General Certification Questions & Answers

This FAQ excerpted and adapted with permission from chapter 1 of Get Certified and Get Ahead (various editions) by Anne Martinez (McGraw-Hill, 1998, 1999, 2000). All rights reserved.

1.What Does Certified Mean?
2. What Certifications Are There?
3. Who Benefits From Certification Programs?
4. Will Certification Help Me Earn More?
5. How Will Certification Affect My Marketability?
6. Can Certification Compensate For Inexperience?
7. Can Certification Help Me Move Into Something New?
8. Which Program Is Best For Me?
9. How Much Will It Cost?
10. Is Financial Assistance Available For Certification Training?
11. How Long Does Earning Certification Take?
12. Where Will I Have To Go For Certification Training?
13. Do I Need A College Degree?
14. How Do I Decide Between An MBA Or Certification?
15. What If I Don't Remember How To Study?
16. What Resources Are Available To Help Me With Certification?
17. What Resources Provide Current Certification News?
18. How Can I Promote Myself And My Certification?
19. What’s The Future Of Computer Certification?
20. Can I Really Advance My Career Through Certification?

1. What Does Certified Mean?

Certification provides independent verification of a certain level of expertise in a particular area. Basically, it means you’ve completed the steps required to receive a particular designation. But this basic definition comes with a weakness--in some cases, individuals can become "certified" simply by paying a particular membership fee or by attending the required seminar. Such certifications are meaningless and a waste of time and money.

Certifications that mean something are about achieving designations that demonstrate to your employer and/or clients that you are, indeed, an expert in a particular area or areas, and that a reputable, recognizable organization is willing to attest to that.

Such certifications typically arise from a scenario like this: a computer--related organization, vendor, or consortium identifies a particular function that requires specific skills, knowledge, and expertise--for example, intranet security. They detail just what those skills are and which knowledge is critical. This information makes up the common body of knowledge (CBOK) related of the specialty. The sponsoring organization also identify a series of steps that will enable you to obtain the targeted level, and they implement methods of assessing your progress. Certification is conferred when you prove that you have, in fact, obtained the specified abilities and knowledge.

With many certifications, you’ll also be granted a privileged relationship with the program’s sponsor. The relationship can include priority technical support, early product updates, access to special forums, or other perks that will enable you to perform at a higher level.

2. What Certifications Are There?

You’ve probably heard of certifications granted by Microsoft, Novell, and maybe a few others. But most information systems pros don’t realize that there are currently more than 200 technical certifications you can earn. You can become a 3COM Master of Network Science (MNS), Sun Certified Java Developer, Certified Network Expert (CNX), or an IBM Certified AS/400 Professional System Administrator, just to name a few.

With so many certifications out there, it’s helpful to divide them into categories by type of sponsor. The largest chunk of the certification list is taken up by vendors who offer certifications related to their product lines. Cisco Systems, IBM, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), Adobe, Microsoft, Novell, and Bay Networks are examples. In fact, the vendor-sponsored category of certifications is so expansive that everything else can reasonably be grouped into one additional category: vendor-independent (a.k.a. vendor-neutral) certifications.

Vendor-independent certifications include those sponsored by professional groups. As examples, the Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP) developed the Certified Computing Professional (CCP) designation, the A+ Service Technician Certification is overseen by the Computer Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), and the Network Professional Association (NPA) has come out with the Certified Network Professional (CNP) program.

The vendor-independent group also includes certifications developed by independent training companies. Learning Tree International, a well-known training company, has developed it’s own certification programs covering a variety of technologies. ProSoft administers a series of Certified Internet Webmaster certifications.

Certifications can have a broad focus, such as open systems, or hone in on the details of a particular technology, such as the Unix operating system or TCP/IP. There are many to choose from, depending on your goals and needs. A few certifications enjoy much wider recognition than most, but that doesn’t mean the others won’t prove valuable to you. It’s all a matter of matching your work goals, time availability, and financial resources to a certification program. If you choose one of the lesser-known certifications, you may have to take greater pains in explaining and promoting it, but if it’s in-line with your goals, it’s a better choice than an instantly recognized certification that doesn’t relate to what you really want to accomplish.

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