Are Product Manager Certifications Worth It?

Yes, some are.
    Some are really worth it, especially at the beginning of your product management career.  Let's talk about it.

Diploma and Graduation Cap

How Do Product Manager Certifications Help You?

    Think of a certification like a fad diet. Sorry if you suck at diets and consistently eat entire pints of Ben and Jerry's Tonight Dough ice cream right before bed time..... no? That's just me got it. Certifications help new product managers learn the basic mechanics of their role, and they remind more experienced product managers to do the basics. 

    Why are certifications like diets? The diets don't run your life forever, but they help you establish a couple better habits to have with food for the long term. That is how certifications work, you come out with a pretty drastic change in the short term, but then you discover a few helpful habits to use for the long term. Then you leave the rest, because let's be honest. Kale salads are not going to remain your lunch choice forever. Just like having all your features meeting the definition of ready 3 weeks ahead of a PI planning event is not going to happen every..... single.....time.

    Here are a few tips on how a certification might be able to help you.

1. Agile has workflows and patterns for a reason

    Regardless on what version of agile you're working in, the framework has best practices for good reason. When I was new, these patterns and tools helped me learn what I should and shouldn't be doing as product manager, or product owner, with my scrum teams. Later the courses reminded me to do the basics, as it's common to drift away from some of those foundational habits. 

2. Embrace the process..... most of the time

    Smart people designed agile, the process works really well if groups begin to adopt it fully. Though it doesn't take much for the process to be derailed, so watch for where you need to make adjustments to fit your team. The more you can match the process, the more you will reap the benefits the designers intended, which are transformative once in motion.

3. Validation and confidence

    It's easy to loose your confidence as a product manager. You work with so many groups and are constantly changing context. You can feel like an imposter at times, because you're rarely the expert in the topics you discuss. It's a slippery slope which begins to eat away at your own confidence in what you provide and bring as value to your teams. These courses are a fantastic way to remind your teams, and more importantly yourself, how valuable your work is as a product manager in Agile.


telling your my recommendations


Good Morning Product Manager Recommendations

    Now we know how certifications can help, but which one should you choose? Here is some general guidance and some more pointed advice to help you find a good fit.

  • Always seek reputable courses.
  • Choose the content that is valuable to your current career goals.
  • Avoid recorded content or self guided courses where feasible.
  • Look where your network connections are certified.
    This advice can help you remove some of the less helpful courses. I've made mistakes and participated in courses where it wasn't valuable in the end. I've also had great experiences, but most of those great experiences followed the above advice. 

These are some of courses I have enjoyed over the years. I know there are so many more and I plan to explore more of them.

Scaled Agile

    I have 3 certifications and attended 5 courses from this group over the last 5 years, I can happily recommend them. Courses are long, detailed, and packed full of content. You have to choose what you will take away and apply, but they are a wealth of ideas. The tests are tough, but they give the certification legitimacy. You will learn the frameworks deeply, and be able to apply specific portions right away. 

    I decided to give Product School a try. Overall I felt this course wasn't for me. It wasn't what I was looking for in my product career at the time. I ended up deciding to focus on portions of the content rather than pursuing the certification. The self guided course is very long winded at times, and generic. It does have assignments where you build a case study, which was helpful. I would recommend this certification to a new or aspiring product manager. For more veteran PM's and PO's I wouldn't recommend Product School, or at least the self guided course I used from them. They live courses might be a better option.

 

Hope this helps and thanks for reading.

Here is another helpful post from a product coach I have enjoyed following. He offers up some good advice on free courses. 



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