Should I become certified?

During my training programs developers often ask me this question. Somewhere in mind they seem to be unsure about the benefits of certification. My answer has always been - Yes. If possible be certified. This answer is not at all based on the direct benefits of certification. Rather it is based on the indirect benefits of certification.

A typical developer living in busy city such as Mumbai has very less time for upgrading himself. I will not argue if their claim of scarcity of time is true or not but it is a fact that many developers are bit ignorant about their skill set development. Now a days tough competition exists in all spheres of life. A minute advantage can actually turn your fortune.

Here are some tendencies that I observe in many developers:

• Their skillset has lower priority then many other things in life
• They are reluctant to spend money on right training
• They are reluctant to spend money on certification exams
• They want better job opportunities but they don't realize that they need to make them sound
• They do not find time for reading or studying upcoming technologies
• They are in a hurry to learn new technology because they want to spice up their resumes

How certification is related to all the above problems? Well...certification can help you if you acquire it in proper way. Let me explain my point by listing few reservations that developers have about certification.

• There is no value to certification in Indian IT industry
• The cost of certification exams is too much
• Certification is for beginners in the industry and not for experienced developers

Let me now take each of the about point and elaborate it further.

It is true that a many Indian software development companies do not give much weitage to certification. This is completely understable because Indian software industry is mainly service oriented. Many companies provide offshore development services to their clients in US and UK. Such companies need skilled resources so that they can be productive from day one. Naturally they give more weitage to experience rather than certification. Experience is something that you can compensate with any other attribute.

It is a truth, though bitter, prevailing in the industry that some developers pass certification exams with the help of unethical ways. I won't talk about those in any more details but developers don't understand that by doing so they are harming temselves. One of the reasons that companies often neglect certification is that they are not sure if the concern developer has passed the exam ethically or not.

The biggest benefit of certification as I see it is the efforts that you put in studying a technology. In fact more than the certification itself these efforts to learn a technology give you much more. When you decide to become certified you have some goal set in front of your eyes. With a proper goal you start working to achieve it. You read books, surf web sites, give mock exams. All these efforts make you rich in terms of knowledge. This knowledge may not be always in terms of real experience but at least you know the capabilities of a technology and possibly have some lerning experience with it. In your future projects you can apply this knowledge. Unless you know something you cannot apply it. Further this preparation helps you give job interviews confidently. You need not "prepare" for an interview because you are now sound in that technology. Can you see the indirect benefit now? Don't you think it is a big benefit? Keeping the certification aside this honest preparation itself gives you many advantages. You then need not bother whether the certification has value in the industry because you have increased your professional value by making yourself technically sound.

The second excuse is cost of certification. A typical .NET certification exam costs around Rs. 2500 (this is of course as on this writing). Honestely thing - Is it really too big? A typical software developer spends money on variety of things including heavy mobile bills, imported shoes, bike etc. Can you not spare or save some amount for your own benefit? I think this is possible if you are convienced about the benefits.

Software industry is very dynamic. Every now and then new technologies come up. New versions are released every year or two. If you wish to maintain (or improve) your professional value then you must repeate the cycle of learning again and again. You might be one of the best VB6 developers five years ago but that in no way makes you one of the best .NET developer. You must upgrade youself otherwise somebody will replace you in the race. Beginners as well as experienced developers can be benefited from certification alike. It depends on your attitude and how you harvest on these benefits.

At the holy feet of Lord Shiva, Bipin Joshi Want to stay tuned with latest updates to our website? Subscribe to our Email updates powered by Google FeedBurner. Click here to subscribe now!

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Posted On :	22 Mar 2007
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Comments

I agree I agree with almost everything, that you have written. One thing to add - Certification can help experienced developers test their skills (for personal satisfaction & obvious cert. benefits) & get little better with what they know. Nothing can replace practical experience. However experience backed with good theory is a good thing to have. Posted By : Kalpesh Posted On : 3/23/2007

I Disagree... Dumps have made certification a joke. People run through the dumps & go to the center only to find even the order of the questions being asked, to be the same. No one really works hard for a certification. They just brush through the dumps, memorizing them & getting good clean scores. All this to what result ?? I would say there are very few would sincerely work well for a certification & for them the certificate would add no real value. Its for the meeks that the certificate would help to flaunt their unknown/unseen/untested talent. Posted By : r Posted On : 3/27/2007

Re: I Disagree... That is what the original post days. The author is not saying whether certification itself is good or bad. His point is that the "preparing ethically" for certification is good. Even for me it is difficult to invest efforts if I get the ready made dumps. But I agree that that is my weakness that I find dumps more lucrative than hard work. If we take the advice and prepare ethically then we will certainly get the benefits. It's up to us if we want to go by that way... Posted By : Rahul Posted On : 3/27/2007

Get a 4 year Degree and REAL experience. The four year degree opens the doors, and it does not have to be CIS or MIS. Also, get some real world experience. I have been programming for nearly 12 years now and not one day without a job. I am a sought after consultant, like many of you. My experience with the certified peeps is they do not know how to build from the ground up. That takes months, if not years of experience. Something, a simple certification cannot teach. Also, the ones with real experience don't need to be certified. Our resumes speak for themselves, why give MS more money...... Get Educated, not certified! Posted By : Commander Cody Posted On : 4/10/2007

Not sure in US Hi, I'm almost in the same scenario.. to go or not to go sitting here in NY,USA despite having some 5 yrs good exp.. This discussion did throw some light on the value of what we benefit by preparing for a certification rather than getting the certification itself.. Posted By : Suresh Posted On : 4/20/2007

Education system i really appreciate the work and efforts of bipin sir. but he can only act as a catalyst.it will happen down the lane because tough things will stand when there is a down turn. Posted By : Anonymous Posted On : 4/28/2007

Certification Helps I agree with Bipin. I'm working in VB6.0 and .NET from last 8years. .NET Certification helped me in gaining knowledge and try new things which I never know were there. And helped be in my career development. Those who are honest and want a real good knowledge, preparation for certification and getting certified helps. Posted By : Soumya, New York Posted On : 5/3/2007

I Agree I Agree that one must update their skills to the latest technology and Certification is one way to update your skills. You may not be working on all aspects of the latest technology in your work but if you are certified you know what you are doing and also recommend better ways (Giving optimised solutions)and build your career. I am Oracle certified DBA and now planning for my .NET Certification. Posted By : Sreedhar Posted On : 5/3/2007