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Are Non-Technical Certifications Worth Earning?
Nerval's Lobster writes: Everybody knows that certain technical certifications can boost your career. For developers and others, though, is it worth earning non-technical certifications such as the PMP (Project Management Professional), CRISC (which certifies that you're good at managing risk)? The short answer, of course, might be, 'Yes, if you plan on moving into management, or something highly specialized.' But for everybody else, it's hard to tell whether certain certifications are worth the time and money, on the nebulous hope that they'll pay off at some point in the future, or if you're better off just focusing on the technical certifications for certain hard skills.
What I find interesting is that most people who earn certificates and then place all those acronyms after their name are the ones that have difficulty adjusting to the real world. Critical thinking is more important than certificates. Most certifications teach you a specific way to do things and not to go off the rails.
Half of writing history is hiding the truth.
There are thousands of different types of certifications, so many that most are unheard of and useless.
As a matter of fact, if you send me $100, I will certify you as being a online purchasing specialist. I'll even print you a nice Word 97 template certificate of completion to hang on your basement wall!
I don't have a snazzy acronym for this certificate filled in yet; I'm trying to find descriptive words that will fit the acronym A.S.S.H.A.T.
This should certainly make your resume memorable to future hiring managers.
Left MS Windows for Linux Mint and never looked back!
Vote for Bernie in 2016!
Ahhhh, yes.
The answer is PMP is a useful certification, but like every cert there's always a bunch of clowns that can pass the course but can't manage a wet paper bag. Experience and a good track record is always a much better indicator than a cert.
"Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem." -- Jefferson
The most important certs just about anyone can get that most will never put on a resume would be a First Aid/CPR/BLS course. If you are an outdoors person around bodies of water a lot, a lifeguard course wouldn't be too bad to have under your belt as well.
After that, certs really become more specialized training in whatever your work field is...
Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos
Are Non-Technical Certifications Worth Earning?
The question was answered in the summary, "'Yes, if you plan on moving into management, or something highly specialized.'"
Really, what more is there to say?
Search your favorite job postings website for project manager jobs. Ten out of ten of them will say that a PMP certification is either required or preferred.
A few reasons employers look for a PMP certification: a) several years of professional project management experience are required in order to qualify to take the exam, b) it shows a certain level of commitment to furthering one's career as a project manager, and c) if someone has taken and passed the PMP exam, it means they're at least familiar with standard project management tools, techniques, and practices.
Tom me, those seem like reasonable reasons for adding the PMP certification as a requirement for a project manager job posting. But it definitely means that if you want to move your project management career forward, you should really consider the PMP certification.
Building Better Software
Although the articles mentions that there is a meaningful financial benefit to the certifications, the challenge is finding industries and companies that recognize and value the certifications. The companies that I have worked at (in particular software) the certifications would be mostly meaningless as a recognition of skill and understanding. Hardware, logistics, regulated companies will likely have a higher value in a PMP or a CRISC.
However, there is a secondary worth to these certifications as a professional. You may end up seeing the world differently. With practice you can begin to intuitively see elements of the certification in your daily professional life. This secondary insight will help you as a professional.
For example, developers with PMP and CRISC don't "pad" estimates, they estimate the risks and unknowns, something that a lot of regular developers don't do. They see estimates as ranges or with relative confidence, those levels of ranges help give better estimates to make better decisions.
The certifications help you indirectly as a professional. That said, you can still skip the certification and read the text books (like the PMBOK), but that won't necessarily fill in all the gaps you may have in understanding.
I have a relative who got some kind of computer repair certification, but I don't want him anywhere near my computers! I don't have any special certifications, and I'm always the one explaining to him how to fix computers. Not all certifications are created equal, but many aren't worth the paper they are printed on.
Better to hire someone with a Bachelors in Business Accounting who has actually some experience in project management instead.
I studied PMP and PMBOK in my masters work and I find the cert to be quite useful. I think it is disappointing the amount of spamming that goes on around what is actually one of the most useful things, outside of programming, for a programmer to know.
It is not an easy certification to gain and the leadership roles imply a certain skill set that is beyond PMP itself that involve the development of emotional intelligence (or people hacking as I like to think of it). In my experiences it has proved to be the most useful in improving my ability to interact with people and waaaay outside of my comfort zone when I took it on.
So far it has had a very positive impact on my career.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
If you're asking which certs give a high probability that the certificate holder can do the job, that's one thing. If you're asking which certs will get you on the short list for a hiring interview, that's another.
PMP may actually appear on both lists. I know that it appears on a lot of postings for Project Managers. And project mgmt isn't just managing Gantt charts. It's a whole sub-discipline under Industrial Engineering.
The big certs right now appear to be for security pros.
We are the 198 proof..
There are really two components to this. First, is the time/effort/expense worth it to gain knowledge that may be useful in your profession or career generally. Second, will that certificate confer any additional monetary benefits or different/more advanced position in the near term.
The former is completely independent of the latter. Not everything you may know or do is assigned a tangible value by your current or future employer but having such knowledge may make your job easier to do or allow you to outperform others.
The later may often be true for all but the most specialized certifications. Rather than just list a bunch of acronyms it might be better to reference having 'a number of additional certifications in related fields' and allow the hiring firm to enquire further if they are interested. By doing so you show you continue to improve and stay current for its own sake and not to wave a bunch of letters at someone.