I have been asked many times, “Is getting vendor certified worth all the trouble?” And I have always been on the side of not getting certified, only for the reason that I am an engineer who is not certified. Sure, I have done well without the credentials, but I am starting to come around that getting your certification is a necessity for any Information Technology profession either starting out or continuing their career in this industry.
Here are 4 reasons to become a certified Information Technology professional.
Many employers require the certification
I am not the only one that has been overlooked for a CEH test position due to the fact that I do not hold a vendor certification. Employers want to know that the person has both the knowledge and the experience to do the job effectively, with little or no supervision. And employers are willing to pay great salaries to those professionals who continue to certify and grow their knowledge base during their career. So don’t just get one certification. Look to continue testing to higher levels.
Certifying will help you to become a well-rounded professional
I once thought that I could learn everything on the job and get by. But after being in the industry for over 15 years, I have learned that what I do know is relevant to my current position. If I was to go on and move to another position, I would struggle because my knowledge base is not at a level that would make the transition a smooth one. The knowledge that I would have obtained would have filled those holes that I have to make me a better well-rounded engineer in my field.
Would you want an unlicensed/uncertified doctor operating on you?
Well, this is something that would scare me if I was to go under the knife. It just makes good sense that an IT professional be certified as a way to show that they can do the job. Customers may be hesitant to purchase IT services if they realize that the IT professionals that they are buying services from are not certified professionals. And this would be another reason that employers may demand certified professionals.
Getting certified is a good way to make a career change
Getting certified in a new IT field is a great way to re-invent your career. Someone could be looking to make a move from the routing and switching field to a cloud-computing field. Getting a new certification in the cloud-computing field would be a good way to make that jump. Also, new professionals to the Information Technology industry can become certified by simply studying for the test and passing. There is no requirement in relation to experience to take an entry level exam.