General Certification Questions & Answers

 Page 9 of 9     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

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.

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?

18. How Can I Promote Myself And My Certification?

To make the most of your certification, you’ll want to learn how to maximize its value as a career tool. Filing it away in a cabinet won’t do that. The most obvious thing to do is advertise your new status by adding it to your resume and business cards, but don’t stop there. You can also learn to be your own PR person. With a little effort you can get your name out in the world as an expert in your field. The Internet is an excellent tool for this purpose. Through well-planned use of web pages, forums, and other Internet resources, you can get your name to pop up in association with your area of certification. But be careful to abide by Internet etiquette (often called netiquette); indiscriminate self-promotion will annoy other Internet users and ultimately work against you. You can also establish expert status by providing useful information to media outlets such as newspapers and television.

There are also techniques you can use to move up in the ranks at your current company or in billing rates if you’re an independent. These include finding ways to demonstrate your enhanced value, and simply asking your boss for a raise or promotion. After you obtain a certification, you might also decide that it’s time to move on to a new company or perhaps become an independent contractor or consultant.

19. What’s The Future Of Computer Certification?

The value of computer professionalcertifications appears to be on the rise. Judging by the rapid emergence of new programs, big business and professional organizations appear eager and able to fuel the market.

Consider that approximately 445,000 Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs) are already in the job market, along with more than 140,000 Novell CNEs and 55,000 ICCP Computer Certified Professionals (CCPs) , and those are just a few of the biggies.

Nonetheless, there is reason to believe that the certification marketplace is still young, and like a young child, charging ahead at great speed but not necessarily in a straight line. Many factions--professional associations, software and hardware vendors, nonprofit organizations, and consortiums--are working themselves into the picture, and right now that’s not too hard to do.

But as the marketplace matures, stratification is likely. Just as traditional academics has two-year degrees, four-year degrees, and postgraduate levels, certifications are likely to break into basic, advanced, and exceptional designations, with plenty of special interest/continuing-education offerings on the side. And, as with academic degrees, there will likely be a significant correlation between certification level and salary level.

In January 1997 IBM, Lotus Development, Netscape, Sun Microsystems, and Novell formed a worldwide training and certification consortium to establish standards for Internet-related certification programs. These are not companies that jump first and worry about the landing area later. Their joint commitment strongly suggests that certification is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future, even if their vision has not fully materialized.

20. Can I Advance My Career Through Certification?

Many computer people are increasing their earnings by getting certified. They are finding great personal satisfaction in measuring themselves against the latest and best technologies and receiving independent confirmation that they have what it takes. And they are using certification to bridge to a fresh specialty, add in-depth expertise, or bolster professional credentials.

But not everyone who completes a certification program walks away a satisfied customer. Sometimes precious time and money spent on training returns nothing but a sense of disappointment. When that happens, it’s usually because either the program wasn’t well matched to individual goals and aspirations, or because the person didn’t know how to take advantage of the certification once they received it.

Neither shortcoming is surprising since most people are aware of a mere fraction of the certifications open to them. You’ll should learn what you need to know to differentiate between the 200 plus certification options, how to select and obtain one, which mistakes to avoid, and how to get the most out of a certification once you’ve earned it. Do that, and yes, you really can advance your career through certification.