Business System Consultation Center - Our Business System ColumnVol.97 2020.03.01 Takahashi Minoru

Nothing is less useful in hiring an in-house SE than IT certifications

Thank you for your interest and continued support.
This is Takahashi from the Marketing Plan Research Laboratory.


Unless it is a highly prestigious certification (one that allows you to “make a living” as an expert simply by holding it),
the reality is that having an IT-related certification does not automatically mean you can be entrusted with that job.


IT certifications available in Japan
・No practical experience required
・No renewal required
・No English proficiency required
.


In addition, even people who are not IT professionals
"I’ve heard of that certification,"
are, unfortunately, mostly just window dressing (from the employer’s perspective).


And that makes sense, since the certifications with familiar names
designed for non-professionals,
and certification bodies (and educational material vendors) advertise to non-professionals,
which is why non-professionals end up thinking, “I’ve heard of that certification.”


Most certifications are positioned as a single goal in one’s academic journey,
and cannot serve as an indicator of whether a holder should be entrusted with the role of an in-house IT specialist.


Of course, having one is better than not having one.
However,
・Candidate A (no certification)
・Candidate B, who holds a certification
Which of these two, A or B, will excel as an in-house systems engineer?
must ultimately be determined by factors other than certifications.


When selecting an in-house SE, just as when selecting employees for other roles,
the president’s “ability to judge character” is put to the test.
Please be careful not to let the string of impressive certification names on a resume cloud your judgment.


That's all, Thank you for reading.

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