Bogus Credentials, Fast Food, And The Rise Of The Pseudo-Professionals
by Chris Berry
In virtually every profession, charlatans and frauds occasionally attempt to pass themselves off as legitimate practitioners. Strict licensing requirements make it more difficult in some fields than others, but that doesn’t prevent the truly dedicated scam artist from attempting to cash in on a potentially lucrative business. It doesn’t happen very often, but the sheer audacity required to pass oneself off as doctor or lawyer is almost mind boggling.
In the interest of protecting the public, states have put in place strict licensing requirements for certain occupations. This is particularly true of the medical, legal and accounting professions. When you see MD, JD, or CPA behind a name, you can usually rest assured that this person has years of specialized professional training, and has passed a rigorous licensing examination.
Certifications and credentials have never been sufficient to identify the most talented practitioners in any field, and that has never been their purpose. Two physicians or attorneys with identical training will not produce identical outcomes in the court room or the operating room. The most talented practitioners will rise to the top of their fields based on their skills and their professional reputations. What credentials are intended to provide is an assurance that the individual possesses a minimum level of competency.
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February 1, 2010 by mitch in
Opinion
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Use any search engine and type in “fake certification” or a similar term and you will likely find offers for certification credentials in the profession of your choice without any skills assessment, training, or experience required – except for a valid credit card. How can this be so? Well, the certification industry is largely unregulated. Basically, there are no regulating agencies to enforce standards, so each certifying body can create their own. In fact, just about anyone can become a certification granting entity using a home computer and a printer. This is not to say that all certifications are phony, because some certification granting entities indeed have high standards, but unfortunately, most do not. For every credible and recognized certification, there are likely to be several competing ones that are unrecognized, questionable, or outright fakes. Being unregulated, the certification industry is truly a “wild west show” making it difficult for the uninformed to identify the good from the bad. However, with a little footwork, it’s not that difficult to filter out value from the “junk”.
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Among certification candidates, employers, and the public, there is a growing awareness that all certifications are not created equal. Although still common, especially among the uninformed, general acceptance of certification credentials on face value alone is becoming less so. As more professionals become aware of the forces that continue to degrade the value of certification programs, many practitioners have become more discriminating in choosing certification programs that will return the most value – especially in terms of validity and thus its acceptance among peers and the public.
Today, credentials proclaiming “certified professional” do not necessarily guarantee acceptance. And although a skeptical attitude towards certification is becoming more common, it’s primarily limited to professional circles and not reflected in the media, which continues to cheer-lead and champion credentialing programs of all types. If anyone researches the issue however, one quickly learns that there is a difference between the viewpoints of those who work in a profession and those who market certification credentials for that profession. With that, below are three links illustrating the issue:
Social Media Certification:
Social Media Certification: For the low, low price of ….
Java Programming Certification:
The Truth about being Sun Certified
IT Certification:
Why certifications are now worthless:
Certification Demand and Quality is a well thought out analysis on the value of IT certifications. The author’s experiences as an independent developer, employer and holder of several well-known certifications makes his viewpoint particularly interesting. Although generally critical of most IT certification programs, the author praises a few high-quality programs and explains why they reflect real value in comparison to the majority of programs that do not. Most importantly, the author provides possible solutions for improving the quality of IT certification exams so that they can more accurately test knowledge and talent.
This is a must read article for anyone considering IT certification, but particularly for those considering certifications in SW programming.
For the full article…..
Can you really say that? Well, Jesus Diaz did just that and backs it up with examples. It appears that most of his readers agree with him too.
Experienced professionals sound off on the value of IT storage certification programs in this article from ComputerWorld. Read what working pros have to say about the role of certification in hiring, its value as a career enhancement tool, and whether current certification programs are adequately addressing the needs of the IT storage industry.
Are certification programs a scam?
With that attention-grabbing title, you might believe this is a certification-bashing rant from a disgruntled cert test candidate, or someone making wild assertions without any basis. However, the author is saying out loud what many already know but usually don’t express for fear of ridicule or attack (at least in public anyway). A link to reader comments from the original article is posted at the end.
Note: The following does not represent the opinion of Mark McKinnon. He merely had the good grace to allow me a forum in which to post it after it was respectfully declined (for obvious reasons) by the SANS Institute’s Forensic Blog. I wrote it chiefly because I hadn’t seen anything recently, or as I recall, ever, that so much as acknowledged any downside to certification. I respect the pro-certification viewpoint, but I do disagree with it. And so, without further ado…
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IT certification test fraud is a growing problem. This article describes the situation, the players, and what is being done to combat it. An interesting article on a little-known but serious issue.
“For the first time ever, companies that develop and administer IT certification exams are working together to combat a problem that has largely been swept under the rug for years: certification fraud.” For the full Network World article…..
In Review of SEO Certifications, Edward Lewis, Administrator for the SEO Consultants Directory, provides a critical review of several SEO Certification programs in this hard-hitting piece showing how shady operations, questionable standards, and inexperienced quick buck fraudsters carrying SEO certification credentials can damage an industry, its reputable practitioners, and its customers. A must read for anyone considering SEO certification.
Click on the link above to go directly to the article.
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