Certification Still Important at the Very Top of the Pyramid

Not everyone becomes a CEO in the course of his or her IT career. Some of us — most of us, really — just don't have that in our DNA. If you have your career sights set high, on the other hand, then it may interest you to know that certification can benefit you even if you're at the top of the corporate pyramid. Even if you've climbed as high as you can go. Don't take our word for it, though. Take the word of some actual IT executives. We get inside info from our friends at Certification Magazine from time to time. The magazine's most recent annual Salary Survey captured data from 70 U.S. respondents (5 women and 65 men) who self-identified as executives in their current workplaces.

Like everyone else who takes the survey, those folks identified how many active certifications each of them now holds. It's just one (1) for 13 tech executives (12 men and 1 woman). Another eight (all men) have two (2) active certifications apiece. The next group, 13 (all men), each have three (3) active certifications. Then there's another group of eight (7 men and 1 woman) who each have four (4) active certifications. A smaller group, six (five men and 1 woman), have five (5) active certifications apiece. There are five execs (all men) who each have six (6) active certifications. Then we have four execs (3 men and 1 woman) who each hold seven (7) active certifications. That's followed by three male execs who each hold eight (8) active IT certs. Two executives (both men) have nine (9) active certs.

Now we're into double digits. There are three executives (two men and 1 woman) who each hold 10 active certifications. Then we jump all the way up to 14 active IT certifications: there are two executives (both men) there. And now we're down to just three executives (all men) remaining, who each hold ... 16 or more active IT certifications.

So there you have it. Certification is for you, your boss, and even the boss of your boss. Even if some of these people are exaggerating or outright fibbing, it hardly seems likely that all 70 of them are bending (or ignoring) the truth. So don't ever stop learning. Certifications can help you out at any level of employment that you get to in your IT career.