To Certify, or Not to Certify? That is the Question.

To Certify, or Not to Certify? That is the Question.

Once upon a time, there was a humble employee. He worked day and night, doing grunt work for his boss, and wishing one day that he would be promoted. He put in the hours, and gained experience far beyond any other employee there. One day, his boss came into his office and said “I’d like you to complete this training and earn this certification, It is not a requirement, but I believe it would bring value to our company.”

The humble employee was angry, he thought he was about to be offered a promotion, but instead, he was asked to do MORE work. It was as if his long hours had gone completely unnoticed! Outraged, he opted not to earn the certification, as it was indeed optional, and kept on doing his daily tasks as normal.

The next few months went by as usual, until tragically, the quarterly numbers dipped low, and frowning at the report in his hand the boss turned to a handful of employees, including our protagonist.  “I’m sorry”, he said, “We have to let you go now.  The humble employee was shocked. How could this be happening?!

	(PHR) Certification Program		Certified Ethical Hacker

Figure 1                                                                                                                                  Figure 2

This happens all the time in the corporate world, and there are plenty of excuses: I’m too busy, it’s too much work, it’s too expensive, and I don’t need it.

We at TrainUp.com hear this story on a regular basis from our customers. Yet commonly, someone like the humble employee in the story, have a hard time finding a new job as the job market has changed since they were last in it. The biggest regret they have is not having Taken advantage of the certification option while their knowledge was still fresh.

In our example, the training and exam were offered through the employees’ company for free. However there are instances when an employer may not cover the cost of your certification exam. That can be quite a deterrent, yet our advice is still to always to pursue the training and exam on your own if you can afford to do it, as it will pay for itself many times over later. Even if you do not plan to stay at your company for long, you may need this exact training at your next job. It may be a great idea to get a head start, and have another item to add onto your resume. It can only benefit you!

On the other hand, some companies require that you sign paperwork saying that you will be sticking around for a while if they are going to pay for your training, but again folks, don’t dismiss this. It’s still a pretty sweet deal! If you are going to put in the commitment to stay at this job for a while, you might as well put in the commitment to do the training. This is not a disadvantage, get the most out of your time there. Then when it’s time to move on, you will be equipped with the latest designation to do so successfully!

Today, you may be a humble employee, slaving away, nose to the grindstone, feeling like you can never look up. Being asked to do more training on top of your workload may sound ridiculous, but just stop and think about it. However lowly you feel you are now, training is not going to impact you negatively and drag you down further. Training and certification will only lift you up. If you’re looking toward better things, then when you ask yourself: ‘To certify, or not to certify?’ you should already know the right answer!

 Figure 1:“TU CPS Launches Professional in Human Resources (PHR) Certification Program.” TU Innovates. N.p., 20 Jan. 2017. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.

Figure 2: Westfall, Brian. “How To Get A Job As An Ethical Hacker.” Intelligent Defense. N.p., 27 Aug. 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.

To learn more about how TrainUp.com can help you obtain a certification, please give us a call today at 866-540-9677