IEEE CSDP Certification

Question

I know there is lots of question with the same sort of subject, but this question is specific to the IEEE CSDP Certification

As I am currently living and working in Australia,I found that the IEEE CSDP is quite hard to see on people's resume. Most people just don't know what you are talking about.

I've got some doubts whether is worth it to invest in such an accreditation since it's not well-known in the Ausie market (although I reckon this is widely known in the US).

Having said that, the basic questions that come up to my mind are:

1. Is it worth investing on something that is not yet known in your market?
2. Would this certification help you in a management perspective or it's really a technical one? Since it covers the whole SDLC I'd say this would help you in managing software development projects ....
3. If this is not the best option for someone who is looking at their next carrers step, on a more management kind of role but always related to software projects, what would you recommend in terms of certifications?

I would really appreciate any comments, especially from those who actually have this certification.

EDIT: Can anyone help me with this one ?

Answer 1

Can anyone help me with this one ?

Answer 2

I'm not sure in what kind of industry/market you are working in, as in finance or advertising etc, but what I've come to notice is that Australian companies are in general more interested in work experience rather than education. I do not have a CS degree but I do have a number of certifications on my resume and not a single company that I've worked for here in Australia; a) Doesn't care, or b) Doesn't have a clue what it means. The only thing that they seem to appreciate (and understand) is the 15 years of hands on work experience I have under my belt.

On the other hand, there is nothing wrong bringing up your certifications during an interview. Explain what your certifications mean and why you decided to go for a certification program in the first place. Often companies just don't know that there is such a thing as certification and think that education stops with a degree of some sort and once you explain, they do seem to appreciate it more.

Answer 3

Let's be clear here.

I've heard this over and over from a variety of people. The best answer you will find is very simple. You gain a professional certification for yourself. You do it as part of a process of continuous improvement for what you gain.

This is not something that you do out of consensus or for someone else. You do it for yourself.

If you understand that, then certification makes sense.

If you don't then no amount of convincing will ever make it clear.

Answer 4

There is an effort to establish a professional certification for software engineers (like PE for other engineering fields), and CSDP is, as far as I know, the only candidate for such a certification. In the US, these matters are legislated by the individual states, and at this time, only Texas requires certification to be considered a bona fide "software engineer". How does this play out? For certain critical applications, sign-off by a certified SE is required. This happens, as it is, in many places outside Texas, but in most cases electrical or mechanical engineers who are certified Professional Engineers are signing off for the entire system, which serves to relegate software to an incidental sub-system when, as we know, many times it's the "whole ball of wax".

Many software developers out there dismiss the CSDP out of hand, mostly out of ignorance to the engineering professions, and sometimes out of fear. The new requirements include mathematics and computer science theory blocks, so this is becoming something not for the faint of heart. Plus, certifications last 3 years, and one must re-certify or lose it.

My opinion is that it will increase in importance in some specific industries, and lead to a sort of two-tier profession, which is the intent of many professional certifications, where big value, with big responsibility, rests with top-level professionals. As more and more often, the software IS the machine, this is how it should be.