Why Should I Get Certified?
“Why should I get certified?” is a question that some professionals ask themselves and others raising doubts about the benefits of professional certification in their career field as it requires time and financial commitment. They doubt that certification offers any benefits specially if they are highly confident about their skills and abilities. While certification is mandatory in some industries, it is not required in others, yet certification can be an extremely valuable tool to excel in a chosen career field for many reasons.
Let’s go over some of the benefits of professional certification and why you should get certified:
Gain Credibility
If you are a recent graduate or early in your career, certification offers a stamp of approval from a recognized organization which adds external validation to your credibility and offers proof that you have the necessary knowledge in a given field. And if you are a consultant, certification helps you gain the trust of your customers and attract new business opportunities.
Career Change
Certification helps with career change and transition when you don’t have a degree or sufficient experience in the new career field. If you decide at some point in your career that you need a change because you are bored or need more money, professional certification is a quick way to learn something new and make a career change as it supplements your education and prior work experience.
Competitive Edge
According to Henry Bagdasarian, Founder and President of Identity Management Institute, certification offers a competitive edge when multiple candidates with equal levels of education, experience, and soft skills compete for the same job as it improves marketability. According to a survey, most HR professionals prefer hiring candidates who are certified because it helps with quick screening based on independent validation of the candidate’s skills and knowledge.
New Specialized Skills
Certification is a way to specialize in a sub domain of your main career field in which you have gained your education and professional experience. Let’s say an area within your profession is growing faster than the rest of the profession and you want to take advantage of the rising opportunity, certification can quickly make you an expert in the specialized field while you increase your knowledge about evolving trends in the niche area.
Promotion and Transfer
When employees desire promotion or internal transfer to another department within their companies, the new role may be somewhat different and require special skills. A professional certification can help an employee’s dreams come true by demonstrating commitment and knowledge.
More Money
According to market research studies, certified professionals earn as much as 18% more money than their counterparts. While earning and maintaining certification requires time and financial commitment, the return on investment may justify the expense.
Personal satisfaction and sense of community – Finally, when you get certified, you can be proud and confident that you are a subject matter expert in your field of work with an industry recognized certification to back you up while you belong to a community and interact with likeminded professionals.
