Have your IT certifications paid themselves off?

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Have your IT certifications paid themselves off? Did they produce the value that beats their initial expense?

This is an anonymous poll, your name wont be revealed in the results.

 

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Is hard to say for me, changing jobs made the real difference for me and the knowledge from certification helped, not sure how important the actual exams and paperwork were in landing that job however, I may have got it without certification.

 

Just saying I was studying for the A+ got me my second IT job, along with a 7k pay rise

 

They have definitely helped when looking for new jobs. The early MS certs was more having the certificate to prove what I already knew. I found more employers were interested in talking about my computer forensics masters whether is was relevant to the job or not.

 

Changing jobs has always given the biggest rises without question, but my ability to change to the better paid jobs is likely helped massively by the certifications I have.

Even though I haven't had to fund any of them myself they have more than paid for themselves.

 

Absolutely, if I hadn't invested in myself no one else would have done. Having certifications helps to show not only my abilities but also my willingness to learn (with the exception of my SCCM courses I have paid for all of my training for about the last 11 years and that can get quite expensive).

However like I keep reminding people, certification isn't the be all and end all to getting jobs, it's all about the experience you can bring to the role and having certifications in no way guarantees your abilities beyond being able to pass an exam.

 

Lucky man, I told my employer that I was studying the A+ and they merely said "good luck", I then told them when I had become certified and I was lucky when I received a "well done"... no hope of job progression, and no hope of pay increase.

 

Certainly, for me its all about a balance. Experience along with a cert that proves you know your area of expertise!

 

That's actually a really hard question to answer.
I would generally say yes, but not directly, if that makes sense.

I don't think I have ever applied for, or got, a job purely based on any of my certifications.
However, I do feel that they reflect my experience and history within the industry.
If anything, I keep them fairly low profile as I feel that my actual work history is more of a testament to my ability than what certs I have.

On the whole though, I certainly don't feel out of pocket. I've been fortunate that many employers have paid for my certifications, or I have done betas or whatever.

But I've got a litter of bits and pieces, which suits me. I think if I had spent three years of my life and many thousands of pound pursuing an MCSE then I may not feel too flush. Hard to say.

 

I'd say it didn't help me when I was at my old company. I'd tell my manager every time I passed a new exam etc, and aside from the obligatory "well done" it didn't really stretch beyond that.

However, when I applied for a new job a few months later - the new company really sat up and took interest and actually said it was my certs that got me out of "the pile" pre-interview.

 

You'd be amazed.
If you can show that you've mastered the cross weave rim the your world's your lobster.

 

Should the A+ by itself have proven to give me better salary expectations? as somewhere down the line it has not.

 

Absolutely.

I took a gamble with shelling out the cash for my initial certs, but I doubt I would have managed to get on the 'IT ladder' without them.

NB

 

Personal opinion, no not really as it's more of an entry level cert so I wouldn't be expecting it to help massively in boosting salary, it's more there to help you get that first job.

 

Certs don't generally get you the job or a pay rise, your skills and experience do that.

They are just additional CV fodder.

 

Yes, 100%.
CompTIA A+, MCP and to a small extent the ECDL.

They showed my employers that I wanted to learn, and had the desire as well.