Does Certification Matter Anymore?

So What? has a good article on wether certification matters anymore. In it he covers on some good points inregards to wether certification matters or not. If you follow the article and also follow the links to the other articles on ComputerWorld.com (Certifiably Concerned and Study) you'll find some interesting trends.

According to the study, it seems that certified IT professionals are not getting the pay raises that are given to others in the same career path. Jeff brings out some good points in his blog regarding what really matters to companies after someone has been hired. His closing sentence says it all, "Certification has its place, but experience and drive trump certification every time." Granted it takes experience and drive to pass a certification exam, but the more important issue is what benefits does the company see after they've hired you.

The items to remember are that certification matters when you are interviewing for a position and you have the certification and the other person doesn't everything else being equal. If experience comes into play then experience will trump certification every time. Either way, after you've been hired you still have to produce.

These articles are still good to pay attention to and keep in the back of your mind when you are working and asking yourself if you'll get a bonus or a pay raise when they start handing these things out.