Value of Certification in Professional Career

There are several professions that require niche skills. For instance, in a software development world, there are several niches like java development, database programming, web development, app development etc. For a software engineer, it will be impossible to excel in all fields. Therefore, experts in their field generally focus on one or two niche areas to improve their skills. With the emerging need of subject matter experts, third party independent organizational authorities started to give certifications to professionals in specific fields. For instance, PMI, Project Management Institute is one of the most popular of these authorities. PMI assesses the competence of a project professional and if the candidate passes the exam, he or she gets the PMP (Project Management Professional Certification). Not only independent organizations but also vendors like Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Cisco and many other give their certifications as well. These certifications show that the competence level of the professional is above a level. However, value of these certifications become arguable all the time. We will investigate this in this post. What Makes a Professional Certification Valuable There is not an easy yes or no for this question. It depends on the credibility of the organization giving the certificate, assessment it requires and eligibility requirements of the certification as well. First of all, a certification program must require a proper education to be attended as a prerequisite. Education is the biggest investment that a person can do to him or herself. No doubt about it. If a professional enrolls in a training, he will be getting the required skills to conduct a profession respectively. For instance, CAPM certification of PMI requires its candidates to enroll in a 23 hours CAPM training before sitting on exam. By this way, PMI ensures that the CAPM aspirant will get relevant project management terminology and information. PMI also seeks at least high school or equivalent level education level to sit for CAPM certification exam. After the CAPM aspirant applies for the CAPM certification, his or her application may hit the audit and PMI asks for proofs of attended CAPM training, project experience and education level. After the CAPM training, the CAPM aspirant has to sit for a 3 hours CAPM certification exam and he must score at least 61% from the 150 multiple choice questions. PMI conducts this exam through prometric exam centers and online. At the end of the exam, the applicant shows his results immediately. These eligibility requirements makes CAPM certification credible in the eyes of many employers. Because, employers know that the CAPM certification holder already passed the quality requirements of PMI and this is a proof of a good competence and background level. Certified Professionals Command 14% Higher Income Resit Gulec, Founder & CEO of Master of Project Academy, states that “We trained 50,000+ professionals since 2014 for certification exams and the professionals who gained the professional certifications could switch to a new job with up to 27% salary hike after they passed the certification exam”. While this is a statement coming from a leading certification training provider, based on Indeed’s salary data, PMP certified project managers command 14% higher income compared to their uncertified peers. This shows that professional and credible certification will increase your salary and compensation or you will be able to find new jobs easily. Conclusion Continuing education is very important for the sake of a professional’s career. It will be awesome to get a professional, accredited and credible certification recognized by the world. This will be the proof of your competence and skills. It will not only bring higher income to you but also increase your chances of finding a new job and getting promotions in your organization.