Getting a certification can be a time consuming and expensive proposition.  Most people do not commit to paying for and following a certification program unless they feel reasonably certain they will benefit from doing so.  For many people, getting a job, advancing their career, or making more money are the primary motivations for becoming certified.

However, rarely does getting a certification, on its own, lead directly to getting a job or promotion.  Most people understand this, at least intuitively.  However, Agile-related internet forums are filled with posts asking:  Will an Agile certification help me get a job?

This article describes how to decide which Agile certification program is most likely to bring you professional success.  While my focus here is on Agile certifications, this same decision-making approach applies to any kind of certification you may be considering.

Deciding on a Certification

When deciding which Agile certification to pursue, evaluate your options based on how each certification aligns to your professional goals, industry and job considerations, and life circumstances.

Your Professional Goals

We can group professional goals into three categories:  Professional development, marketability, and changing careers.  Professional development is about keeping up relevant skills, or learning new ones, to improve your current job performance or get promoted.  Your marketability depends on how attractive a job candidate you are, across a profession or industry, based on your skills, knowledge, and experience.  Changing careers may require gaining education, skills, and certifications.

Industry and Position Considerations

The Agile approach(es) you choose to become certified in must align with the needs of your target profession or industry and with individual position requirements.  For example, a software product development company may need certified Scrum Masters to help development teams become more effective by applying Scrum.  In that case, a Scrum Master certification would be valid differentiator.  Another company might be a systems integration company that develops large-scale systems that include both software and hardware components.  In that case, a certification in an Agile scaling approach such as the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) would be appropriate.

Let’s delve further into industry and position considerations in choosing Agile certifications.

Industry Considerations

Taking into account the following industry-related considerations will help you choose which certifications are most aligned with your professional goals.

1. Does the industry recognize the certification and certifying body?

A quick look through job postings and descriptions for your target industry should quickly bring to light that industry’s required or most desired certifications.  Some certifications require more time and money to get than others.  Many Agile certifying organizations or bodies require attending expensive classes and taking expensive tests to become certified.  Other bodies, like Scrum.org, offer classes but allow people to take their certification exams without class attendance.  Ensure that the certification is recognized and accepted within the industry before spending time and money acquiring it.

Be on the lookout for references to specific certifying bodies.  For example, ScrumAlliance and Scrum.org are two well-known and widely-accepted Scrum certifying bodies for Scrum. 

Also look at industry forums and ask people in the industry about which Agile certifying bodies they recognize and why.  Getting an Agile certification through a recognized body increases its value.

2. Is the certification in demand?

Just because a certification is recognized within an industry does not mean it is necessary to gain entry into that industry.  Your prior experience is often more valuable than a certification.

However, a certification may be a minimum requirement to gain employment in a particular industry.  You need to determine your relative value compared to other job candidates.  If most candidates possess certifications and you don’t, you’ll be at a disadvantage.

3. Will the certification set you apart from other candidates?

On the flip side, having a certification may actually set you apart from other job candidates in your industry.  This is truer for more specialized Agile certifications like the different SAFe role certifications. 

Understand, however, that a certification is not a substitute for real experience.  It is a credential that attests to your knowledge about, and understanding of, a particular Agile approach.

Position Considerations

After narrowing down the choices based on your professional goals and target industry, consider which certification options most closely align with the positions you seek.

1. Is the position an Agile role?

Are you interested in positions where you’ll play a formal role within an Agile approach or framework such as Scrum or SAFe?  For example, are you going for a Scrum Master or Product Owner position for a Scrum Team?  Do you want to be a Release Train Engineer (RTE) for a SAFe Agile Release Train (ART)?  If so, then becoming certified for such roles will likely benefit you both in terms of meeting position requirements and preparing you for the roles.

2. Does the certification lower the number of years of experience required?

Some organizations lower the number of years of experience required for a position if the candidate possesses a specific certification.

3. Is your position changing because of Agile?

Perhaps your current position or industry is moving towards Agile and you need to understand how to best deal with the change.  For example, you are a traditional project manager who is now working Agile projects.

Learn about the organization’s chosen Agile approach and understand its roles.  Then ask yourself, “Which of these roles most aligns with the work I do today?”  Determine whether it makes sense for you to transition to that role or learn how best to support that role from your current position.  Either way, a certification in that Agile role will arm you with the knowledge necessary to participate and contribute in an Agile environment.

Gaining Multiple Certifications

Obviously, if you intend to become an Agile coach, mastery of multiple Agile approaches (e.g., Scrum, Kanban, XP, SAFe, LESS) is expected.  However, even if becoming an Agile coach is not your goal, you may find it beneficial to possess more than one Agile certification. Many Agilists do.  You may want to start with becoming certified in the different roles of your organization’s chosen Agile approach and later expand into other Agile approaches and Lean process management practices. How you expand your Agile knowledge is entirely up to you.

Your Professional Experience and Life Circumstances

The next set of factors to consider when deciding whether to pursue an Agile certification are your professional experience and life circumstances.

Professional Experience

If you do not have a background in developing, testing, and supporting software systems, or managing those who do, you will have a steeper learning curve.  Agile philosophy is applicable to team-centered product or solution development in practically any industry or domain.  However, Agile approaches, such as Scrum, were originally conceived as better ways of developing software.  As such, translating Agile practices to work outside the realm of software development requires knowledge, skills, and experience.

Everyone’s familiarity and background in Agile is different.  If you are new to Agile, introductory courses and beginner-level certifications make sense.  If you are an experienced Agilist, then progressing through intermediate and advanced certification levels may be right for you.  Make sure that you meet course and certification prerequisites.

One course or certification does not make anyone proficient in Agile.  Attaining a certification is really the beginning of an ongoing journey of learning, application, and improvement. The journey involves hands-on application, Agile community participation, and individual study augmented by structured training opportunities.

Life Circumstances

Do you have the time and money necessary to get certified and stay certified?  As stated earlier, many Agile certification programs require attending certification courses that they sponsor.  Many certifying bodies also require periodic (often annual) re-certification payments as wells as documentation of ongoing professional development activities related to the certification.  Understand all of the time and money requirements associated with any Agile certification you pursue.

Conclusion

Committing to attaining an Agile certification is a big step.  You want to be certain that your chosen certification program aligns with your professional goals, your target industry/positions, and your life circumstances.  Rather than thinking about Agile certification in terms of landing a particular job, think of it as an opportunity for professional and personal growth that will open up opportunities.

Last Updated on February 2, 2022