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Frequently Asked Questions
1.
Will certification help me earn more money?
Overall, certification aids salary increase, however this is often
directly an outcome of the certified individual being more productive,
being able to solve problems faster, feeling more confident with
their solutions, being more professional in the workplace, and being
more respected by clients by showing that they have the most current
knowledge appropriate for the I.T. industry. The most obvious manner
in which to demonstrate that is through certification.
Salary surveys reveal the power of professional certification to
boost income when compared to vendor certification.
ICCP certifications result often in 10-20% increase in salary, post
successful certification.
For example for various I.T. positions this
results in increases as represented below:
i. CIOs - $15,000 to $40,000
ii. Systems Managers $10,000 to $30,000
iii. Data Managers $10,000 to $30,000
iv. Security Managers $10,000 to $30,000
v. Programmer Analysts $6,000 to $18,000
vi. Network Administrators $6,000 to $18,000
vii. Business Analysts $6,000 to $18,000
What's the difference between vendor and professional
certifications?
Many professional associations report between $14,000 to $15,000
differential between those certified when compared to those not
certified.
Vendor certifications result in $4,000 to $5,000 increase between
those certified and those not.
If you run your own company, then as a consultant or contractor,
as your complete set of skills grow and are assessed against the
best standard in the industry, you can command a higher paycheck.
Employers today encourage professional certification programs, so
that they can accurately assess the employee's value to the organization.
Should you not be able to negotiate your professional certification
into a raise in pay in the short term: it has been proven in the
long term, to provide a strong base assessment of your knowledge,
qualifications, which increases your marketability to other companies.
So professional certification will pay off in the long term.
2.
Will certification help me get a promotion and why?
Many companies and government departments provide pre-approved movement
up various salary grids based on education, certification and experience.
The Certified Computing Professional (CCP) designation is recognized
and approved by thousands of organizations. View the partial list
of companies under holders: (http://www.iccp.org/iccpnew/holders.html)
and employees in those companies have received promotion because
they became a more valuable, reliable, ethical and productive employee.
CCP holders know the industry better than their colleagues,
they work in teams better and perform their job better with greater
confidence. This all leads to higher productivity.
Confidence comes from knowing that you have the knowledge and skills,
which match with the best in the industry. Individuals are more
professional, follow more structure in their work, and act in a
more professional manner.
During the Dotcom growth, many people entered into the I.T. field
purporting themselves to be I.T. professionals. During the past
six years, these companies have come to realize that they employ
many people who do not have the requisite skills or professional
knowledge. In fact, many people across the entire I.T. industry
are short on those skills or are dated in their skill set.
One manner in which to distinguish yourself from amongst
the crowd is to demonstrate your superior knowledge and skills by
passing a thorough and objective test such as the ICCP examinations.
A significant number of people fail the ICCP examination. But all
examination takers receive a detailed breakdown of their skills,
strengths and weaknesses (gap analysis), which they then use as
guide to plan their professional development program. These individuals
fill the gaps with a sound on-the-job training program or at a local
college, university or private training school. This update in skills,
methods and knowledge then makes them a much better employee, who
is likely to pass the ICCP examination on a retake.
3.
How marketable am I with a CCP or an ACP?
Holding a CCP shows that you are current and wish to remain current,
since there is a recertification requirement. However, the CCP is
for life, much like getting a
B.Sc., M.Sc. or Ph.D. and differs from the vendor certifications
where different versions of the software/hardware invalidate your
hard earned credential.
Additional credentials improve your marketability, significantly.
By achieving a CCP credential you are recognized as holding an equivalent
professional status to that held by a Professional Engineer, Doctor
or Accountant. In choosing to get the CCP you also show that you
can take initiative and manage your own career, and this is a trait
that many employers look for in interviews and resume assessment.
Today, recruiters and hiring managers are looking beyond the alphabet
soup of vendor credentials and want to know they are hiring experienced,
knowledgeable and initiative driven people, who compare well to
the best the industry has ever developed. A CCP credential raises
your resume a great deal higher than the best vendor credential
and right onto the "interview" pile.
