Why certification related career goals hurt everyone
‘Acquire a certification in technology X‘ | ‘Earn a Domain Y certification‘
Do one of those statements list in your yearly goals ? It is almost certainly a bad idea. Let me explain why. I knew a company that required its employees to be acquire at least one certification on a technology per year. Its employees would work hard throughout the year and during appraisal time it is not uncommon to hear this converation
Foo: ‘Dude did you take that certification you were supposed to ?’
Bar: ‘Rats ! I didnt realize it was a part of our goals’
Foo: ‘hmm… what do we do ? John has already passed it and that puts him ahead of us’
Foo and Bar will probably end up reading real exam questions (also referred to as brain dumps) and passing the exam with only a day’s worth of preparation. That another way of saying ‘They cheated’. This hurts everyone.