Worth my $75?
Does your profession have an accrediting/certifying/licensing organization? Are you an accredited/whatever member?
Every May, I pay to renew a membership that holds records of my architectural work history from a few years ago – in case I ever decide to use that work history toward becoming a licensed architect.
Every May, I pay the renewal fee, and think “Why am I still paying this? I don’t plan on becoming a licensed architect. I don’t want to become a licensed architect. I am not even sure I want to stay in architecture!”
Every May (and throughout the year), I wonder how the heck we expect kids to know what field they want to be in when they leave high school. To choose which major to study. With sometimes no experience in that field at all. Just a thought, “I might like that.”
And you know, by June, I forget all about it, until the next May. Ha!
So, no, I do not have an architecture license or really participate in the architectural community. But I am certified for my other job!
And while that will never be a full time job for me, I do enjoy it, and enjoy studying and keeping my certification up to date. So it must not be the process holding me back with my day job…
Themocracy
It’s great to have hobbies/part time work that keep us going! It’s keeps a good balance to the other parts of life, for sure. Congrats!
I have been working with Sharepoint for years and yes there is a certification process. I did it when I first started years ago (now that one is obsolete) but haven’t even considered doing it now. First, the tests were all based on book stuff (not stuff that works in the real world) and Second, they are freaking expensive 🙂 I would if it was required but until I have too I just skip doing it.
And third… if you got it, would it even bring any value to your job? Or get you a raise? Or anything? Probably not 😉
Surprisingly, it is possible to become a certified marketing whatever. I think it’s just a racket that someone’s making money off of. If you can’t sue me for my work, then a certification is not necessary in my opinion. Anything related to medicine, engineering or the law (including finance) = certification totally necessary.
HOWEVER, I was once a certified lifeguard.
I do wonder about some certifications I’ve heard about. Just seems like a way to pay to give yourself a title. I can understand safety thought, or trying to standardize procedure.
Ha ha. Every time I get a piece of mail from the Society for Human Resource Management I tell Paul to pitch it in the trash. I took the PHR certification and let it expire. I mostly got it in case I wanted to look for a less recruiting-focused job and needed to bulk up my skill set. We have a company SHRM membership, so I don’t really need it for anything.
I’m not a big fan of acronyms for the sake of acronyms.
And I agree with you on not knowing what to do when we’re 18. Obviously I didn’t become an English teacher like I always thought I would. It would be nice to have an apprenticeship program for kids before they go to college and invest the money in a field they may or may not pursue. I feel like they do that somewhere in Europe maybe??
Yeah, I was thinking that with acronyms after our names. We are not even supposed to use them in my office, so why would I get it? I don’t really need to broadcast my day job with some letters. Idk. Not my thing.
I was thinking about how many students do a flex year or whatever it’s called, in Europe. An apprenticeship would be great. And then some countries require a year in the military… 😉
I just finished paying the bi-yearly fee to renew my registered nurse license in IL. I contemplated renewing since I’m working in WI. Life is uncertain when your spouse is in the military. So I paid my dues. I’m licensed in 3 states, just in case!!
Nurses are expected to belong to several professional organizations. Not complying with these expectations can cost you when searching for a new job or when being compared to peers for promotion. The fees for maintaining these memberships starts at $100/year per organization. It is a pricey requirement 🙁
It totally makes sense to stay licensed in all those states, when you don’t know what the future brings! Do hospitals EVER reimburse you? I am guessing no.
I have to pay my annual dues of $125 to keep my national certification up for my job. Most hospitals require it, so I keep it up just in case…
I think it’s insane to make teenagers choose what they want to do for the rest of their lives. I studied engineering for four years and then went a completely different route upon graduating. Luckily, I chose a major that helped get me many opportunities, but your point stands regardless. I paid a ton of money to take the Fundamentals of Engineering exam my senior year (7 hour exam!!!) but don’t have to renew anything.
It is ridiculous to ask a child to decide what they want to do with their life, especially now I’m such a rapidly changing world. I completely understand the dilemma, and have been through this myself having changed careers quite a few times aready. It’s easy for me to cut ties with things I no longer value, and have realized that if I can’t cut those ties that generally means a small part of me still believes that is a path may still want to explore. Maybe deep inside you’re still thinking you may venture down that road one day, perhaps?
Yeah, I kind of wanted to get in to that… how our generation is more likely to look for the job they really want which may mean switching careers lots of times! I think older generations had more of the “keep a good job” mindset (which is kind of what I have, now).
I just can’t see myself wanting the responsibility of being a licensed architect. I am not really in to designing things. (Found this out way too late) I think I am just too practical not to pay for the upkeep, though 🙂
I’m a teacher, so yes, there’s certification. Every 5 years I have to renew and I have to have 120 hours of continuing ed to get my renewal. Just another hoop!!
What is the continuing ed like? In person, or computer stuff or both? Do you enjoy it? 🙂
In person. Some of it is good and some not! There are tons of workshops that count.
I do have a certification for my profession and thankfully my work pays for my annual dues and my continuing education sessions. The certification is kind of a big deal in the field so if you don’t get it people tend to wonder why. However, if I leave this particular field I probably won’t bother to keep it up. It’s so specialized and a most people outside the field don’t even know it exists!
I have to pay mine every other year, but luckily the companies I have worked for in the past pay for it! It’s not real cheap, so it’s nice to have them pay for it!!
Of course there were times when I didn’t have the employer to pay it, so I paid it myself because if you let a nursing license go it’s EXTREMELY hard to get back!!!