IT certifications continue to be a big can of worms for me. I think back through my career and remember all of the certifications that were supposedly required for one position or another, however I still landed the job without them. To name just a few, the A+, the MCP, the MCSE, the PMP, the ITIL, Security, e-business (I’m an infrastructure guy). The list goes on and on and on. My question is, What is more important, certification or experience? From time to time, I find myself sitting on one side of the fence or the other without really understanding why. I can think of valid reasons to debate either side of the argument.

Somehow, throughout my career, I’ve been able to navigate around the need to be certified in anything. I’ve taken it upon myself to learn the required elements of my job in order to be successful without having a piece of paper to affirm this. I’ve come up through the technical ranks and have crossed over to management as a result of educating myself in the areas in which I need to improve myself. The point here is that I’ve progressed via gaining experience and knowing how to apply it, and not by acquiring certifications.

There are definitely areas in which I recognize the value of a certification. In many standardized practices, I see this need. Standardized project management methodologies are key to the success of business projects and processes. Hence I place a high value on the PMP certification, which I am now pursuing. The same goes for ITIL, which is a little newer in its visibility and lifecycle, but just as important in its focus.

I don’t mean to imply that I don’t value technical certifications. I am a firm believer that increasing one’s knowledge is vital to continuous improvement and increased personal value. If a by-product of gaining this knowledge is receiving a certification, then great. However, if I have my choice of hiring the person with a few years of experience working hands-on with the technology or someone who can navigate his or her way through a certificate boot camp, I’d likely go with the experience. Certifications are frosting on the cake.

[Tom Forkenbrock]

Tags: education, knowledge, it certification, experience, boot camp