Certifications are truly useless. Only if....
LN Mishra CBAP, CBDA, CPOA, ECBA, CCBA, AAC, CCA
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This is a very interesting discussion topic among professionals.
Many professionals support certifications and many also oppose.
Before I go ahead with the topic, I would like to narrate a very interesting real life story that happened to me and my classmates when we were studying post-graduation program in management.
One of our professors asked us to be formally dressed for a session. One of our classmates had a very interesting question for the professor, “Sir, when Mr. Russi Mody (who was the chairman of Tata Steel) can wear very colorful clothes, what is the need for junior professionals like us to wear formal clothes?”
For those who may not know, Tata Steel is one of the world’s largest steel manufacturer who purchased Corus Steel of UK sometime back. Tata group is the largest and most respected industrial conglomerate in India.
Our learned professor paused for a minute and then he replied, “You can also wear colorful clothes but first be like Russi Mody. "
This explains that the same rules don't apply to all. If you are established in corporate world and you have a past which is proven, then you don't need anything more to prove.
However how many of us have reached the stature of Russi Mody?
Back to my topic, I see 5 types of professionals:
- Those who love certifications (Disclaimer - I belong to this category),
- Young professionals who are looking for jobs without any work experiences,
- Those who hate certifications,
- Those who criticize certifications publicly but pursue it privately,
- And the last types who think about certifications after they are laid off.
Majority of professionals do not care about certifications.
Possible reasons could be:
- It takes a significant effort (much more than the cost of training and certification) to complete most certifications. Most certifications require rigorous test for qualifying professionals such CBAP?.
- Many professional are simply afraid of giving any exam as they have not taken exam for a long time.
- To some extent, certification bodies are also to be blamed where they ask very bookish and memorization based questions to senior professional. Any senior professional juggles with many aspects, such as manage client, manage projects, manage organisational activities and also manage family commitments. Such examination pattern demotivates many professionals to go for the certifications.
- Many professionals also believe that there is no additional value of the certification. They believe that the practices followed in their organisations are better than what the body of knowledge prescribes.
In my humble opinion, following types of professionals truly do not need any certification. Those who:
- Always buy unbranded product as they do not see any additional value in buying branded products.
- Professionals who are truly happy with their organisation and vice-versa. The only problem here is that the love your organisation has for you can drastically change in just couple of bad quarterly performances.
- Your organisation is doing extremely well and has an assured contract with you to pay you 2 years’ salary as severance package.
- There is nothing more for you to learn by studying an exhaustive body of knowledge as you have already experienced all varieties of experiences possible.
I have been working in business analysis field for more than 24 years. I spend every month close to 200 hours working, studying, and researching business analysis. I still find I probably haven't understood even 5% of what I ought to be knowing.
When I took my CBAP? examination, I studied the business analysis body of knowledge more than 10 times, I have learnt a lot of new things which I never experienced in my professional life.
No one gets opportunity to explore aspects which are beyond our current roles and responsibilities.
True value that I received by going in for certifications are:
1. Maintain a culture of continual learning for myself.
2. Have the courage to be judged on my knowledge by an independent standard.
3. Give confidence to my partners that when they speak to me, they are talking to a professional who understands the subject reasonably well.
When I see professionals who haven't done a single professional certification in a decade, I sincerely doubt their commitment to their own self development and their commitment to their profession.
Let me close my topic with another story another real life story.
At IBM, I and few of my colleagues were asked to go through a six sigma training and project. One of my colleagues asked the director as to why we are going through this additional program when our salaries are going to remain same after the training.
My CEO had a very apt reply saying you are inside the discussion room with the CEO and others are not.
My sincere request to all my professional friends would be, do not to sacrifice your self-development in the comfort of your job and organisation.
Given the turbulent times, organizations will stop loving many of the employees whom they pampered for years. If you have invested well in yourself, your organisation will see better value with you and possibly keep you on board. In a worse situation, you have a better chance to compete in the cutthroat marketplace.
Choice is yours.
You may also be interested in my following related blogs
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Governance Specialist, EPMO, New York Power Authority (NYPA)
7 年I belong to the "Those who love certifications" category as well. At least the learning and then using the knowledge parts. Somewhat like learning a language in HS, it has to be constantly applied to maintain relevance. Sometimes it's hit or miss if your employer/future employer sees their value, yet usually the certifications lead to good ROI.
Sales Management | Revenue Generation | Consulting Sales | P& L Management| Sales Enablement| B2B & B2C
7 年Certifications do help in a big way when the real test called LIFE happens
IT Project and Program Manager | Agile & Waterfall Methodologies
7 年I believe in continual learning. Too many colleagues rely on JUST their experience, but that can often lead to 20 years of bad habits and not knowing there are other, even better, ways to doing something. ex: just because someone has been driving a car for over 30 years, doesn't necessarily mean they are a good driver. I've seen too many multi-decade experienced colleagues think Requirements Analysis means taking dictation from the dev teams (an overpaid Tech writer). But I don't believe the continual learning has to be earning certifications. I've seen too many "certification happy" colleagues, and ones with Masters and even Phd's, who can't run a meeting to save their life. And too many CBAPs who can't write a requirement that is clear, concise, testable, valid, and can be understood by someone who was NOT in the daily meetings. I've seen PMP certified PMs think being a PM is just checking off items on the check list and asking people if they are done yet. Certifications are fine if you have the time and money to meet all the education requirements, and have the time to study - which is really learning what they mean by the questions and what they think is the ideal answer, per their "standard" the BABOK, PMBOK, etc... They are also good, as you mention above, for new people in the field, or if someone is wanting to make themselves more marketable outside their current company. It is also a good way to learn the industry common language - not just what your company has been calling it. Employers should take certifications with a grain of salt, and ask questions that reveal the candidates REAL experience and style, to determine if the candidate is qualified for the position. And just because a person has a certificate, doesn't mean they are qualified to lead or manage anyone - the certificate is to reflect that they are proficient at their job, but the certificate doesn't mean they can lead people out of a room with a single door.
Policy Research Analyst, Research & Policy Analysis, State Grant & Special Programs at PHEAA
7 年I don't think it is fair to assume if someone hasn't pursued a certification that they aren't interested in self-development. It is also a judgment call on you personal ROI. If you are balancing family and work, the ROI just might not be there as some certifications take a significant amount of study and money. Particularly if you plan on staying in your organization and you haven't seen clear evidence that a certification is required for a promotion or getting the job done.
Chief Financial Officer CSBS Group
7 年Well said Mike , having been exposed to Prince2 for 2 years now I completely agree. It is a complete waste of time and adds significantly to the cost of completing simple IT projects.