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I get a lot of e-mails from people who are considering one
kind of IT certification or another, or who are curious about
what such certifications are really worth. In fact, there are
two questions I've been called upon to answer more often than
any other questions, as these people try to figure out if and
when they should chase a certification.
These two questions are:
1. Is an IT certification worth more than a college degree to
employers?
2. What's more important to employers: an IT certification or
experience working with the products?
Let me tackle these questions in order, and share the results
of some recent research with you, as well as my opinions on
these subjects. Before I respond to these questions, I feel
compelled to state some of my own biases on these topics, so
you'll be able to understand the context in which my answers
appear:
1. I think IT certifications represent a great way to show
interest and initiative in technical subject areas.
2. I think ongoing education and study is part of working in
the IT profession.
3. I think there's a big difference between a general education,
like getting a college degree, and obtaining an IT Cert.
4. Many certifications do not test for real-world skills and
abilities, so the value of certification versus experience
is often one-sided in favor of experience. |
All this said, let me now go on to address these two questions.
1. Is an IT certification worth more than a college degree to
employers? (The most common variant of this question is:
Should I finish or obtain my degree, or get an IT
certification instead?)
To a very small extent, the answer to this question is "That
depends on the certification." For extremely high-level and
demanding certifications, like Cisco's CCIE or the high-end
consulting certifications from companies like SAP, JD Edwards,
or Software AG, going through the learning and preparation
required to get the certification represents a level of learning
and effort that's pretty comparable to the learning and effort
required to get a college degree.
That said, many such certifications do expire with time; once
obtained, a college degree may go out of date, but the college
or university will not take it away from you and tell you to
come back to earn another one!
For just about any other kind of IT certification, I believe
that a college degree (particularly, a Bachelor's or more
advanced degree) is worth more to employers than an IT
certification. My research in talking to a group of more than
100 IT employers across a broad spectrum of industries tells me
that they think so, too.
If you find yourself asking this question, and are forced to
choose between one or the other, I recommend that you choose the
degree (but you could always take it in an IT-related subject,
to better prepare yourself for your chosen field of effort).
Another explanation for the importance of a degree, distilled
from my interviews with employers, is that obtaining a degree is
as much about demonstrating general learning skills and
developing good study habits, as it is about mastering any
particular subject matter. Especially in technical fields, most
experts and educators agree that personal knowledge bases must
be refreshed every 5 to 10 years.
Employers look at college degrees, and related honors or academic
achievements, as evidence that an individual can learn new
material as needed, as well as evidence of whatever subject
matter they have studied. But even with a degree in computer
science or MIS, you may still want to pursue IT certification
in addition.
That's why an increasing number of colleges and universities
are offering--and in some cases, requiring--IT certifications
from Novell, Microsoft, Cisco, and so on to the students in
such programs. That's because a college degree only demonstrates
general familiarity with some subject matter or field of study,
where most IT certifications are strongly focused in some
particular field of study, or on some particular vendor's products
and technologies.
In the final analysis, both a college degree and one or more
technical certifications in areas relevant to job activities and
performance create the most desirable combination for most
employers.
2. What's more important to employers: an IT certification or
experience working with the products? (One tell-tale variant
of this question comes out as "I've got a certification, but
no experience, and I can't find a job. What should I do?" I'll
answer this question along with my discussion of the experience
versus certification issue next.)
Although this may come as a shock to many individuals who regard
certifications as the key to improved employment and a bigger
paycheck, every one of the more than 100 employers I talked to, and
every one of the dozen or so technical recruiting firms that I
interviewed, responded to this question by saying: "We always prefer
relevant experience to technical certification." But before you give
up hope, and decide not to pursue the IT certification you've been
considering, let me quickly add some of the important ways that
certification does make a difference, both to employers and
recruiters:
1. Both audiences that I had a deal with (employers and recruiters)
agreed that certification matters most for entry-level positions,
and for junior-level positions in general. The attitude here might
be summarized as "If I have to choose between two candidates who
have similar backgrounds or degrees, and one is certified while
the other is not, I will tend to choose the certified individual."
2. For more senior level positions, experience is much more
important to these audiences than is certification. Most of the
people I interviewed said that for positions paying more than
$75,000 a year, they are far more interested in a person's track
record, and their level of direct, hands-on experience and ability
in dealing with the tools and technologies they must manage, than
they are in the certifications that such an individual may or may
not hold.
All this said, there is a significant minority (about 25%) of such
organizations where they require their IT staff, both junior and
senior, to obtain and maintain current technical certifications,
not just to enter but also to stay in their jobs. The thinking here
appears to be that a current technical certification, on the order
of an MCSE, CNE, or CCNP, is evidence that these individuals are
current in their fields of expertise and up to date on new and
emerging technologies.
Finally, for those who've obtained a technical certification and
still can't get a job, let me explain that "any experience is good
experience." If you look around your community, you'll quickly learn
that many churches, charities, school systems, and not-for-profit
organizations welcome volunteers, even for IT-related positions and
activities. You can probably find one of these organizations in your
area that would welcome any kind of help they can get with their IT
operations. This is not only a great way to get some valuable
experience--and a letter of recommendation to go with it--it's also
a great way to do some good for your community while improving your
employment opportunities at the same time. It's great to help others
while at the same time helping yourself!
Ed Tittel
LANWrights, Inc: Network-Oriented Writing & Consulting.
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