Evaluation of the credibility of professional certifications
Website design By BotEap.comUse any search engine and type in “fake certification” or a similar term and you are likely to find offers for certification credentials in your profession of choice with no skills assessment, training or experience required, except for a valid credit card. Obviously, entering “fake certification” will mostly result in offers for “novel” credentials; however, many of the so-called “legitimate” certification credentials can be just as worthless as the fake ones. How can this be so? Well, the certification industry is largely unregulated. Basically, there are no regulatory agencies to enforce the standards, so each certifying body can create their own.
Website design By BotEap.comIn fact, almost anyone can become a certification body using a home computer and printer. This is not to say that all certifications are fake; There are certification bodies that do indeed have high standards, but unfortunately, most do not. For every credible and recognized certification, there are likely to be several competing ones that are unrecognized, questionable, or outright bogus. Being unregulated, the certification industry is truly a “Wild West show”, making it difficult for the uninformed to identify the good from the bad. However, with a little legwork, it’s not that hard to filter out the “garbage” value.
Website design By BotEap.comEvaluation criteria
If your goal is to earn a credential that truly validates your experience, it’s probably based on a combination of experience, a skills assessment, training and education, and a reference check. Keep in mind, however, that even a show that claims to use these criteria may be “less than credible” if it waters them down or allows them to be “tricked” to the point of allowing anyone to qualify. For example, a skills assessment could be a questionnaire that even a five-year-old could pass, training could be in an unrelated field, and experience or references could be stated and not verifiable. One way to measure the validity of a certification program is to find out its pass rate. Typically, the higher your approval rate, the more likely you are to fall into the “less than credible” category. Website design By BotEap.comoverall reputation
Name recognition can be good and bad; good as reliable, valuable and respected; bad as infamous, notorious, or con man. Before enrolling in a certification program, it would be wise to learn about its reputation and that of the awarding organization. Search the web, ask friends, family, co-workers and others. For obvious reasons, the goal is to filter certifications and/or organizations with negative reputations. Keep in mind, however, that just because a certification or organization isn’t well-known doesn’t mean it’s worthless. There are well-known organizations that offer certifications that are considered a “joke” by industry professionals, but those same credentials may appear credible to a uniformed public due to the name recognition factor. Additionally, small organizations offer certification programs that are often highly regarded within their professions, but are relatively unknown to the general public. Adding to the confusion, some well-known certification organizations may offer multiple certification programs, some that are credible and some that are not. Although name recognition by itself can provide an initial boost of short-term credibility, it should be considered only if other indicators of quality and credibility are present. Website design By BotEap.compeer acceptance
After filtering out the obvious junk, the next step is to find out which certification credentials are valued by professionals in your industry. Talking to practicing professionals, employers, and clients can reveal a lot of valuable information. Highly regarded certifications, as well as those considered “no value,” are often well known within particular industries, but there may be little information, good or bad, about them in the general public. Certification programs with high acceptance among affected professionals, employers, and clients improve ROI (return on investment) and will reduce your chances of earning a worthless credential that can tag you as “wannabe” or “fake.” It is just as important to discuss certification with experienced professionals who are not certified. Website design By BotEap.comProfessionals may have valid reasons for not seeking certification because they may consider the available credentials uncredible, unnecessary, a gimmick, or fraudulent. Sometimes particular certifications become very popular within an industry. If this is the case for a certification program you are considering, it might be worth finding out why. Certifications often become popular just because they are easy to obtain, the selling point being that any paper credential will give you an “edge” over the competition. But impressive-looking credentials issued by official sound organizations can only go so far, regardless of the ribbons, buzzwords, signatures, and other trappings used to make them appear legit. Furthermore, the vast majority of experienced professionals and employers will not be fooled by appearances and will certainly investigate any unknown credentials they come across. In either case, due to all the variables, it is vitally important to research all available certifications in your field of interest and discuss your findings with professionals in that field. Website design By BotEap.comSummary
Certifications can be valid indicators of experience or plans to earn money. As long as people are fooled by “official looking” credentials, the fraudulent certification industry will continue to grow and prosper. At the moment, the certification industry is largely unregulated. However, if and when the safety and interests of the general public, employers, or clients are perceived to be threatened by professionals with questionable credentials, regulation or licensing will be the necessary response as it was for medicine, law , engineering, education, and other professional fields. In fact, due to the proliferation of accreditation programs, society and businesses are already becoming more skeptical and selective regarding certification credentials, and this trend is likely to continue. Most career fields have multiple certification program offerings from industry providers, professional organizations, and private companies. For obvious reasons, all of these certification-granting organizations will try to project an image of professionalism and integrity, regardless of whether or not it actually applies. It is up to each individual to look beyond appearances and sales pitches to find the best options available. At the very least, doing some basic research before using a credit card will help ensure that you don’t end up with a totally worthless credential that primarily benefits scammers.
