Opinions on BS "titles"

[fathawk]

So, there are a lot of professionals here from what I can see. I need some opinions from people that likely have more experience in the professional world than me.

Lately I have been seeing an alarming trend in the world of certain careers that for the most part don't require a degree. I'm one of those guys that "worked his way up from the mailroom" so to speak, into a decent wage and position within ten years or so. I have no degree, as hard as I have worked to do so in my spare time. Conversely there are a lot of people in positions around me that also are not degreed professionals. The new trend I'm seeing is professional "certifications". There are guys that like to tack about a hundred three letter titles behind their names on signatures blocks that have never attended a semester hour toward a degree. They do this because there are professional "organizations" that charge an outrageous fee to allow you to take a "test" to become "certified". These tests are for the most part a joke and you can re-take them until you pass them. Then you pay a "fee" every year to continue to hold the certifications. Now most of the guys that like to flaunt these BS things charge them to their departments training budget and never miss an opportunity to bring it up if they think they will appear more "qualified" to make a professional opinion on something.

I consider myself to be quite good at what I do, and for a douchebag that has a thousand letter titles behind his signature but doesn't know his ass from his mouth to act superior to me, kinda pisses me off. So, the question. What do you do? Do you play the game and drop your own dime for these bullshit "professional certifications" or just try to see past the bullshit. Get them and don't flaunt them until challenged? FWIW, there are upper level management officials that are dumb enough to somehow be impressed with this bullshit, otherwise I could care less.

And to get these things would be like 5K out of my pocket and then about 500 a year or more of my dime to maintain them.

Any thoughts welcome.

[will]

There are a number of professional organizations which will nick you for a bunch of cash every year. It is always BS, in my opinion. I have very little use for them, although I'm a member of one professional organization, only for professional reasons. Titles don't impress me at all, as a former employer discovered when he tried offering me a title in lieu of a raise.

[tm-you-know-who]

Smart people know a bunch of certifications behind your name means very little. But in some technical fields (depending upon the company) many mangers don't have the technical background that the techs do so those little letters behind your name seem pretty impressive to a manager who is otherwise disconnected.

The organization I work for is so big and we transfer so often that we are always in "reputation building" mode. I'm not very good at this, I like my work to speak for itself, but other people don't see it that way. It seems like I am always getting run over by people who talk a better job than they put out. Apple polishers seem to get promoted faster - no need to go into how pissed off I get over it...

One thing I have started doing to help level the playing field is taking the online courses my company offers thorugh our training division. I already know most of what they are teaching, so I just sign up, click through the slide show full blast and then take the test. (They are smart enough to have the system set up so you can't jump straight to the test.) I have found that I can do a course that "requires 4 hours" in about 45 minutes. The net result is that the training certification goes into my employee record and makes everyone think that I am working to improve myself as much as possible.

Of course, I think it is pretty stupid I have to get a rubber stamp on my employee profile to show that I can pass a test that shows I completed a course that teaches me the basics of a job I already excel at, but that's the world we live in.

[jimschmidt]

It's purely a financial consideration. My wife, for example, has an MBA with a concentration in human resources. In her field, she's worth more with a SHRM-SHRP certification, so she has it, even though she's equally able with or without it.

The trend toward jobs that don't need degrees requiring them is a direct result of the war in Vietnam. Deferments jumpstarted college attendance then a robust GI bill did the same for returning vets. As an unintended consequence, we created a society where a BS had about as much vetting value as a high school diploma previously had.

My wife has also told me its a constant struggle to explain to middle managers why they should not over-credential a position. Grads lean toward grads; even when there is no reason to do so and even when it might reduce the pool of qualified candidates.

[john]

I work in IT and certs are a need, not a want.

I have found a way around certs, though. It's called working with sales.

[daveb]

FWIW, "Titles" are functional and company-specific, as in "CFO". Creds or Certs are earned in training or in University, such as BS, BA, Ph.D.

Don't confuse them.

db

[jeromeoneil]

Certifications provide on purpose, and that's to get you past the HR screener, and into the interview with the hiring manager.

There are some fields where it's important. If you hold all of Cisco's certs for managing their routers, you'll pull in huge dollars. Some of them are useless. Pretty much anything from Microsoft (MSCE = Must Call Someone Experienced) has shown itself to me to be not worth a damn.

[arozanski]

We don't have 'certs' at our place, we do send people for training when it is appropriate to their job function, but usually a one or two day course. Anyone with a degree here did it the old fashioned way.