I watched, with interest, a recent discussion on one of the GIS groups about the value of GIS professional certification. As you might expect, opinions range widely on the subject. For me, I have always viewed these types of certifications (those not backed up with a legal requirement such as engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc.) with a certain degree of skepticism regarding their value. First and foremost is that gaining such a certification does not necessarily translate into quality of work. Other professions have measurable standard for their work (an Engineer’s ability to design a bridge that doesn’t fall down for example), GIS has no such standards obligations. I also think that employers can place too much emphasis on the certification although usually they will use the certificate as simply a first order filter through the short-list interview process. The bigger issue for me with regard to GIS professional certification is whether “GIS” can be a profession at all.
Even though I have spent most of my academic and working career deeply involved in various aspects of GIS technology, I still consider it a tool . . . a means to an end and not the end itself. It is a tool used to aid in inquiry of all manner of knowledge areas with geography as the common theme. The tool, by itself, does not answer these questions without the expertise of the researchers, planners or managers with the theoretical knowledge and understanding of the phenomena they choose to investigate. If we need a GIS Professional then we surely also need a CRM Professional or CMS Professional both technologies that their respective users might argue to be just as revolutionary as GIS.
Certification is valuable, I would suggest, for solutions such as Microsoft’s MCSE or ESRI Certification since these speak to someone’s ability to apply a specific technology. GIS is made up of a collection of these technologies each already with its own certification process.
There are some benefits to the GIS certification program that I do believe hold some value. The on-going educational requirement of such a program imparts a discipline to keep up-to-date. Also, the peer network that is developed holds some value in sharing ideas and keeping an eye out for that next choice position. Is this enough to warrant certification?
In the end, I believe there will be a day when “GIS” is not a thing but has become ubiquitous like the word processor (not too much call for Word Processor Professionals these days!). I’m all for organizations that promote GIS and help practitioners do their job better. Do we need GIS certification to go along with that . . . I don’t think so.
