Should I post my certification credentials?

[John]

I am wondering what is appropriate in terms of advertising one's cert
credentials in daily communications. I work at a company that produces
security products. I've noticed that most CISSP-certified people will
include the credential in their email signatures - as well they
should. CISSP is a respectable and hard-earned credential, and
security professionals sign with this the way that a physician might
sign his name "Dr. So and So M.D.". Okay, no problem with that.

Several months ago I passed my tests to become a CIW Master
Administrator. This certification carries a security component, so it
would be appropriate to my industry. I'm not sure, though, if it's
appropriate to my position, since I'm not an engineer or an
administrator. The other thing is that, from what I can gather, CIW
isn't nearly as well thought of as something like CISSP, MCSE, or
CCIE. Often when I've told someone I'm CIW certified I wind up having
to explain what that is. This seems to mostly be the product of poor
marketing by the financially strapped ProSoft Training organization,
rather than the quality of the certification itself. This was not an
easy series of tests to take - not by a long shot. A Cisco-certified
professional told me that the TCP/IP portion of the CIW training
(Internetworking Professional) was more rigorous than the Cisco
training he took.

All that said, should I put MCIWA in my signatures, or am I better off
without it? Any serious input is much appreciated.

[Charles Sweeney]

Post by John
All that said, should I put MCIWA in my signatures, or am I better off
without it? Any serious input is much appreciated.

You might as well, won't mean anything to most people anyway. Could be a
good conversation starter, viz:

WTF is MCIWA?

[Karl Core]

Post by John
I am wondering what is appropriate in terms of advertising one's cert
credentials in daily communications. I work at a company that produces
security products. I've noticed that most CISSP-certified people will
include the credential in their email signatures - as well they
should. CISSP is a respectable and hard-earned credential, and
security professionals sign with this the way that a physician might
sign his name "Dr. So and So M.D.". Okay, no problem with that.
Several months ago I passed my tests to become a CIW Master
Administrator. This certification carries a security component, so it
would be appropriate to my industry. I'm not sure, though, if it's
appropriate to my position, since I'm not an engineer or an
administrator. The other thing is that, from what I can gather, CIW
isn't nearly as well thought of as something like CISSP, MCSE, or
CCIE. Often when I've told someone I'm CIW certified I wind up having
to explain what that is. This seems to mostly be the product of poor
marketing by the financially strapped ProSoft Training organization,
rather than the quality of the certification itself. This was not an
easy series of tests to take - not by a long shot. A Cisco-certified
professional told me that the TCP/IP portion of the CIW training
(Internetworking Professional) was more rigorous than the Cisco
training he took.
All that said, should I put MCIWA in my signatures, or am I better off
without it? Any serious input is much appreciated.

I think you should list it, but don't count on it doing much for you.
CIW MA is a good cert, but it isn't an MCSE or CCNE.
What will ultimately matter most to employers is your level of experience.
(Until of course you do get a CISSP, which is at least 5 years down the
road)

[Joe]

Go ahead and list it. Prosoft finally turned a profit last year and may be
able to finally do some marketing, so it could become known.

Joe

Post by John
I am wondering what is appropriate in terms of advertising one's cert
credentials in daily communications. I work at a company that produces
security products. I've noticed that most CISSP-certified people will
include the credential in their email signatures - as well they
should. CISSP is a respectable and hard-earned credential, and
security professionals sign with this the way that a physician might
sign his name "Dr. So and So M.D.". Okay, no problem with that.
Several months ago I passed my tests to become a CIW Master
Administrator. This certification carries a security component, so it
would be appropriate to my industry. I'm not sure, though, if it's
appropriate to my position, since I'm not an engineer or an
administrator. The other thing is that, from what I can gather, CIW
isn't nearly as well thought of as something like CISSP, MCSE, or
CCIE. Often when I've told someone I'm CIW certified I wind up having
to explain what that is. This seems to mostly be the product of poor
marketing by the financially strapped ProSoft Training organization,
rather than the quality of the certification itself. This was not an
easy series of tests to take - not by a long shot. A Cisco-certified
professional told me that the TCP/IP portion of the CIW training
(Internetworking Professional) was more rigorous than the Cisco
training he took.
All that said, should I put MCIWA in my signatures, or am I better off
without it? Any serious input is much appreciated.

[Doc O'Leary]

Post by John
All that said, should I put MCIWA in my signatures, or am I better off
without it? Any serious input is much appreciated.

You're not your job, but then you're not your signature, either. I
personally don't care what anyones profession is unless I'm doing
business with them (or we're discussing their field of work), and in
that case it'd just be on your resume. I normally count a tick against
people if they think *vendor* certifications are more important than
doing a good job, and I'd likewise downgrade you if you thought any
degree/certification from a non-regulated agency had "external" value.
Some countries *do* have specific criteria you need to meet to use a
title like Engineer; if your field is not so measured, it just looks bad
trying to pretend you are on par with those fields.

[Joe]

I always look at certifications as a person furthering their professional
careers and making a statement that they intend to remain current with
technology.

Joe
For a 25% discount on MS cert exams at VUE use this voucer code:
MSUU4C8E3475

Post by Doc O'Leary

Post by John
All that said, should I put MCIWA in my signatures, or am I better off
without it? Any serious input is much appreciated.

You're not your job, but then you're not your signature, either. I
personally don't care what anyones profession is unless I'm doing
business with them (or we're discussing their field of work), and in
that case it'd just be on your resume. I normally count a tick against
people if they think *vendor* certifications are more important than
doing a good job, and I'd likewise downgrade you if you thought any
degree/certification from a non-regulated agency had "external" value.
Some countries *do* have specific criteria you need to meet to use a
title like Engineer; if your field is not so measured, it just looks bad
trying to pretend you are on par with those fields.

[MCSE 2003]

There's certainly nothing wrong with it.

If you can back it up with experience, people won't look at it as a bad
thing.
--
Regards,
MCSE 2003
---------------------------------------------
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MCSE 2003 Videos
Exchange 2003
Citrix
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Post by John
I am wondering what is appropriate in terms of advertising one's cert
credentials in daily communications. I work at a company that produces
security products. I've noticed that most CISSP-certified people will
include the credential in their email signatures - as well they
should. CISSP is a respectable and hard-earned credential, and
security professionals sign with this the way that a physician might
sign his name "Dr. So and So M.D.". Okay, no problem with that.
Several months ago I passed my tests to become a CIW Master
Administrator. This certification carries a security component, so it
would be appropriate to my industry. I'm not sure, though, if it's
appropriate to my position, since I'm not an engineer or an
administrator. The other thing is that, from what I can gather, CIW
isn't nearly as well thought of as something like CISSP, MCSE, or
CCIE. Often when I've told someone I'm CIW certified I wind up having
to explain what that is. This seems to mostly be the product of poor
marketing by the financially strapped ProSoft Training organization,
rather than the quality of the certification itself. This was not an
easy series of tests to take - not by a long shot. A Cisco-certified
professional told me that the TCP/IP portion of the CIW training
(Internetworking Professional) was more rigorous than the Cisco
training he took.
All that said, should I put MCIWA in my signatures, or am I better off
without it? Any serious input is much appreciated.