If a company doesn't select you first, amongst its applicants to
interview, then as a professional you should feel good about not
getting an interview with that company, since they are oblivious
to the real talent in the I.T. industry.
4.
What happens if I fail? I am worried about failing and others in
the company, including my supervisor, finding out?
The ICCP office works with the examination taker, in a totally confidential
manner. Each exam taker is provided a detailed printed analysis
of performance including strengths and weaknesses, to their preferred
or home address.
If you get 50% or more you qualify at the Associate (ACP) level
and if you achieve 70% or more you qualify at the Professional (CCP)
level. Regardless, you receive a detailed assessment, in written
form for your own personal use.
The ICCP holds all your information in a highly confidential and
secure manner. You may choose to receive your results at home or
anywhere else you feel secure. The ICCP never reveals any information
about any holder or exam taker, not even if they ever took an examination
with us, unless she/he approves the release, first.
Even if the employer is paying for you to take the
examinations, we insist on receiving a signed release from the examination
taker before considering the release. Even then our preference is
to mail all information to the holder and she/he can share it with
whomever they please.
5.
Who really benefits from certification programs: Company, me or
someone else?
Everybody benefits in a significant manner. The Company benefits
because as a holder you have an external code of ethics, code of
conduct and code of practice to conform to. The public benefits
since they can easily recognize a professional who adheres to national
and international standards and can be counted on to protect the
public good. The individual benefits from receiving acceptance by
the highest rank of professionals in our industry, by gaining confidence
that their knowledge and skills is second to none, by getting a
detailed assessment of strengths and weaknesses, so that future
professional development can occur in a rational manner to improve
the overall knowledge and skill set.
*"To employers, certification serves as independent evidence
that you have demonstrated the skills and abilities required to
pass an examination set at an international standard. It also offers
a method for bringing employees up to speed on the most standard
approaches, as well as a way to provide for the continuing education
computer people often crave, this in turns keeps them motivated
to stay at the company. Certification training can reasonably be
billed as an employee benefit. Research has also shown that certified
employees are more satisfied and more productive than their non-certified
counterparts."
6.
If I don't have the experience can I pass the ICCP examinations?
It is very difficult to pass the ICCP examinations at the professional
level (70% or more) without practical experience. The test items
are developed by a highly divergent and broadly experienced group
of authors, professors, practitioners and high performers on the
ICCP examinations.
Test items are classified according to 6 levels of difficulty, which
match Bloom's Taxonomy of learning objective quite closely. Without
experience, most new entrants into the I.T. field pass between 50-69%.
Various experienced individuals sometimes perform not quite as well
as they expected. This is generally due to their narrowly focused
experiences in industry. Study programs and review courses are critical
to assisting them to get prepared to take the examinations.
The ICCP tests allows individuals and human resources personnel
to figure out which areas of knowledge and skill need improvement.
So in that sense the ICCP examinations can be used to perform a
gap analysis for individuals. That is, the gap between what the
job requires and the skills those individuals possess, so that a
sound professional development program can be created for that individual.
This is particularly useful for human resource departments.
7.
If I get certified, will that help me move into another career or
job?
Getting certified will ensure that you receive more opportunities
to move into another career or job. The certification provides evidence
of your new capabilities and the professional nature of your knowledge.
This will distinguish you from the crowd and raise your resume above
others in the pile.
Companies often do not want to pay for certification if that individual
is looking to move to another company. If you are looking for promotion
or another career within your organization, one way is for you to
prove that you are serious about your profession, and are prepared
to study and work hard, is to test yourself through attaining the
CCP designation. Companies often reward this kind of behaviour and
pay for your training, professional development and testing.
8.
What certification program should I take or which one is best for
me?
This is dependant on what career goals you have in mind. If you
intend to be a systems analyst, I.T. supervisor, senior consultant,
I.T. Manager, Chief Information Officer, IT Architecture, Database
Administrator, Datawarehousing and Business Intellingence leader,
etc., then you need the highest standard professional designation:
CCP-Global: Certified Computing Professional or Information Systems
Professional (I.S.P.-Canada); Certified Data Management Professional
(CDMP-Global) or the Certified Business Intelligence Professional
(CBIP-Global), all equivalent due to consistency of a centralized
body of knowledge and examinations from the ICCP.
