Certification: Career boost or expensive mistake?

by Alan Joch

May 14, 2001 —

Tony Muma thought he was taking his career to a new level. A year out of college, the technical support engineer with a software firm in Seattle decided to beef up his networking skills by becoming a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), a Microsoft-sponsored certification program that focuses on networking issues related to the Windows platform. As a help desk engineer with a company that targets companies with heterogeneous computing systems, Muma felt the certification would make him an even better problem solver when he fielded technical calls from customers and consultants. "If I'm going to communicate with network administrators, I have to be at least on their level," he reasoned.

He also read reports in trade journals and from program sponsors that certificates can mean salary premiums of 25 percent or more compared with what techies without such titles are making. But last February, when Muma asked his supervisor if his new certification diploma would make him eligible for a pay raise or a place on the promotion fast track, his career hit a glitch. "Congratulations on your certification," the manager said, "unfortunately, it doesn't apply to the position your in." Translation: Certification and $2.50 will get you a cup of latte.

Muma was stunned. The manager had encouraged him to seek certification and even approved reimbursement for the cost of taking the tests, which totaled more than $6,000. "I support a product that allows multiple platforms to communicate -- Windows PCs to Linux and Unix hosts," he says. "There are a lot of issues relating to PC networking with the host."

Today, Muma prominently displays his MCSE status on his résumé, but still wonders whether he wasted his time. "I hope I see a payoff, otherwise it just ain't worth it," he says, admitting the experience "gives you a bitter taste in your mouth." His advice to other would-be certification students: "Don't believe the ads."

Unfortunately, Muma isn't alone in his disappointment. According to the Association of Support Professionals (ASP), an industry association based in Watertown, Mass., employers are routinely ambivalent about certification programs sponsored by computing giants like Microsoft, Cisco, and Oracle. A recent salary survey of software companies revealed that they paid far less than the salary premiums touted by certificate program sponsors. Instead, the survey found that few companies tie certification to hiring, promotion, or pay raises, according to Jeffrey Tarter, ASP executive director. And even when certification leads to a raise, the impact is modest: Paychecks after certification are only about 5 to 7 percent fatter than before graduation.

The ASP says stories about huge pay increases may be linked to the sponsors' strong bias to promote the profitable programs, which also can be tools to lock customers into specific products and platforms.

According to the report, support managers don't typically believe that expertise in Windows or networking infrastructures help support technicians become better troubleshooters for an employer's products. "The linkage between certification and delivering more value is weak at best," the ASP report quotes one survey participant as saying. Says another respondent: "We need a certain number of certified individuals to qualify as a business partner with IBM and Microsoft, but we don't find the items that are tested particularly relevant to 'real life' issues that crop up with our customers."

Nevertheless, support technicians are caught in a certification catch-22 if they, like Muma, want to be promoted. Almost a quarter of the respondents said certification is necessary in advance of a promotion, however, verbatim comments showed certification guaranteed little extra consideration. "Employees who pass any type of certification are one step ahead in the promotion process. However, certification will not necessarily grant them a promotion," one manager said. Even more discouraging was the manager who stated, "We believe that it's good to attend the classes and learn the material, but the actual certificate does not interest us."

Experts with tech support experience say the survey formalizes what many people have intuitively felt. "It doesn't appear that certification really carries a lot of weight," says Fred Van Bennekom, principal of Great Brook Consulting, Bolton, Mass. "It's sort of like an associates degree. If nothing else, it may open a door. But after the person has a job, experience matters more."

For the time being, Muma isn't letting his disappointment become a catalyst for making a quick job change. "I really like the people and atmosphere" at his company, he says. "It's rated one of best companies to work for in this country and it really is as far as I'm concerned." Instead, he'll stay there to gain on-the-job experience, and he's working on his own to deepen his Unix knowledge. But his long-term career plans are up for grabs. "You have to look at improving yourself. You need to keep an eye on market to see what the future is." Muma says he'll think twice before making additional certification degrees part of that future.

ITworld.com