By
Ray Van Iterson

In 2000, almost three million online certification tests were delivered, six times the number the year before and close to as many as were delivered in proctored testing centers. The popularity of online certifications is taking off because they are cheaper, more convenient, more representative of the work environment, and typically offer better feedback than proctored certifications. What they don't do is verify your identification. The tremendous growth of online certification has brought a fundamental new question to the certification arena:

Is the time and money required to have your ID verified in a proctored testing center worth it?

Online certification and proctored certification represent two different perspectives of what certification is. The question is - which type of certification is right for you? Both types offer challenging questions developed through rigorous processes by experienced subject matter experts. The difference lies primarily in the approach to security that the certifiers take. Supporters of proctored certification believe that much of a certification's value stems from the fact that the test environment is as secure as they can make it. Supporters of online certification believe that the value of certification comes from measuring what you know, and that companies should work with people who they trust rather than spending their efforts proctoring people who they don't trust.

A Tale of Two Test Takers

Last month two help desk technicians, Bob and John, decided to certify their internet skills to help them get new jobs. Being different people, they decided to take different approaches. Bob took a CompTIA Inet+ certification at a proctored testing center while John took a Brainbench Internet Technology certification online. This is their story:

Bob went to the CompTIA website to schedule his test. After transferring to the testing company's site he discovered that the Inet+ test would cost him $190 and could be taken at a variety of testing centers in his city. Scheduling a test was not difficult using the web-based scheduling system but it was a frustrating experience. After signing up Bob had to wait up to 24 hours for a password to access the scheduling system. Then, when he went to schedule a test, he discovered that the system could not schedule a test within the next two business days. Selecting a testing center was also disappointing. Although he had several testing centers to choose from, the closest one only offered testing 3 days a week and many centers did not offer evening or weekend testing - he was going to have to take time off work and/or drive across town to take the test. On the day of the test Bob was swamped at work and called the testing center to reschedule his appointment to a different day. He was told that if he didn't take the test that day he would lose his money. Bob rushed to the testing center and took the test. The testing center environment was very controlled and did not allow Bob to use the reference manual and job aids he usually used in performing his duties. Bob passed the test and received a score report that told him his score, and that he would receive his certificate in 4-6 weeks. Bob was happy - it had taken him 2 weeks and $190 but he was Inet+ certified.

John went to the Brainbench web site that night after his kids had gone to bed. There he paid his $19.95 fee and completed his test. John felt confident taking the test because he had his reference materials available to consult when questions contained references to details that he did not bother memorizing. He passed the test and received his score report immediately. Because his test included questions of different difficulty levels, his score report was able to tell him not only that he had passed but also that he had scored in the 73rd percentile of all test takers, that he was particularly strong in networking and infrastructure, and that he still had weaknesses in security issues and troubleshooting. Additionally, John could check his relative performance and find that he was ranked 386th in his state and 45th in his city. This information was all stored in his electronic transcript which John could send to potential employers immediately, while his paper certificate would arrive in 2-3 weeks.

The above story is, of course, fictional but it illustrates a point - Online certifications have real cost, convenience, and speed advantages over proctored certifications. The question is whether it is right for you. The answer depends largely upon what you want to get out of certification. Surveys by both GartnerGroup and Brainbench have shown that people take certifications for primarily three reasons:

1. For personal development -- To assess/increase their own abilities
2. To increase their credibility/position/compensation within their current organization
3. To get a new job in a different organization

Personal Development

People looking to certify their skills so as to better understand their strengths and weaknesses and to increase their productivity are primarily concerned with getting the best feedback possible. If you are in this group, online certification is likely your best bet because online certifications tend to offer superior feedback at greater convenience and less cost. Since you are taking the test for your own benefit, there is little point in paying extra money to make sure you don't cheat.

Promotion/Increased Credibility Within an Organization

People looking to increase their credibility within a company are usually looking for the most valuable credential they can find to demonstrate their abilities. People in this situation should look for the credential that best meets your needs whether or not it is proctored. Ensuring that the test is proctored is unlikely to offer much extra benefit in this situation since if your company doesn't trusts you to take a test without cheating, they shouldn't trust you to work with their equipment and proprietary information on a daily basis.

Finding a New Job in a Different Organization

People looking for a new job in a different organization is the classic segment people think about when advocating the need for proctoring. The rationale goes that employers do not know potential employees and, thus, require proctoring in order to trust their certification credentials. This argument sounds good at first but becomes less convincing when one thinks about the hiring process. Getting a job is not a simple matter of a person submitting a certification and immediately getting hired. A certification might get you an interview but it will not get you a job all on its own. Employers hire the whole person - your resume, experience, and soft skills. Most of these areas do not come externally-verified, and as a result, almost all companies conduct technical interviews to verify the skills of applicants whether or not they have proctored certifications. The added security of proctoring doesn't really matter in the interview process because unprepared individuals are unlikely to make it through the hiring process whether or not they have a proctored certification.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, the right certification for you is the one that meets your needs. If you are getting certified for your own benefit or are dealing with an organization that trusts you, online certifications will probably meet your needs. If, on the other hand, you would prefer to base your relationship with a company on the strength of a proctor, then head to the nearest testing center.

Certification Industry Overview