If on the other hand, you want to be a CISCO specialist, a Novell
Network Administrator, a Microsoft Specialist, etc., in other words,
a product specialist with a particular version of software or equipment,
then it is best to achieve these short term goal driven vendor certifications.
If you are looking for a long-term career goal in I.T., then the
CCP, I.S.P., CDMP or CBIP are the professional standards that many
covet and only the best achieve.
*"You could just pick a certification based on a gut feeling,
but if you want to be certain of the best match, it's going to take
a bit of homework. First, you'll have to identify just what it is
you're trying to accomplish, which can be more difficult than it
sounds. It's like deciding what to major in at college, but at least
this time you'll have the advantages of perspective and experience,
which will allow you to visualize the options more clearly.
Second, once you've managed that, you'll have to pin down the details
of your current skills and experience and see where the bridge needs
to be built, or maybe just the foundations strengthened, to get
where you'd like to be. These two steps come easily to some people,
but take quite a bit of thought for others. Completing just these
steps will put you halfway there.
Next comes the research part. Because there are more than 600 certifications
to choose from, and more are being added all the time, you'll want
to browse through the options until you identify the ones that might
suit your purposes. Don't stop when you uncover the first possible
program because there may be several that make the first cut. Then
you'll want to find out as much as you can about the certifications
on your tentative list before settling on one or a group.
Again, this process will cost you some time and effort, but putting
in the work up front will be time and effort well spent if it lands
you in the right certification program."
9.
If I already have a vendor certification can I get credit towards
the CCP or ACP?
Yes, you can receive up to a maximum of one examination out of the
three that are required to get the CCP. You will still need to write
the Information Systems CORE examination.
For a complete list of the acceptable certifications please contact
the office@iccp.org or you can view a representative list from our
website:
http://www.iccp.org/iccpnew/ccp.html#substitutions
10.
How much will getting certified cost me?
For the CCP, the minimum cost will be $250 * 3 examinations = $750.00,
for the ACP (2 examinations), the minimum cost is $250 (CORE) +
$145 (language) = $390 or CORE, plus one Specialty = $500.
If you require training before taking the examinations:
Training cost at a University or college or private institution
will vary: from $595 up to $2,500. From a two-day course, to a five-day
course, up to a full 4 month semester course running one 3 hour
evening per week.
ICCP offers through its partners online courses: Information
Systems Core; Systems Development. Other courses are under development
and we hope to have Data Management and Data Warehousing prepared
by DAMA for the fall/winter term.
11.
Where can I go to get tested?
You can get yourself tested at almost any location at work, or university
or community college, or training location in the world. All you
have to do is to provide the office@iccp.org the name of an acceptable,
reliable college, university, community college or ICCP Certified
Professional who can act as your test proctor. ICCP will contact
this person and verify if she/he is acceptable to the ICCP and then
arrange to transmit the test to that person at a specific time and
place, including appropriate procedures to administer that test.
The ICCP recommends selecting any person from the
following list: A university professor, a person from your Human
Resources or Training department, a CCP, CBIP, or CDMP holder, a
doctor, lawyer, accountant, professional engineer, or other similarly
attributed person.
This is a similar list to those people who may attest
your official documents for your passport.
Tests can be administered via computer, over the Internet,
or via a paper and pencil format. The preference is to provide testing
using computer based assessment, so you may know your unofficial
mark at the end of each test. A formal verified and validated paper
communication from the ICCP office confirms the informal/unofficial
mark that you received at the end of each test.
If you have difficulty finding a suitable location
and time for a proctor, contact the office we can now conduct proctored
remote testing with ID verification. You will need fast internet
access, a web camera and open internet access to facilitate a webconference
using a Java driven process.
12.
Where can I go to get Certification training?
