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Are Software Certifications Worth It?
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Scott,
I’m afraid you’ve missed my point.The question asked was is there any value in getting certain certifications?
The answer is “yes” – in some places. It’s especially helpful if you are trying to land a job at a place that has a culture where continuing education is highly valued.
With two resumes that have equivalent experience and demo reels, I’ll rank the candidate that continually tries to improve over the one that thinks he’s already got all the skills he needs. Because when I hire, talent and experience are important, but not more important than how the new person will fit in with our team’s culture.
The culture of the hiring organization is often a big key to the answer to the question of the value of certificates. Take high-end corporate video staff positions for instance. Often the first round of resume screening is done by Human Resources. At the initial screening stage all those HR folks generally have to go on is what they see in the resume. (They don’t have the equipment, the time, the expertise, or the direction to evaluate demo reels.) Only after you pass that first round of screening, do you get through the gates to the set of evaluators that actually have an opinion on color balance, story structure, or jump cuts.
There’s also a fallacy in thinking that just because someone learns something in the classroom means they don’t also learn in the editing suite. It’s not a substitute, but it is a bonus. When we post for a job, it’s not unusual to get hundreds of resumes. And all other things being equal, a little edge could make the difference between being considered for a job or not. If I see that someone took the time “between jobs” as an opportunity to sharpen their skills, it means more than just an employment gap would.
You asked “Does a four year Art History Major make you Picasso?” Of course not… not anymore than owning the same set of paintbrushes would. BUT, if you are looking at entering the Fortune 500 Corporate or Government markets, and they are deciding between hiring two people who can both paint like Picasso… two people who have equal experience and who both interview equally well, I’d put my money on the one who invested the time and money in a well-rounded education.
All that said, would a brilliant and personable artistic genius who has proven experience working under deadlines with tough clients win a job over a recent college graduate with no experience outside of the classroom? No, but who really ever thought they would?
No one is saying that a certification is a substitute for experience and talent, but I still see it as a positive thing and I know that it has helped people we’ve hired get a second look in the application process compared to those who don’t have any certifications listed.
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Oh, but I do have to agree with where you said “It may (most likely IMHO) keep out those that are actually good editors, and let in those that are good at taking tests, or see the world through the IT departments eyes.”
That is a possibility and it is troubling. But it’s something that Editors applying for jobs with large corporate organizations where HR departments track resumes should keep in mind.
And I do also want to point out that some of the most talented people I’ve worked with don’t have a degree or any certification (or didn’t have any certifications until after they worked with me.)
My point is that a technical certification shouldn’t hurt. I think we may all agree that it’s not the certification that’s going to get you the job – I just want to point out that it may get you past a gatekeeper at larger organizations.
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Timothy,
I see your point, because when you say Fortune 500, I think that could apply to bureaucracies in general. And that is how they work. There was a time that you needed a 1st Class FCC license just to get an entry level shipping dept. job at broadcast stations. Need isn’t the right word, because no one except the ops and TX people really needed that. It was just a screening tool. Having a 1st Phone ticket didn’t make you a better cameraman, or floor director. But it did get you in the door.And sure it probably doesn’t hurt to have some continuing education, at least not in the sense that it would erase whats already in your brain. But these things do cost money and time, both of which have a value. I think for a lot of folks the ROI for formal training just isn’t there. If some type of formal training is a requirement, perhaps a better investment would be to send editors to a writers workshop, photoshop, or Pro Tools class. Why go over something you already know?
Back in the linear editing and early NLE days, it was rare (not unheard of) to go to formal classes on the gear. You learned OTJ, usually from someone that gave you the basics, and then set you loose to build your skills on easy projects. Over time you were given more difficult projects as you learned. Occasionally you might assist, or sit in with a big client, but you didn’t start at the top. While you were building your technical skills as an operator, you often learned to make the gear do things it wasn’t intended to do, and learned how to get yourself out of problems and tight spots. That is when you actually became an editor.
