By Jonathan Thatcher

The IT certification community is young. We have traveled far very quickly and are still on the journey. This article will explore some of the myths and realities of certification. By finding some basis of fact in a myth, we have the opportunity to improve our industry and the certification process. Hopefully, exploring these issues will stimulate discussion and give us new insights.

Myth: “Certification didn’t help me get a job. What a rip-off.”

Reality: Some of the problems with cynicism-based bashing come from the IT industry not doing a good enough job of explaining why we have certifications, what is measured on the tests and how employers use them. What most IT employers actually prefer is a mix of certification and experience. Certification can’t be the solution to everything for everybody. Having a certification is a signal to management that a job candidate:

• Has the ability to learn and retain technical information.
• Possesses a core set of industry-recognized knowledge and skills that the industry values highly enough to certify.

Certification proves that the candidate has valuable skills. It differentiates that candidate from one who simply claims, “I have experience.” Certification gives candidates a definite leg up, but doesn’t necessarily result in automatic job offers. Certification is often a great start to acquiring experience and getting in the door of an employer. No matter what, getting a first or a fifth certification is an excellent way to network and to become connected or reconnected to the industry. Individuals start out by going to class and getting to know their instructor. The instructor might have connections or be able to offer leads to where people are selling and using the equipment or the technology that is being used in training. The certification body typically has information or networking resources such as events, online forums or publications. And through studying, one might get connected with online newsgroups and job board postings.

From the IT manager’s perspective, the value of having a demonstrated knowledge base is that new employees don’t need to be taught the fundamental information required for the job at hand. There is a general assumption that if you have a good knowledge base, you probably have some of the skills that go along with it. In terms of value in the eyes of a potential employer, it establishes your credibility. Certification for the hiring manager is a handy signal, a “brand name” on the resume—it acknowledges a foundation of knowledge, a skill set and the ability to learn technical matters.

The same credibility-builder goes for companies selling products and services. If a buyer has two companies coming in, one with a certified team and one without, the buyer is more likely to prefer the company with the certified team. The reason is that those with certification are perceived to have proved that they know the information and have the required skills. Today, in certain areas such as warranty and repair services, many buyers do not highly value vendors that don’t standardize with IT certification.

Myth: “Certifications are marketing ploys designed to be moneymakers.”

Reality: Certification developers, training companies and testing organizations do collect money on certifications, just as universities collect tuition from students and professional organizations like the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association require dues from their members. The real question is, what is the return on that money? Do certifications accurately measure a baseline of skills and help to raise the standards of IT industry performance? Yes, they do. We know that they do.

IBM, for example, will pay more in warranty labor costs to a vendor with a certified staff. They do that on the basis of productivity and fewer errors. If you look at job sites, you’ll often see job listings grouped by the appropriate certification. That greed-and-avarice myth still exists, and it shows that certification developers, trainers and testing organizations need to do a better job explaining how they add value as the industry grows and changes. In any case, a quality certification program is not an inexpensive proposition. Significant capital must be spent to ensure sound exam development and secure delivery of the exam, not including all the related services and benefits.

Myth: “Training and testing are too expensive.”

Reality: The observation that the process is expensive needs to be examined. Consider the cost of IT training and certification in comparison to training and certification for accountants, nurses, doctors or pilots. The IT industry may have it made in terms of comparative training costs. Training and test-taking can be quite economical. Take CompTIA’s A+ certification, for example. Just about every type of training modality is available for A+, from free sample test questions on the Web to the most expensive instructor-led training courses. And in between, you’re likely to find additional options, such as a local community college with affordable tuition or a commercial training center offering student loans. CompTIA has various programs to reduce exam costs, including membership in the association and statewide academic programs. States that join CompTIA through its JOBS+ program can benefit through special exam rates for all their high school and college students.