ICCP runs 2-3 day examination-review courses on-site for companies
and for groups of individuals who may desire such a course. Costs
for these courses include course fees plus travel in addition to
examination fees.
You local university or college is being encouraged
to put on a training course. If enough of you call the continuing
education division/faculty of extension with your requests and let
them know that the ICCP will help/partner with them develop and
deliver a standard course, we would be happy to do that, including
providing the instructor, course outline and relevant training materials.
We provide a number of review courses around North America, and
these are done in concert with our partners: The Association of
Information Technology Professionals (www.aitp.org),
The Canadian Information Processing Society (www.cips.ca),
DAMA the Data Management Association (www.dama.org),
The Data Warehousing Institute (www.tdwi.org)
and various regional and local professional groups.
In addition online courses are available. We are also
partnered with the SOX Institute (www.soxinstitute.org
) and Business Process Management Institute (www.bpmi.com)
and the Services Oriented Archecture Institute (www.soai.com)
who provide seminars and conferences to a global audience.
13.
Do I need a college degree to get certified?
No, but you would get additional credits with a degree, which would
reduce your work experience requirement.
In fact the ICCP examinations count towards your degree credentials
since all of the examinations carry credits towards university degrees
(as approved by the American Council on Education: ACE).
One of our business partners, Excelsior College (www.itdegree.com),
uses the ICCP examinations as criteria to award computing and Information
Systems degrees.
14.
If I already have a degree such as a Bachelor, Master or Ph.D.,
will certification be useful for me?
An increasing number of I.T. professionals have advanced degrees
(Master's level and beyond), and use the CCP credential in their
professional life as a second business and industry qualification
to make themselves more attractive to industry and consulting opportunities.
Holding a M.Sc., or Ph.D., doesn't mean that you will pass the CCP
examinations at the professional level, since the tests require
substantial practical experience.
Many (out of subject) professors teaching computing
are required by their college to attain the ICCP professional credential
as part of their full requirement to continue teaching.
Colleges and Universities requiring re-accreditation
of their program by ACBSP (www.acbsp.org)
must ensure that their faculty are fully qualified to teach the
degree's subject matter and endorse the CCP as the additional qualifying
criteria for all of the faculty in these programs.
15.
Where can I get current information on certification news?
The ICCP website provides a sound location to get information on
certification. Additional website linkages and information items
are provided through each of the affiliate and constituent societies
of the ICCP.
If you are:
*an assistant, associate or full professor, you may want to explore
the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM: www.acm.org)
*an IT manager or IT supervisor or IT specialist than you should
explore the Association of Information Technology Professionals
(AITP: www.aitp.org).
*a female working in the I.T. industry, you may want to explore
the Association for Women in Computing (AWC: www.awc-hq.org)
*a Canadian, you may want to explore the Canadian Information Processing
Society (CIPS: www.cips.ca)
*a data specialist, involved in data base administration, architecting
or data mining, then the Data Management Association (DAMA: www.dama.org)
will interest you.
*an independent consultant you may want to explore the Independent
Computer Consultants Association (ICCA: www.icca.org)
*involved in education and training, the International Society for
Technology in Education (ISTE: www.iste.org)
may intrigue and interest you.
* a business intelligence specialist, you may want to explore The
Data Warehousing Institute (TDWI: www.tdwi.org)
* a Governance, Risk and Compliance manager, then you may want to
explore the SOX Institute (www.soxinstitute.org)
* a Business Process Management specialist, then you may want to
explore the Business Process Management Institute (www.bpminstitute.org)
* a manager or technical specialist improving business and IT services
provision, then you may want to explore the SOA Institute from the
Brain Storm Group (http://www.brainstorm-group.com/bsgweb/index.asp)
16.
What is the future of computer certification?
The 21st century is all about computers, information and the varied
uses we will put to the new technologies. It is known as the information
age. People will find it hard to work in those new economies without
significant computing knowledge and skills.
So in order to keep your job, move into more lucrative opportunities,
or even know where to invest your time and energy, then computer
related activities need to be explored.
The highest value individuals in these industries will be certified
and credentialed.
