The most frequent question I get asked is “is GIS certification worth it?” Should I get the GISP? Should I get esri certification?
Today, I want to share with you my personal experience and the decisions that I’ve made in terms of mapping my career and my future regarding GIS professional certifications and technical software certifications for my GIS career. I’m going to share my personal experience– as I’ve made career choices it’s been really helpful to listen to the stories of other people and understand why they made particular decisions. I hope that this can help you. If you desire to talk through this with more, did you know that I offer GIS Career Coaching?
The question that I get asked the most often is about is “should I get a technical certification? should I get my GISP? is it worth it for me?” There’s no cut-and-dry answer. At the end of the day, it really comes down to you, and it really depends on your particular circumstances. So there’s not going to be a one size fits all solution, but I want to walk you through a few different ways to think about it.
Let’s define some terms
- Professional Certification (think PMP, AICP, GISP). These professional certifications come from an accrediting body and they are something that proclaims “YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL IN THIS FIELD.” They oftentimes have a certain amount of education required work experience, and adherence to a code of ethics. These don’t indicate that you know how to use any software.
- Technical Certification: These are software specific. For example you can get certified by esri, Tableau, or Alteryx. They indicate that you have a passing level of knowledge on how to use a piece of software.
Why Might You want to Get Certified?
- Studying can be fun! The process of studying for an exam can be really fun and it is a way to learn new things throughout the process. This week I actually went to the process of studying and taking and passing the Alteryx basic level. The exam was open book/ note and while taking the exam (and googling to find answers) I learned a lot! I know that some of the things that I learned while taking the exam is going to make me a better analyst. When I was studying for the GISP (I didn’t take it due to COVID closure of the exam center). When I was doing for the GISP, it was really fun to get back in and study. I also found it to be a really great way for you to push my mind. I have learned really valuable lessons from studying for exams.
- Certifications may be required. In the US for some federal government jobs you may be reuired to have professional (AICP, PMP, GISP) to get promoted past a certain level. It is not a requirement across the board but oftentimes that is a requirement. And so having a professional certification can then help set you up for success within certain sectors of work. There’s also, I would say a little bit of inbreeding that can happen, where people who have a certification can then really value, other people having that certification.
Validate Your Career Path
If you have gotten into the world of data by a non-traditional path (like me!) certification is that it can validate your career path.
I have very very low classroom GIS training. I passed the Esri Desktop Associate (which is their middle-level exam) and I found that was a way that I can validate and demonstrate to people that I did actually know what I was doing. Early on in my career in job interviews, I would talk about my certification.
It is also a great way to fill out the work that you show in your portfolio.