On the value and meaning of IT certifications.

I love certifying and have earned 25+ Technical certifications in my field. In this article, I'm going to explore misconceptions about certifications, the meaning of certifications, and share my own method of self study.

Misconceptions and meaning:

Comments I've heard over the years:

• "I hired a guy with a certification, and he couldn't do the job"
• "Being certified doesn't make you an expert"
• "Being certified doesn't mean you make more money"
• "I don't need a certificate to prove I know my job"
• "Hands-on Experience is more valid than theory"

What certifications actually do:

• Confirm a baseline of foundational knowledge
• Provide recruiters an objective metric of your expertise
• Facilitate a structured approach to knowledge acquisition and validation
• Direct you to learn solutions to problems not yet seen.
• Confirm breadth, but do not confer depth
• Open doors
• Demonstrate ability to self-start and learn.

What certifications do not do:

• Prove that someone is an expert
• Automatically get you a raise
• Replace hands-on experience.

The eternal tension between theory and practice:

Those who prefer to "learn on the job", can fall into the trap of only learning what they need to, in order to solve the problems they come across, or what interests them personally.

But there's a certain tunnel-vision to such an approach - Environments tend to experience a narrow range of similar problems.

A certification, on the other hand, provides a roadmap of study that extends beyond the boundaries of personal interest, or familiar recurring problems.

Immanuel Kant first identified the tension between theory and practice, which can be summarized in his own words:

"Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play."

Some folks like to start with theoretical knowledge, and some like to learn in a hands-on fashion. It is a mistake to assume one method is sufficient and stick to it.

Regardless of where you prefer to start, you should be iterating between the two. Practical application gives relevance to your knowledge, and the theory provides context and breadth.... and combined, they are powerful.

Tell all your friends, but not a whole bunch:

So, you've passed your exam, and announced it on Linked-In, but how do you let your teammates know without being a jerk?

Certifications, wielded improperly, can cause rifts with colleagues. If you get a certification, notify your manager, and make a celebratory announcement to your teammates, and never mention it again.

Mentioning more than once could be seen as lording it over others (it is), and is an unpleasant thing to do.

Instead, create just enough awareness to help your team know that you've been investing in your own knowledge, and that you're ready and able to step into new challenges.

Conversely, don't hide your accomplishment out of unnecessary humility. Your teammates and managers need to know what contributions you're able to make.

My certification process:

I've gotten very methodical about how I certify, turning it into an easily repeatable workflow:

1. Pick a certification, review the requirements. Locate the supporting source documentation online.
2. Create a google document to paste notes, links and images into. A google doc is available on whichever of my computers you happen to be using.
3. Find training material: Vendor provided materials are usually the best, and often the cheapest. Paid materials are not always the best. Honestly, you shouldn't have to pay for training materials in this day and age.
4. Pacing: Work through study materials at a steady daily rate. I set daily boundaries of no-less than 15 minutes, and no more than 1 hour. These limits ensure I at least get *something* done, but also protect me from wearing myself out. Take notes.
5. Notes: You don't need to copy everything. Copy links, commands, significant statements, mental reminders, and chapter summaries. Writing in your own words helps imprint the knowledge. Also, use a Screen capture tool to capture images and diagrams and paste into your google doc.
6. Repeat: After completing the training materials, I find a different set of training materials and do it all over again. It will be mostly review, which will solidify what I've learned, but there will be differences which will fill in any gaps.
7. The final review: I put aside training materials, and review my own notes. When in doubt, I refer to source documentation. I keep reviewing until I am completely sick of it. We're all wired differently, but studying-exhaustion is a good indicator of exam-readiness for me.
8. The exam: Most employers will pay for an exam. Check before you schedule. Don't let it stop you if they won't - It's still an excellent investment in yourself.

On cheating:

My first IT certification was in 2001. Since then, I've seen a gradual increase in the security of the testing centers, in terms of what one can take in to an exam, what one wears, and the degree of scrutiny. These provide hints as to how cheating is being done.

By 2015, I was seeing physical searches of my person I hadn't seen before, including a pat-down.

By 2022, I had to remove any extra articles of clothing. No sweater, no hoodie, no shawl, no hat. Just shirt, pants. Mildly uncomfortable if one tends to be cold, as I do.

It's a gradual escalation of measure, countermeasure. It's my personal belief that there are massive online ecosystems dedicated to cheating.

Things have gotten more interesting with the advent of online proctoring, and it's vexatious and cumbersome security theatre. (Looking at you, Hashi).

Is the effort to cheat less than the effort to study? Clearly, it is happening, but ethics aside, it does not even seem economical to me.

Plus, it deprives you of those dopamine hits that come with "I understand this now!"

Tips and Caveats:

• Consistency is KEY. Don't skip days with the expectation to cram later. Life is busy, and later never arrives. Do a little, every day, and win like a tortoise.
• Certify on what you're working on. Your daily work will support your certification training, your certification training will support your daily work.
• Ignore the doubters and naysayers! Don't let the doubts and criticisms of others hold you back. There is nothing to lose by investing in yourself.
• Recognize the difference between a certificate of completion, and a certification. A certificate of completion can be gotten for attending a 1 day workshop, or a 10 minute online course. It only "Certifies" that someone has attended training. It does not confirm that they've passed any evaluation. Beware of those who misrepresent, and don't do it yourself.
• After the investment of learning the material, and passing the exam, you have to use it. If the knowledge is not put into practice, it will be lost.

Happy Certifying....

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Credits: This image generated by DALL-E using the prompt “Please generate an image of a man surrounded by many IT certificates in the style of Dali”.