Jason Buffington .com

Never Stop Learning!  This week, I’m completing an education experience, so let me reflect on where education fits within an IT career.

After 35 years in technology, I’d argue your fast track as an IT Professional probably has a lot more to do with certifications than anything else. Some may argue that — but in my early career, most the doors that opened came after I earned certificates from Novell, Microsoft, etc. 

Technical certs benefit you in at least three ways:

• They prove that you have the capacity and the persistence to learn and prove mastery of technical concepts that can be applicable to your current or future job role.
• They get you past the recruiter — which could be a human or a bot — who’s looking for magical words like MCSE or VMCE. 
• And if you happen to be a reseller or partner, your employer’s or future employer’s partner status with those vendors often has prerequisites for certified engineers, thereby raising your street value.

So, go get certified. Start with general purpose if it gets you into IT, but then pick a platform that is interesting to you and is considered modern in the industry, so that you can ride that curve and differentiate yourself.

Technical Certifications are not easy – and they take money and time

Who should pay for the certification kind of comes down to who wants it more. 

If your employer wants you to be certified or wants you to continue growing in your career, then it’s not unreasonable for them to pay for it.  BUT, even if they don’t pay, those certifications inarguably benefit you even more than them. If you need to pay, I promise the return on investment is multiples higher than what you’ll pay for the course.

Let’s talk about the time

It’s your career — so it’s your choice to invest your time in you (or not).

Even if the company pays for the course, it’s reasonable that you take your time studying outside your 9 to 5, because again you’re investing in you.  And whether you stay at the company you’re at or not, you’ll reap the benefit of what you learned and carry the certification to prove it.

Early on, I focused on technical certifications that proved that I had mastered the products that I wanted to work on. Later, you might start evolving beyond just technical mastery into either architecture or business outcomes that are powered by technology.

So later on, start looking for education and experiences that enable you to engage with managers, directors, vice presidents – where you can combine your technical knowledge basis with operational  acumen to get empathy for what they’re trying to solve for.  THEN, you become radically valuable, which is one way to have an amazing career.

35 years in tech; that’s what I got — let me know what you think.  

Until then, see you next Monday