Why You Need An IT Certification

With careers in the IT sector increasing significantly in 2020 and beyond, you may wonder if making the effort to obtain an IT certification is worth it to get hired or to grow within a company? In short, the answer is yes.

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Once upon a time, it was enough for a new hire to know how to operate the Microsoft Office, which was just a suite of applications such as Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint. In the past decade, however, technology has rapidly evolved in such a way that it’s now embedded in every aspect of business operations.

New technologies such as social, mobile, cloud, analytics, and big data, tie together every aspect of a business — so much so that the boundary between internal operations and a company’s external ecosystem is fast disappearing. What does this mean for those hoping to join the workforce or change careers? It means that businesses need people who are trained in new technologies and able to contribute to the organization as quickly as possible.

Whether you’re a recent graduate or you’re someone who’s looking to try something new, you may wonder, is an IT certification worth it? In short, the answer is yes.

Why Companies Are Looking for Entry Level Staff With a Certification

Shorter hiring process and reduced hiring costs by retaining certified personnel.
Certified new hires reach productivity approximately one month sooner than non-certified.
Certified new hires also have longer tenure and lower turnover rates.
Certified new hires are quicker to advance, which means increased responsibility and pay.
Certified new hires skills make them more efficient.
Certified staff involved in IT applications, equates to less downtime for customers and better user experience.

How IT Certification Helps Improve the User Experience

Certified new hires don’t just benefit the organization for whom they work. They also benefit customers, who increasingly expect advanced IT systems from the companies with which they choose to do business. Benefits to the consumer are as follows:

Accelerated Time to Value: More agile IT departments respond quicker to marketplace demands and changes, which means customers see more value faster.
Increased Innovation: IT departments with knowledgeable and certified personnel improve reliability and minimize maintenance, which leaves more time for innovating new products and services.
Improved System Resiliency: A qualified IT team can recover more quickly from outages and other issues.
Optimized Spending: A qualified IT department maximizes efficiency of the physical infrastructure and the productivity of staff, increasing its overall value.

The Benefit of Certification to You

Earning a Promotion: Certification automatically sets you apart from others. When you use it properly, it can increase efficiency and productivity which translates to monetary value to the company. When you benefit the company’s bottom line, you stand to earn promotions more quickly.
Landing Your Dream Job: Introductory certification prepares you for your first job out of school, while intermediate certification prepares you for your first tech-heavy position. Both cover the fundamental concepts of IT and validate your knowledge in database, IT infrastructure, and development.
Foundation for Improvement: Basic certification sets you up to perform more complex and valuable tasks. With introductory certification, you have the foundation you need to advance at your own pace. Additional certification is available if you want to demonstrate your proficiency in certain applications.

An IT certification provides value to both the employer and the employee. Though it may not be a requirement (yet), it’s worth your while to invest in it.