Certification seems to be a hot ticket for software development jobs, as well as other technical disciplines. Is there "empirical" evidence that is true?
QUESTION POSED ON: 06 OCT 2004
QUESTION ANSWERED BY: Ed Tittel
Good question! I'd urge you to investigate salary and job surveys at publications like MCP Magazine, Certification Magazine and other online sources, then take an orthogonal view by looking at the reports from companies like Foote & Partners and analyst firms (like IDC, Gartner, Meta Group, Forrester Group, Burton Group and so forth) to see what's being reported through those venues there.
Though the argument can be made that certification helps pay, it's more difficult to prove that certification -- especially in the absence of on-the-job experience -- leads to employment (or at least to a verifiable increase in the odds of finding a job).
You're wise to be skeptical and to look for evidence, but there are a lot of personal and imponderable elements to consider, which is why I can't prove the case to you here in a short answer. Depending on what kind of software you want to develop, your target industry, your chosen development tools and environment and so forth, the odds of employment can vary tremendously.
I'd be willing to argue with anybody that a master's degree in computer science, management information systems, computer engineering or a similar degree plan with a clearly defined focus on software development and a meaningful master's thesis or degree project is at least equal to, if not better than, any software development certification you could care to name. Thus, I'd urge you to consider a graduate degree among the options that you ponder, even if you elect not to take that route.
Good luck with your career planning, and do feel free to post again if you'd care to proffer me a few more particulars to help me address your specific situation in like manner.
--Ed--
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