The advantage of certification

[David-Baratheon]

We are having a bit of a negotiation in my work place about whether the LabVIEW developers should aim to get certified. 

I am arguing that with certification, when bidding for work we can state the number of certified LabVIEW programmers we have on the team to aid the bidding process.

Is there anything anyone could show me which I could use as further evidence of the benefits of certification? Any links or evidence will be much appreciated.

[James.M]

I actually learned a lot on my way to taking the CLA. It forced me to do research in to LV practices that I hadn't even thought of before.

Yes, it's great for bidding on jobs and that was the main purpose my previous employer pushed us to get certified.

If your company is looking in to Alliance Partnership, I know there are minimum certifications required for the partnership levels.

This link here says:

Once certified, most customers report direct and positive effects from holding the CLD certification. Survey findings showed benefits that customers directly tied to their certification included the following:

• Over 54% said the quality of their work improved
• Nearly 45% said their peers’ perceptions of them improved
• Nearly 30% got new project opportunities
• Over 35% said the certification increased their compensation by more than 5%
• 10% received a promotion at work

[mallorim]

Besides the benefits James already pointed to from our survey of CLDs, other advantages include:

• Invites to the Certification Summits, often identified by attendees as one of the most important events they can attend each year:
• CLA Summits in Austin first week of March, Europe in April
• CLD Summits increasing offered locally. I think Q4 2015 will see London, Denver, Salt Lake CIty and some other cities...
• Access to private disucssion forums (CLA certification)

Check out the Value of Certification page for more details.

[JÞB]

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@David-Baratheon wrote:

We are having a bit of a negotiation in my work place about whether the LabVIEW developers should aim to get certified. 

I am arguing that with certification, when bidding for work we can state the number of certified LabVIEW programmers we have on the team to aid the bidding process.

Is there anything anyone could show me which I could use as further evidence of the benefits of certification? Any links or evidence will be much appreciated.

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I cannot speak for your companies management team.  I could speak to them.

Most businesses today recognize that employee retention requires:

1. Empowering employees
2. developing employees

This usually means you make those drones fill out an IDP, Individual development plan, every flipping year and it means exactly zip to management.  Sometimes "The Boss" actually undestands what this all means (hopefully you are in that situation!) and those IDPs are actually tied to business objectives and CASH!  <Sea Story Mode = TRUE> I once had my boss tell me he was authorized to spend 3k$ to hire and train my replacement but, my top 10% performance could not justify any raise for me that year.  Some companies just don't get it! That boss spent 3k$ to hire and train my replacement<End Sea Story>

If you use LabVIEW at all, Certification belongs on your IDP or your resume needs to be current!

[Sam_Sharp]

For me, I think getting certified is great for career development. Here are a few of the benefits I can think of:

- Job Prospects: I have been contacted numerous times both as a CLD and CLA about job opportunities through the fact I am listed on the list of certified developers on the NI website and it's on my LinkedIn profile.

- Recognition: I think it's great to be able to say that I am one of the 50-60 or so CLAs across the whole of the UK

- Proficiency: Having a CLD/CLA certification indicates a level of proficiency to a potential employer, I think it cuts out a lot of the basic 'can you LabVIEW?' questions as part of an interview process and shows you understand a bit about design patterns, the LabVIEW 'style' and how to document your LabVIEW code.

- I think if you were an alliance partner and/or producing LabVIEW solutions for clients - being able to state the number of certified developers is definitely a marketable credential!

- The learning required to get yourself to CLD/CLA level (e.g. the NI training courses) will improve your abilities as a LabVIEW developer. I think there are people have used LabVIEW for years but have never really 'learned' LabVIEW.

For a business, I think it can be a bit of a double-edged sword. Most employers understand that employee development is very important (hence is part of appraisal processes) for engagement/morale but I think some worry that you'll get certified and then disappear off to somewhere else (or they'll have to pay you more!). Obviously when you put the importance of certification to your boss - don't mention the job prospects one 😉

[crossrulz]

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@Sam_Sharp wrote:

- I think if you were an alliance partner and/or producing LabVIEW solutions for clients - being able to state the number of certified developers is definitely a marketable credential!

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And that is not limited to just Alliance Partners.  At my previous employer (not an Alliance Partner), we were in a tight bidding war for a LARGE project.  My CLA certification was used as a selling point.

[billko]

You could also cite all the certification nuggets that are scattered throughout the Certification forum!