It Pays to Get Certified

In the highly competitive world of IT, it pays to get certified. Certifications are used to confirm that a particular individual has reached an essential level of knowledge or competency. Having the right certification opens up opportunities towards better employment and career opportunities.

A college diploma is one example of a certification (academic). Getting a diploma certifies that the holder has met all requirements for his/her chosen field of specialization. Let’s say for example, in the field of IT, having a diploma in Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering (BS-CoE) indicates that the holder has undergone a (typically) five-year college education program that utilizes a curriculum that was deemed appropriate by our government’s department of education.

Although in general the BS-CoE curriculum is common for all schools, there are certain parts of the curriculum that some schools (those with “independent” status) have the prerogative to modify as they see best. Also, each school will have their own way of implementation, some more effective than the others. It gets more complicated when we take into consideration the global scene, wherein our BS-CoE curriculum may or may not be similar with that of other schools in other countries.

In such a scenario, there is a need to have a standard that is commonly recognized and implemented nationally, and to a certain degree internationally. That is one area where certifications are highly beneficial. Let’s say for example you passed a particular Microsoft Certification Program (MCP). Your MCP certification is valid and will be recognized as a stamp of competence wherever you choose to use it locally or even internationally. So in a way, certification provides for a commonly recognized standard of measure in the otherwise diverse field of IT education.

But having a MCP certification may not do you much good should you happen to work in an organization inclined more towards open source than Microsoft’s proprietary technologies. A Java certification will be more appropriate in such a scenario. But what if the organization does not utilize Java in their development also? But that is the reality of certifications. You have to focus on getting the certification that is most appropriate for your particular purpose, and you should get those that will most likely be recognized by your target audience.

Certifications tied up to a particular vendor or brand, such as MCP, Cisco certification, etc., are called vendor-specific (or vendor-developed) certifications. If you are utilizing the products of such vendors, having their particular certification is most advantageous. A second type of certification is the national (country-developed) certification. An example of a national certification is the “bar exam” for those who wish to become lawyers. Passing such certification legally gives you the rights and privileges to practice the law profession.

A third type of certification is the vendor-neutral certification. As the name implies, such certifications are not tied-up to a particular vendor. Usually they indicate compliance to a defined level of skill, knowledge or process. To gain recognition, such certifications are either developed or reviewed by leaders/experts of their respective fields. An example of such certification is the PhilNITS certification. Having such certification implies that the person has the essential knowledge level of the fundamental concepts of IT, and the fundamental skills to design, develop and test software programs. The PhilNITS certification was designed by Japan’s IT experts and leaders, and is well recognized in Japan and several Asian countries already.

Listed below are just a few potential benefits of certifications. They offer a wide range of benefits, not only to the holder of the certificate, but also to the community (or school, group, company, etc.) as well, wherein their benefits are multiplied several-folds :

Skill Development and Improvement
This is one of the most notable benefits of certifications. Skill related certifications are generally created or reviewed by experts and industry leaders, and attaining them means you have met the essential skill level. It is as if getting personally reviewed and audited by several experts. Even for those who have tried but did not pass the certification, the simple act of working on improving oneself to the level required for the certification consequently results in an improvement of one’s skill.

Appreciation and Recognition
Having the right certificate can give you that fitting recognition you deserve, whether you are looking for a job, seeking a promotion, building or improving a business relationship, or simply just wanting to showcase your competency and competitiveness. For example, having a PhilNITS-FE certification results brings about recognition as a competent IT engineer, with a solid foundation of IT concepts and programming skills.

Balanced Skill and Knowledge
In the process of preparing for a certification, the coverage of the certification exam is usually broken down into several categories to better manage reviewing for them. By knowing your performance on each of the categories, you can identify which areas you are strong and weak at. By focusing on your weak areas to improve them, it will result to a more balanced skill.

Standardized and Objective Measure of Skills
As mentioned earlier in this blog entry, schools differ in the effectiveness level of their education. And although most are claiming as being the best in a particular field, without a standardized measurement, it is impossible to objectively measure their respective performances. Having a common certification provides for a common measure and also a structure to which the school curriculum can base on. For companies on the other hand, it helps simplify recruiting and hiring of new engineers.