Over the last few years, there has been a disturbing trend emerging within project management and to some extent general business with regard to certifications and continued education. Let's call it certification creep.
I think it began when some of the top executive education-type project management programs in the US started offering "advanced masters" certificates in project management. Now, I am on the advisory board for one of these programs, and many of the classes being offered are solid. Hell, I teach one of them at another university. But the main reason for offering the additional certification is pure and simple: revenue. How do you get 'em back in the class room once they have the initial certificate or master's certificate from your project management training program?
The answer, for the executive education programs in project management, is to create another level of certification. Now, to PMPs or others needing to obtain PDUs to maintain their professional certifications, making the case for attending additional courses beyond the basics needed to get the initial certificate or master's certificate in project management is pretty easy. Personally, I don't think the possibility of getting an "advanced master's" out of attending some additional classes is what will trigger people to attend the courses. If they are good and add value to the practice of the project management profession (yes, it is a profession), they'll sell - no extra certificate needed.
I know for a fact that these "advanced master's" programs and courses are hard to fill. My own course in an advanced PM program is "Assessment and Recovery of Troubled Projects." While I don't think the particular university continuing education program that offers my course does a very good job of marketing, I would still expect project managers to beat the doors down to get into this course, since we all get involved with troubled projects at some point in our careers. The fact is, the course draws around 6 people each offering. I used to take this personally, but all of the advanced master's certificate courses I am aware of are struggling to fill seats, one to the extent that the director is ending the program.
Bottom line? The bottom line. The advanced certification means nothing to employers, means nothing on a resume, and is not bringing master's certificate holders back in to the classrooms.
Another example is PMI's addition of the PgMP credential. For years, project managers have attained PMP status and advanced their careers to the point of managing multiple projects, programs, and PMOs of various sizes and flavors, all without a special credential. Then PMI added the PgMP. Why? Lots of legitimate reasons, but one main reason is to get credential-hungry PMPs to spend money on study prep materials and courses and fees to take another exam. I need to look at this more closely, I admit, but my initial evaluation of the PgMP is "why?"
For myself, I am spending my time and money on a Master's Degree in Project Management. I believe that a master of science in the profession speaks for itself, and will benefit my career development over the long haul far more than an advanced certificate or new PMI credential. An advanced degree means more to an employer than an advanced certificate.
On another front, there is a fairly recent push to create a culture of certification around business analysts. I get the sense that these valuable people are trying to create the same degree of respect for their work that project managers have been developing and enjoying for the last 15 or 20 years. While specialized BA training is valuable, I don't see the point in creating another sub-group of certification for this specialization. What is also driving this is money. There's dough to be made in perpetuating the sense that BA's need to be not only specially trained (they do) but also certified (they don't). So - Now I have to add the brochures I get for for BA training and certification to the pile of brochures for advanced PM certification destined for the recycling bin.
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