So compare this to the newly certified NLE editors that often post here. I only know a couple of these new folks personally, but I read what they post on the FCP and other forums. What the two biggest problems seem to be is that there is a lack of problem solving skills, and overconfidence.
There is a crop of folks out there that can’t build anything from scratch. They have no troubleshooting, or organizational skills. They are so reliant on plugins, and what ‘can the software do’, that they can’t reverse engineer some simple thing they have seen and replicate it on their own. We have all seen these posts. Last week there was even someone looking for a plugin that would find all the dead space in long recordings and cut those chunks out. In my day that plugin was called the editor.
On the overconfidence front, there is at least one a week. New editor, new client, huge project, its due tomorrow and they are stuck. It isn’t that they are asking for advice is the problem. It’s this idea that as a rookie, that certification makes them feel they have the skills to take on huge projects like cutting a feature, or something equally as challenging. And the client thinks they must know what they are doing, because they have some formal training.It may be painting with a broad brush, and I know there are fine editors with certifications. But I think the whole certification process actually places too much emphasis on the tool and contributes to the ‘short-cut’ mentality prevalent among the many of the new editors. And that is why I’m not a huge fan of the certified editor, or spending the money on certification.
Scott Sheriff
Director
SST Digital Media
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com -
Scott, I see your POV as well concerning keeping good editors out of the run because of no certifications etc. Where I’m currently employed requires a bachelors degree in communications/broadcasting. I know of several people at my previous job that are excellent editors or graphics folks that would never be able to be hired due to the fact they don’t have a bachelors degree. I don’t agree with this practice but I’m not the employer either. I can testify from personal experience on the overconfidence mentality. When I first graduated from college I thought my skills were top notch and my stuff didn’t stink. Boy, was I wrong! Once I finally got a job at a TV station in creative services I was served piece after piece of humble pie (which doesn’t taste very well so I try not to eat it anymore). I very soon realized that I didn’t know much of anything and that if I was going to last I needed to listen to the folks that have been in the business for years and really do know their stuff. I decided to listen and I learned things that a certification does not teach such as the problem solving you were talking about.
Timothy, I am at a corporate/government type of place so I understand where you are coming from. People like to see things like certifications and it may get you past the guard dog if the guard dog is human. Our system is set up to where you apply online and if your resume doesn’t fit the exact criteria the computer is looking for your resume is rejected before it ever sees human eyes. In that respect a certification makes no difference. I also don’t agree with this policy.
I’m not banking everything on these certifications. I’ve been in the industry for five years and am just pursuing them as an extra but not to replace experience and a good reel (which I need to update badly). Everyone’s responses on here have been most insightful as to the value of these certifications in both the corporate/government world and the production world.
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I have 15 years experience in the IT industry where software certificates originated. Even there they are highly debated. It boils down to experience on the resume. Certifications are useful for managers who have no IT experience, but need to hire IT people. They can be good for entry level techs.
In the video/film industry, I would never hire a creative tech off of certifications, or resume. Their resume and their reel would get them an interview. Their personality and reel would get them a job.
Cory
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Cory Petkovsek
Corporate Video -
Well said, Scott. (and Jim and Cory)
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Timothy,
Thanks. It was good to have some voices from both sides. I hope that this thread covered the pro’s and con’s well enough for folks to figure out what will work best for their particular situation.
Happy Holidays,
SScott Sheriff
Director
SST Digital Media
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com -
Certs prove that you know software. When combined with a good reel I know that the person is likely efficient. Certs make me more likely to interview.
Having certified editors is also a strength when I reply to a client request for a proposal.
They complement. But don’t complete a strong resume.
Richard M. Harrington, PMP
Author: From Still to Motion, Video Made on a Mac, Photoshop for Video, Understanding Adobe Photoshop, Final Cut Studio On the Spot and Motion Graphics with Adobe Creative Suite 5 Studio Techniques
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