired”.
See underlined paragraph. I COMPLETELY disagree with the premise that “consultants cannot show sufficioent continuous recent experience to get certified” in a given subject. In fact, I know consultants who are outstanding experts in a number of technical areas, work CONSISTENTLY, EXTENSIVELY AND RECENTLY in their chosen areas as specialists and are appropriately certified as experts, not just because they passed a bunch of tests with flying colours, but because they have many years of measurable accomplishment which sets them apart from the “generalists”. Also, it is by no means true that “all consultants are generalists”. Some certainly are, and I as a hiring manager in large corporations in the past have met some of them and have deliberately passed them over in cases where I needed an “expert” and instead, sought, found and hired consultants some (but not all) of whom are “certified”, but more inmportant, have demenstrated their expertise in areas where often, the required skill or expertise at the level required, in hard to find!! I am myself, now completing PMP certification, and in fact have been a specialist with a proven / measurable track record in technical project management that spans almost two decades!! It is an area in which I have worked CONSISTENTLY, EXTENSIVELY AND RECENTLY, working at the senior manager level as an employee for “big 4″ CPA firm (7 years) and as a technical manager / employee at the VP level with two major global banks (8 years). I have my own consulting company and the people who work for me (with the exception of a couple of new / junior people) ane not “generalists” by any measure. The hiring process is VERY rigorous and fortunately we have been able to avoid the generalist and zero in on some very impressive talent among people with various “certifications”.
My (our) interest in Use Cases is part of our overall strategy of staying abreast of current trends and practices in the technical areas and industry (financial services primarily that we serve. Writing use cases is by no means new for any of us. We have done in practice, just about everything you have addressed in your papers and have even bought your book (Applying Use Cases – 2nd Edition, A Practical Guide) and books on the topic by other authors, such as Alistair Cockburn’s “Writing Effective Use Cases”.
Hopefully, you will take these comments constructively.Your papers have been “worthwhile reading” and I thank you for sending them.
Regards.
John McFarlane
Hi John -
I always appreciate getting your emails. You are very thoughtful and it is great to get feedback from someone with different experience.
My view of the world comes, of course, from my own experience in a particular market. A lot of years (over 20 now), but still just one viewpoint.
I was telling someone just today “I don’t have to know everything.” Meaning that I really appreciate input from other people. He thought that was funny, but isn’t it just so true. The older I get, the more I realize how little I know. What is that old saying? “The older I get, the less I know.”
Your comments give me another way of looking at certification.
Thanks a bunch!
Geri