If your goal is to earn a credential that truly validates your experience, it’s probably based on a combination of experience, a skills assessment, training and education, and a reference check. Keep in mind, however, that even a show that claims to use these criteria may be “less than credible” if it waters them down or allows them to be “tricked” to the point of allowing anyone to qualify. For example, a skills assessment could be a questionnaire that even a five-year-old could pass, training could be in an unrelated field, and experience or references could be stated and not verifiable. One way to measure the validity of a certification program is to find out its pass rate. Typically, the higher your approval rate, the more likely you are to fall into the “less than credible” category. Website design By BotEap.comoverall reputation
Name recognition can be good and bad; good as reliable, valuable and respected; bad as infamous, notorious, or con man. Before enrolling in a certification program, it would be wise to learn about its reputation and that of the awarding organization. Search the web, ask friends, family, co-workers and others. For obvious reasons, the goal is to filter certifications and/or organizations with negative reputations. Keep in mind, however, that just because a certification or organization isn’t well-known doesn’t mean it’s worthless. There are well-known organizations that offer certifications that are considered a “joke” by industry professionals, but those same credentials may appear credible to a uniformed public due to the name recognition factor. Additionally, small organizations offer certification programs that are often highly regarded within their professions, but are relatively unknown to the general public. Adding to the confusion, some well-known certification organizations may offer multiple certification programs, some that are credible and some that are not. Although name recognition by itself can provide an initial boost of short-term credibility, it should be considered only if other indicators of quality and credibility are present. Website design By BotEap.compeer acceptance
After filtering out the obvious junk, the next step is to find out which certification credentials are valued by professionals in your industry. Talking to practicing professionals, employers, and clients can reveal a lot of valuable information. Highly regarded certifications, as well as those considered “no value,” are often well known within particular industries, but there may be little information, good or bad, about them in the general public. Certification programs with high acceptance among affected professionals, employers, and clients improve ROI (return on investment) and will reduce your chances of earning a worthless credential that can tag you as “wannabe” or “fake.” It is just as important to discuss certification with experienced professionals who are not certified. Website design By BotEap.comProfessionals may have valid reasons for not seeking certification because they may consider the available credentials uncredible, unnecessary, a gimmick, or fraudulent. Sometimes particular certifications become very popular within an industry. If this is the case for a certification program you are considering, it might be worth finding out why. Certifications often become popular just because they are easy to obtain, the selling point being that any paper credential will give you an “edge” over the competition. But impressive-looking credentials issued by official sound organizations can only go so far, regardless of the ribbons, buzzwords, signatures, and other trappings used to make them appear legit. Furthermore, the vast majority of experienced professionals and employers will not be fooled by appearances and will certainly investigate any unknown credentials they come across. In either case, due to all the variables, it is vitally important to research all available certifications in your field of interest and discuss your findings with professionals in that field. Website design By BotEap.comSummary
Certifications can be valid indicators of experience or plans to earn money. As long as people are fooled by “official looking” credentials, the fraudulent certification industry will continue to grow and prosper. At the moment, the certification industry is largely unregulated. However, if and when the safety and interests of the general public, employers, or clients are perceived to be threatened by professionals with questionable credentials, regulation or licensing will be the necessary response as it was for medicine, law , engineering, education, and other professional fields. In fact, due to the proliferation of accreditation programs, society and businesses are already becoming more skeptical and selective regarding certification credentials, and this trend is likely to continue. Most career fields have multiple certification program offerings from industry providers, professional organizations, and private companies. For obvious reasons, all of these certification-granting organizations will try to project an image of professionalism and integrity, regardless of whether or not it actually applies. It is up to each individual to look beyond appearances and sales pitches to find the best options available. At the very least, doing some basic research before using a credit card will help ensure that you don’t end up with a totally worthless credential that primarily benefits scammers.