As long as I have been in IT, there has been a debate raging about whether or not IT certifications are valuable. Oftentimes, the side for certifications talks about how it proves that the certified professional has demonstrated that they have knowledge and skills to perform a desired job function. They argue that it’s validation that a resume often can’t tell you. Those arguing against certifications argue that they are often organized out of a vendor’s marketing organization, or that cheating runs rampant, or that they know lots of people without certifications that can deploy rings around those with certifications.
When I got my first certifications, they sent you real swag. You could wear this pin on your suit to look dapper!
Now you get a PDF file.
While I am not the authoritative arbiter of whether a certification is valuable or not, I thought I would provide some perspective from my own career. In my “hands-on” days, I was an avid collector of certifications. I got my first major IT certification in 2004 right after getting out of college. At the time, I was a “shadow IT” employee. I worked with technology managing some servers, but not for the IT organization. I spent the first year of my career studying for and was able to get the coveted (at the time) Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE). I quickly followed it up with the MCSE:Security credential and then added the MCSE:Messaging credential.
Shortly after getting the certifications, I was recruited by IT to be a systems engineer with responsibility for the brand new Active Directory and Exchange environments. I want to be clear that getting those first certifications put me in an opportunity to get better hands-on experience than I would have been able to get had I not been certified. There’s very little chance they would have taken recent-college-grad Steve and put him in a position to be responsible for the authentication and messaging infrastructure for the entire campus. So, while it’s valid to say that a certification is no substitute for hands-on experience, I would argue that getting the certification can sometimes help get you that hands-on experience.
Afterward, I went on to earn my VMware Certified Professional (VCP) certification, and then re-certified with Microsoft to keep that fresh. Being certified by these vendors gave my comments at the design table more weight and more credibility to my management chain – who were themselves not certified nor particularly hands-on with the technology. They felt comfortable with my advice because I had proven that on some level, I knew what I was talking about.
Now that I’m a hiring manager, I am often left to consider whether I will give weight to an applicant’s certifications – and I generally do weight them relatively heavily. Why? Because even if it doesn’t prove that the candidate is a master with the tested technology, it does prove that they cared enough about their career to spend the time to study, go to the testing center, and sit through a lengthy exam. And more often than not, what makes a great employee in any field is their passion for the craft. So, yes – with me, they get you moved up the list of potential candidates because you’ve invested the time to prove you care.
If you got your certifications from Hogwarts, you either:
A: Got ripped off, big time.
B: Probably don’t need IT. Wizard that tech up!
Now, to provide the counterbalance to the previous paragraph: I still look for experience. If you apply to a role on my team and you have a ton of certifications but your resume says that you’ve been working in hotel maintenance for years, I may very well hire you – just not for the Principal Engineer slot I’m looking to fill. However, the fact that you have the certifications may mean that once you get your foot in the door you can capitalize on every opportunity to prove that you have the skills to be advanced quicker than teammates who lack certifications.
And the experience helps balance out another often-cited complaint with certifications: that cheating is rampant. This complaint is probably valid. After all - as long as there are tests, there will always be someone trying to cheat on them. However, I think most vendors that publish the major certifications such as VMware, AWS, Cisco, Microsoft, etc. have moved to turn many of their exams into more practical exams using virtual simulations. These are clearly harder to cheat on than just getting a brain dump of an exam when it’s all “A, B, C, D” multiple choice. Of course, the gold standard is always the practical exam and/or in-person defense. These are clearly reserved for the elite certifications such as VCDX, CCIE, etc. If we could somehow scale that method, very few would argue that someone got certified who should not have.
Ultimately, I find it interesting that IT certifications are called into question by people who work inside the IT industry when there is very little controversy over certifications in other industries. For instance, almost every shop you bring your car to will boast about ASE certified technicians and being a board-certified physician is almost essential in most medical specialties. We require dieticians to pass a rigorous certification process to give nutrition information, and the last time I checked, the C in CPA stands for certified. Rarely do I hear accountants say that the certification was pointless and that it’s not a predictor of competence. Of course, IT certifications and a CPA are not exactly the same thing, are they?
What’s the difference between any of those other industries and IT? From my vantage point, it’s that the certifications are provided and managed by the community – the industry itself – rather than multiple vendors trying to certify on their own technologies or processes. This to me is a major gap in IT. We don’t have enough vendor-neutral certifications that ensure a high-level of technical competence in the overall discipline. I know we have certifications from CompTIA, but I have yet to meet someone in IT who believes that A+ certification is the path to true IT mastery.
John Malkovich isn’t sure about IT certifications.
He doesn’t have to be. He’s a millionaire actor - and none of this matters to him at all.
One point that I think is overlooked is that many IT roles are filled by non-technical recruiters or hiring managers. Someone in HR likely doesn’t know the difference between a VCIX and an A+ certification. However, they do know that you have something that makes you look like you took extra training. This is good for you, but don’t rely on your certification. I’ve seen resumes with huge certification logos at the top that effectively scream that the candidate has passed a test – and likely done little else with their career. It’s up to all of us who live this stuff day in and day out to educate folks in these roles about what to look for - and potential warning signs, such as having a prestigious certification but no related work experience.
So, some final thoughts based on your situation or status:
If you are starting out in your career or looking to switch to a different company: Having IT certifications may make you more marketable to a new employer who doesn’t know much about you. While they may not give you a huge advantage at an employer who already knows you very well if you’re looking to switch, it may very well be worth the investment of time – especially if you’re looking to move into a niche that may be new to you.
If you are a seasoned IT pro with a resume that reads like a glossary for a Packt book: You may not benefit much from certifications. However, I think you’re doing a disservice to the industry, and to those looking to enter the field, advance their career, or make a name for themselves by trashing them.
If you are in a position to help create or improve vendor-agnostic industry certifications: Will you hurry up and do it, already? This could be really valuable – especially for those that are looking to make a career change.
If you work for a vendor that publishes certification exams: You have a tough job. Try to focus on making sure you’re testing a candidate’s problem-solving ability more than you’re testing rote memorization. In the field, I’d rather have someone who knows how to figure something out than someone who memorized the documentation.
If you’re a non-technical person who is hiring someone for an IT role: Congratulations on finding this blog! You must have gone deep into Google results to get here. Know that certifications can indicate someone has taken the time to validate their skills, but if the rest of the resume doesn’t look congruent with that then maybe do a little more digging. Also, spend some time learning what the requirements for achieving a stated certification are. It will help you be more effective at bringing in great people.
Okay, some time for reflection:
Do you have any certifications? How much time did you put into getting them? Was it worth it?
Have you ever met a “paper” certified IT pro? How could you tell they didn’t have the chops?
How can we as an industry provide a means of validation that isn’t tied to a vendor? Let me know in the comments!
