As an engineer I had to evaluate whether or not a technical certification would be of value to me. Much like buying into an investment I had to ask myself if I’d see a return. As the owner of a technology company I now have to evaluate whether or not an individual would be of value to me and the team. An individual in this case must be able to produce a return just like an investment. For after all, they are an investment. This leads me to the crux of this article. How do I value technical certifications as both an engineer and a business owner?
*When evaluating an individual there are many things to observe. For this article I’m going to skip over the long list a human resources expert would give you and focus on certifications only.
Before delving into the value of certifications I’d like to first offer up my opinion on the current state of technical certifications. Over the past 15 years technical certification tests haven’t changed much. Candidates report to a testing center and after proving their identity sit at a computer and take a 60-100 question test. The biggest advancement in 15 years is the use of “simulators” within the test engine. Simulators offer up a much more hands-on testing of skills compared to the very old style multiple choice questions. The biggest problem with certification exams like this is the massive explosion of testing material geared towards simply memorizing all the answers. Candidates can purchase their particular test and memorize all the answers. It’s important to keep in mind that these methods aren’t supported or sponsored by the vendor responsible for the certifications but rather originate from oversees testing centers in Pakistan, etc. who basically record all the test engine output, package it in a usable format, and then sell them for $60-125 per test. Ultimately this leads to what’s called “papering” a certification test. Papering a test simply means you passed the certification without actually obtaining the knowledge to have passed “legitimately”.
Although the above methodology is questionable I will say that the same resources do come in handy for candidates wanting to confirm they truly know the material. I personally wish more vendors would create top-level certifications similar to the Cisco CCIE and Juniper equivalent. These two top-level certifications provide a proctored lab exam where candidates must prove they know material. Given their own network equipment and a lab book with design requirements candidates must design a solution according to specifications set forth in the lab book. There is no way to “paper” a test like this and it does prove a candidate knows what they are doing as it pertains to a certification checklist. It does not however prove that the engineer is “good” at what they do. It only proves they know what they are doing. Being “good” at what they do will always be left to personal qualities, references, experience, and the interview process.
My point for explaining this is as follows. A certification will only be as good as the candidate who holds it. I know CCNA-level engineers who are far smarter and knowledgeable than a CCNP. I know some people who have no Cisco certifications but they could hang with Cisco CCIEs. So after I’ve just said all this you may be wondering how I value a certification if the certification is only as good as the beholder.
I value certifications as more of a personality gauge than I do a technical gauge. An individual with legitimate (not paper) certifications prove several things to me:
- The candidate has a strong desire to prove what they know
- They seek recognition
- They value achievement milestones
- They value structured learning
- They are taking an active effort to improve themselves
- They want to grow as a person and engineer
When I receive a resume from a candidate with 15 years of experience and no certifications it’s a big negative and very often the resume goes straight to the trash. It’s not to say they aren’t a good engineer but they often end up lacking one or more of the above qualities. All too often I hear them complain that “I don’t need them”. This is code for “I’m too good for certifications”, or “I’m afraid I could fail at certifications when somebody who knows half as much has them”. Some candidates might have worked in the private sector and never had a “need” for them. One could argue they lack the qualities mentioned above as well. As a mentor I always suggest the achievement of certifications on any candidates behalf.
If you come across a candidate with no certifications always ask why they don’t have them. Sometimes life just happens and candidates don’t have the money for it or they have a family and kids. Obstacles like this make it very difficult to work on certifications. But even with these obstacles certifications are obtainable. Just look at what single moms do in a day and ask yourself if you don’t have the time.
In conclusion I’ll say that there are a lot of really good people without certifications and there are a lot of less talented people with lots of certifications. But, when it comes time to evaluate between two good candidates the one with the certifications most often has the edge. Good personal qualities are a lot harder to find in a candidate than technical skills. So for anybody out there looking for a job and growing your career my advice to you is to get those certs. Remember when you were told to eat all your food because people were starving in some foreign land? Well now you have people in foreign lands starving for your job and it could be you looking for food.
About Michael O'Coners