Certified Forever or On the Continuing Education Death March?

Part One of an Occasional Series

We recently tweaked a few people by announcing the need for some certification holders in the federal government to maintain a current certification level, essentially updating their skills every three years.

The reaction in a few circles was immediate, swift and passionate—CompTIA had reneged on its “certified for life” promise, this was some sales jive for getting people to take more exams, and in other places the reaction was even more extreme—it was the sure sign of the Apocalypse. As a product manager at CompTIA, I got my share of e-mails, some thoughtful, some more heat-activated, but I could understand the reasons for the concern.

People and companies need to keep their promises. If you have a certification that is good for life, it should be good for life—period (reminds me in a perverse way of an old boss I had who said the only reason to miss a particular meeting was if you were on your deathbed—and the only way to know that you were on your deathbed was if you died—nice boss). Buying one thing and learning that it doesn’t count in a new setting is disturbing. Thinking you have invested well, only to find out that your initial investment is no longer worth what you thought, seems to be a regular experience for me, based on my ever-shrinking 401(k). 

The industry has had a few months to cool down, and I would like to share some thoughts on these issues.

Let’s remember the facts. If you have a CompTIA certification, you still have it. Not going away, not gonna take it back, not nothin’ no-how (yes, we’re going to San Antonio for CompTIA’s Breakaway next week, and I am working on my lingo). Your CompTIA credentials are always a part of your resume and your credentials toolbox.

Here’s the deal, however: If you do have a few CompTIA certifications and work for the U.S. federal  government, there are a few changes. It’s important to keep in mind these changes are not some marketing plan of CompTIA, but an attempt by the Feds to keep the value of your certification higher.

So it’s not some bureaucratic S&M play for IT folks (yeah, we get enough of that anyway), but is rather based on the standards body that governs IT certifications worldwide and the one in the U.S., the ISO and ANSI. The relevant specification is ISO/ANSI 17024, which states that “information assurance personnel must receive and maintain certification for the highest level functions that they perform related to data management, use, processing, storage and transmission. Bodies issuing this certification must be accredited to the International Standard ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024, General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons. The new revisions to the manual state that ANSI is the sole approved accreditor for these certification bodies.” (If you want a copy of this baby; it will cost you a cool U.S. $160.00, so I just saved you a few bucks right? Otherwise, I would only buy it if you have problems sleeping at night.)

Did you see the terms “must receive and maintain certification”? That’s where the continuing education requirement comes from. 

Now, there’s a more important question that we have to address next: Is it good to require a continuing education/certification upgrade for a CompTIA certification? We’ll hit that next week.

Until then, stay cool in the heat, stay focused on your toolbox (no one else will), and keep learning.