In some countries, where even a $10 or $20 exam fee might be several weeks’ wages, exam and training costs may be preventing the people who wish to become certified and desire to demonstrate a standardized baseline of IT knowledge from doing so. With current technologies, adequate training and proctored exams cost money to deliver. One of the things the industry could develop further is the creation of more economical training and testing support options in impoverished nations.

Myth: “There are too many certifications.”

Reality: You sometimes hear from bashers that there are simply too many certifications. It certainly can be confusing. Usually though, if you study positioning or examine who is promoting a specific certification, you start seeing defined niches rather than excessive overlap. You begin to see a picture of certification backers who need a group of IT specialists to be able to demonstrate precise skills. It might get to the point where we arrive at saturation. We are not there yet, in my estimation.

The limiting factor is that setting up a good certification program is expensive and time-consuming. It might take from $100,000 to $500,000 simply to develop an industry-standard certification. Then that certification will need the support of the training community and the IT community. It is no easy undertaking. Interestingly, some certifications exist but are not profitable. They are supported at a loss because a specific skill set is required. The objective of certifications is to raise the standard of knowledge, to fill jobs with people who can learn and who are dedicated to the industry and ultimately, to improve IT performance. If a certification can’t do that, it will become extinct. The market drives the number of certifications. Greed and avarice do not.

Myth: “Computer tests don’t measure true skills.”

Reality: Of all the myths, bashing the computer-based test is the most common. The question is, can you effectively measure somebody’s skill set with a computer-based exam? Is there any connection between taking a computer-based test and actually being able to do a job? You might often hear bashers say, “I can mark up a multiple-choice computer-based test, but when I’m actually on the job and I’m asked to set up a new Windows server, it’s not the same thing.”

The bar exam, the medical boards and the certified professional engineering exams are all written tests with very open-ended questions. There is a very high acceptance right now for the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) and the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE). Both of these are practical hands-on exams where you have to perform in real-life situations in order to pass.

Compared to just a few years ago, computer-based exams’ ability to provide scenario-based questions has been greatly improved. If we had the luxury of doing away with all multiple-choice computer-based tests and could actually watch people perform tasks on the job, we would have the best possible solution. However, the reality is that it is an expensive and slow way to test, and it risks not being objective. Computer-based tests can indeed measure many different aspects of knowledge and skill. One is simple knowledge—fact recall. If that is all computer-based exams could do, then the bashers would have a point. However, computer-based tests do move up Maslow’s hierarchy of cognitive abilities from simple knowledge to synthesis and solving of complex problems. In the highest level of a computer test, you can be presented with a scenario including information that may or may not be helpful with the typical customer complaint, and following that complaint there may be a wide range of things to consider to get to the right answer.

Myth: “The test says there is only one right answer. Who are they to say that?”

Reality: In the real world, there are nearly always at least a couple of ways to solve a problem. However, certification exams will frequently ask for the “best” answer as the right answer. The “best” answer is the one that best suits the context of the question or its scenario, even when the exam may present two or more “technically” correct answers. The industry could do a better job explaining how test questions and answers are formulated and developed. Nearly always, it’s a very careful process. If the majority of IT professionals saw the subject matter expertise that goes into selecting the “one right answer” for an exam scenario, they would have a better understanding of this painstaking process. An answer is formulated when a group of subject matter experts agree on the best and most effective way of solving the problem in question.

Computer-test bashing has reminded us that more can be done to make the exams more like the real-world practical exams. For example, a certification candidate sometime in the future may be sitting in front of a screen and a keyboard as now, but may be interacting with a three-dimensional room where they have to simulate all the contextual tasks of performing a particular skill. These exams will better simulate on-the-job conditions.

Another positive change is recognizing how we can use the Internet to solve on-the-job problems. For example, in 1992 when I took the CNE exam, I had to memorize Ethernet preambles. Now, I could locate this information in just a few seconds on the Web. This type of memorization isn’t as helpful today. In the future, exams may incorporate the Web in ways that would not challenge the integrity of the exam.

Myth: “I know people who can take a test with just one night of study. So where is the value?”