The CCP being the highest credential in the computing
industry, is being used and will be used by companies, the government
and by the public to measure the value of the various levels of
qualified I.T. professionals.
Would you for example allow a non-qualified or non-government approved
gas worker near your gas supply?
Why would you risk your company, by giving non-certified
individuals access to your company specific and corporate critical
data?
17.
Where can I buy study materials on certification?
You can purchase a number of different sets of learning materials.
We have specified independent textbooks for the various examinations.
Most of these can be purchased from the publishers or online bookstores
such as amazon.com.
The ICCP's Complete Guide to Professional Computing is the best
textbook, which can be used to prepare for the examinations or to
help colleges and universities set up training programs. A new textbook
called the ICCP's Study Guide for the Certified Business Intelligence
Professional is being prepared and will be available for sale at
the Winter TDWI conference in Las Vegas and from the ICCP office.
Inside this guide and our other materials we publish and list some
of the most authoritative authors on the specialty knowledge subject
areas.
You can purchase these materials directly from the ICCP by contacting
the ICCP via email: office@iccp.org or via telephone: 800-843-8227
(800-U-GET-CCP), 847-299-4227 or fax:847-299-4280
18.
Once I start my certification program, how long will it take to
complete?
Most people complete the certification program within 2 years. You
are allowed up to 3 years to take all of the examinations. This
allows an individual the time to take training and educational programs,
which will assist in her/him in passing the examinations.
Make sure you take the examinations initially to see if you can
pass them, with some preparation, and if you don't pass the first
time, you will get a good idea from the ICCP performance profile,
of where to put your training dollars.
19.
If I don't stay current with my certification, how can I get re-certified?
From time to time many holders get promoted and their new job role
is different from the time that they certified.
There are many ways in which to become re-certified.
One is to continue your professional development via a variety of
ways: courses, reading, vendor training, creating new examination
questions, developing new courses for teaching, etc.
Finally, if you haven't kept everything up to date and haven't submitted
the recertification credits, you can always retake the examinations,
since the testing subject matter is continually updated by the certification
council and you would be taking a new current knowledge examination.
If these do not match your needs or you are unclear
of your status, please contact the ICCP office@iccp.org
20.
Are there any conferences or other events that I can attend to get
my certification?
The AITP, CIPS, DAMA and TDWI conferences have ICCP review courses
at their annual and regional conferences: you can get this information
from ICCP News.
And the ICCP is always willing to establish new review courses at
various other conferences.
If you would like to see the ICCP conference at an event of your
preference, please contact us, so that we can establish a review
course for you.
The ICCP will also create a special course for any company or group
of 4 or more people to be delivered in a two-day review session
anywhere in North America or other parts of the world.
21.
What companies sponsor the CCP and ACP certification programs?
Please visit the ICCP website to get a partial list of companies.
http://www.iccp.org/iccpnew/Holders%27%20companies.html
22.
Can anybody anywhere else in the world take this certification program?
Anybody, anywhere in the world can access and take the ICCP certification
programs.
Please contact us if you need help in accessing a
training program or a test location by sending us an email to office@iccp.org
or via phone: 800-843-8227 or 847-299-4227.
23.
What kind of immigration and mobility opportunities exist if I have
a CCP?
We have established mutual recognition agreements between Canada
and the USA for the two specific certifications: CCP and I.S.P.
In other countries we rely on reciprocal agreements with our constituent
and affiliate organizations. For example CIPS has reciprocal agreements
with the British, Australian and New Zealand Computing Societies.
For people wishing access to the USA market, we provide an assessment
service which is used by the immigration department and various
lawyers to assess the professional status of immigrants, especially
for 01-VISA applicants.
So you can speed up that process by taking the ICCP
examinations first and providing the external validation of your
professional status before making an application for an appropriate
VISA.
ICCP is also working with the Canadian Information
Processing Society and the Canadian Government to provide testing
for individuals wishing to enter Canada as IS/IT professionals.
* some of the information on this page comes courtesy of www.gocertify.com
a vendor site which discusses certification primarily from a vendor
perspective.
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