"Certified" Means Nothing Anymore

When certifications are not certifications

Let’s cut through the noise.

The word “certified” has become a joke in the IT industry. It has been dragged through the mud, slapped onto two-day courses, and used as a marketing trick to sell training, rather than verifying skill. You can become a “Certified Scrum Master” in two days without ever working in a real Scrum environment. Or earn a “Certified DevOps Engineer” title without writing a single line of deployment code.

It’s not certification. It’s branding. And in most cases, it’s just a paid badge.

The worst part? These certificates are being used to influence hiring decisions and shape careers. HR filters for them. Recruiters trust them. But many of these so-called certifications don’t test anything meaningful. There is no peer review, no audit, and no quality control. They exist to make money, not protect the profession.

Here are a few examples that have become completely diluted:

• Certified Scrum Master (CSM)

• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)

• Certified SAFe Program Consultant (SPC)

• ICAgile Certified Professional (ICP)

• Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)

• Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE)

• Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)

The bar to entry is low. The exams are typically multiple-choice. The time investment is minimal. The oversight is weak to non-existent. These aren’t professional standards. They are fake pay-to-win tokens.

Yet not all certifications are created equal. A small number still hold their ground. Programs like Cisco’s CCIE or ISACA’s CISA are different. They are tough, experience-based, and structured around real-world capability. What makes them different is not just the difficulty. It’s how they are governed.

That brings us to something almost no one in IT talks about: certification marks.

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What certification is actually meant to be

A real certification isn’t just a PDF or a badge. It’s a legal and professional mark that signifies someone has met a clear and recognised standard. It should be based on more than just completing a course. It should involve skill, accountability, and trust.

This is where certification marks come in.

A certification mark is a legally registered symbol that indicates to the public that a person, product, or service has met a defined and auditable standard. Unlike a normal trademark, the owner of a certification mark doesn’t use it themselves. Instead, they license it to others who have proven they meet the published requirements.

To issue a certification mark, the certifying body must:

• Publish clear rules about what is being certified

• Independently assess and approve applicants

• Maintain strict enforcement of who may use the mark

• Withdraw it if the standard is no longer met

• Avoid commercial conflicts and operate with transparency

That’s what real certification looks like.

You may recognise some of these marks, such as FCC Certification, Certified Organic (USDA Organic), Fair Trade Certified, Made In Australia or Energy Star. You simply cannot slap those marks onto your products or services.

CCIE and CISA follow this model. They are governed. They are updated. They are earned, not given. They require evidence of real competence. The use of their marks is controlled. That’s why they still hold value.

The majority of IT certifications do not follow this model. They are unregulated, inconsistent, and lack a formal certification mark. The result is an industry filled with noise, confusion, and low-quality signals. They have killed trust, and the fad dies.

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It’s time to rebuild trust.

This isn’t about being elitist. It’s about being responsible.

Certification should mean something. It should lift the bar, not lower it. It should help employers make good decisions and help professionals build careers based on actual skill, not just course attendance.

We need to bring back real certification. That means:

• Creating public, auditable standards

• Registering proper certification marks

• Governing them independently

• Making sure the people who use them actually deserve them

We’ve allowed shortcuts for too long. The damage shows up in poor hires, broken deliveries, and false confidence in skills that were never there to begin with.

Let’s make certification matter again. Let’s rebuild trust. Let’s raise the bar.

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If you’ve ever doubted the value of a “certified” title, you’re not alone. Let’s change the conversation. Drop a comment below or message me. I want to hear your story and what you think we should do.