Not so long ago (5 years) employers took strides to hire top quality talent that had an A+ certification, and was willing to train people in their processes and procedures. It did not matter that they had no experience or any other quality. Now the faces of business has changed to the point where you have to have more than the A+ certification, but the business sense as well, and now more than ever, companies want a liberal arts degree with a minor in technology in order to be hired, and the A+ no longer matters.
Why? Well, the A+ tells the employer that you have 6 months experience in performing services on PC?s, networking, and other aspects of software. However, many in the industry state that it does not make you a master of any of them. Many technicians believe that the A+ certifications are needed because they show proficiency in being able to repair systems and technology.
The tide is turning however, in that companies want a degree in computer science or moreover, a liberal arts degree with some technology rather than certifications due to problems with certified employees not knowing how to fix problems. One issue last year here of a MSCE who was also A+ certified complaining about the system being sluggish and crashing often until running the CD with the Motherboard drivers, is one example why companies have suspicions of certifications. Have employers properly and adequately gone through the process to justify their concerns or have they allowed their concerns to run wild?
CompTIA says that the A+ Certification is an internationally recognized validation of technical knowledge required of an entry level computer service technician. While CompTIA has done an outstanding job in keeping the A+ certification recent, corporate requirements are now demanding more in that they want someone who can do more than entry level work for the pay. While the intent of CompTIA?s examination process is to certify a body of knowledge, the corporate requirements have gone beyond entry-level to a new standard of hit the ground running with business process. Has the A+ Certification by its own design become obsolete?
Let me tell you what is happening in our particular area. We have come to a decision that while A+ certification is great for a person who is changing careers to attempt, that it would not be worth the in some cases up to $2,500 to send someone who has 10 years experience to in order to become certified in. Since A+ Certification is the entry-level, which in today?s corporate society is sub $10 per hour work, it is believed that the seasoned professional would be taking a step back rather than taking a step forward. So because of that, we encourage our professionals to take Cisco or Red Hat Linux certifications instead that will help the company later. We figured that there is $2,500 that is well spent, and $2,500 that is not, and the investment into furthering the employee rather than the liability in setting them back. Granted, we have databases of processes to fix the common problems, so we felt that sending the employees to A+ Certification would be re-inventing the wheel.
So with our company process, and that of the other companies that are following suit, how long will it be before the A+ certification becomes part of the wonderful world of obsolescence where the old IBM Micro channel and OS/2 went, as well as DOS and Windows 3.1? It seems that while companies like the idea of the employee having it, it is overshadowed by the need of an employee to have a stable education and experienced background. Your thoughts?