Reality: One of the biggest myths is that no matter who you are, all exams are easy if you just know who to talk to and where to look for information or if you get the right trainer. We all know people who never seem to study and can walk in and pass an exam. The reality of the situation is that most of these people already have a lot of knowledge, skill or experience. Frequently, they are at or above the target level of the exam (six months or 18 months or three years of experience, whatever the exam is testing for). If you’re at or above that level, you should be able to go in and pass the exam with little or no studying. Otherwise, you will need to focus on and study your weakest areas in order to pass the exams.

And then there are those few shady people trying to make a buck by selling so-called exam answers. Those providing these “answers” are usually in violation of copyright laws or are dishonestly claiming a value the “answers” do not have. These “answers” never have any real study value and are a waste of time and money. It is extremely unlikely you will ever see these “answers” on an actual certification exam. If allowed to be successful, these individuals degrade the value of certification. This hurts all of us. It hurts the whole industry. That is why the industry is working hard to maintain and improve security, both behind the scenes during exam construction and delivery and by using the courts to defend exam copyrights and the value of certifications and those who hold them.

Myth: “Recertification is a gimmick to make more money.”

Reality: A common bash at certification is that recertification is a way of dragging in more training and test dollars. The reality is that the “shelf life” of many advanced certifications is limited, perhaps three to five years maximum. The limited life span comes from the rapidly changing hardware and software. An attitude of “I got my certificate so I’m all done” misses the reality of the IT industry. We have to be lifelong learners, and that’s part of the reason why there is such a big demand for trained people. If you intend to stay in the IT industry, there is an expectation that you will continue to train for and maintain your certifications.

Conversely, there are some certifications that don’t require recertification. No one expects a systems administrator with five years of experience to have to retake CompTIA’s A+ or Network+. This individual has likely moved beyond the vendor-neutral exam to specialize in core vendor-specific technologies.

In terms of lifelong learning, the IT industry and the academic world can work together to achieve more and coordinate efforts. CompTIA works hard at better connecting these groups. The last numbers I saw indicated that there were about 12 million students in schools of all kinds in the United States and another 12 million involved in corporate training of all kinds. We need to work toward recognition of credits between these two groups. If universities routinely recognized and gave credit for certifications, many IT professionals might have an easier path to earning a bachelor’s degree. In doing so, the individual and the industry could greatly benefit. Bottom line, we must embrace a culture of lifelong learning.

Conclusion

If we were to gather an industry roundtable and talk about certification-bashing myths and realities, I believe we would all gain some important insights about the problem. How significant is certification bashing? Are there particular areas, demographics or industry segments that are more prone to being bashed? We might see industries that have handled it better than others or industries that are less impacted by it and for what reasons. We might find bashing all along the value chain of a given industry. For example, consider insurance and banking and finance. These industries make heavy use of IT technology. They might have a different spin on bashing or opinions about the productivity of their teams before and after certification. This, of course, could be difficult to measure, but it might help us obtain a clearer correlation between productivity and certification. It might help better quantify benefit versus cost.

Remember that we are still a young industry. Contrast the public’s understanding of IT certification, which is so small, with knowledge and understanding of certification in the medical, legal or accounting professions. That should put this into perspective. Is the importance and integrity of a network any less significant than that of a tax return? How can you quantify the value and critical risk of a network that monitors pharmaceutical production or supports an intensive care unit or air traffic control?

We know that this industry never sits still in terms of its hardware and software. Our approach to our trained professionals should be no different from our approach to our doctors and nurses. The demands of performance and lifelong learning are just as strenuous. We need to constantly listen to criticisms. If they are true, we must address them. If they are false, we must confront them.

Jonathan Thatcher is certification development manager for CompTIA and holds more than a dozen IT certifications, including CNE, CNI, CIW, Server+ and IT Project+. Jonathan leads CompTIA’s Authorized Quality Curriculum program. He can be reached at jthatcher@comptia.org.