Looking Ahead

What is the future of IT certification?

- AARON AXLINE

What do you see yourself doing five years from now?

It’s a question commonly asked at job interviews (and on more than a few first dates). The point is to get candidates to peer into the future and make an educated guess at how they think their career trajectories will develop, based on how their personal and professional lives are trending.

IT professionals ask a version of this question when trying to predict the future of their chosen industry. It isn’t easy to chart the course of modern technology — the only constant in IT is its constant state of change. But tech workers must monitor the evolution of technology with a close eye, so they can adapt their skills and knowledge to stay employed in an industry known for its volatility and unpredictability.

The people who manage IT training and certification programs must also constantly assess the present state of the tech industry, and attempt to predict which skills and disciplines will be the top priorities in the near future so they can develop the next wave of IT certifications.

But there is a larger question hidden behind all of the commonplace certification program activity: What is going to happen to IT certification itself over the next five years?

Will it remain an ongoing series of training material revisions and exam updates? Will employers continue to place the same value on IT certification as they do now? What current certification programs could wane in popularity over the next five years, and what are the potential top industry credentials of 2024?

Role-based certifications