What does Professional certification mean to you?

I like keep my colleagues and myself up to date on the software. I always seem to learn something new. At times my job can skip from one module to another and I like to know that I am keeping current with certification and staying active in the Blackbaud Community. Continuing certification is important to me.

I have routinely achieved my Fundamentals certification because I valued the education and preparedness that it provided for the software that we routinely use. Recently, I was invited to the Blackbaud Champions portal and soon found out that there were extra opportunities to do the Professional certification. Being Professional Certified in Raiser's Edge is just extra validation for both myself and our department that we have capable hands at the helm of the software.

I love knowing that I am always challenging myself to new and better things. That's part of the joy of database management: the constant quest to solve unknown mysteries, to rise to better solutions, and to save the world (or at least save the day-to-day office mechanism). DBM's are a specially-wired people who get joy out of vanquishing foes and overcoming challenges. So a test to prove our mettle is right up our line. At the end of a long tourney, we get a trophy and get to become knighted.

On a practical level, as others have said, it's validation. Validation to your boss that you are proficient in your job. Validation to HR that your position deserves professional compensation for trained (non-entry) work. Validation to your team that your policies are well-crafted (and should be followed). Validation to other employers, who have to judge your capacities from one small resume.

To be honest, though – Professional isn't enough for me. I want a certification that includes Imports and all the other advanced stuff! Blackbaud, please?

I've been thinking about this question for 12 days, since @Mike Adams posted it. My opinion of certification has evolved over the years, so here goes, for better or for worse….

I took the tests and became certified in its inaugural year, and had the same feeling as so many of you have commented. I was proud of myself, felt validated. But it didn't “get” me anything. (Oh, except a fun party at bbcon with the few of us who were certified. It felt very exclusive!) My boss was happy for me, although she already knew I knew what I was doing in RE.

Certification didn't get me any raises or new jobs…my connections and knowledge got me those. Being active in my local user group and getting to know people online and at conferences got me those.

And now, many years later, I am a consultant who works with clients all over the country who have databases in need. Typically, there has been turnover, RE is a mess, there is no one on the fundraising team who is an expert at RE to guide and train the team. Often, the database manager is new-ish, and has taken the Blackbaud classes to try to catch up quickly, and I've heard over and over “I just passed the professional exam." Awesome! But time and again, all it means is they passed the exam. They're still confused, need support, lack the expertise many of us have put in years to accumulate.

So, what does Professional Certification mean to me? I guess I'm just not sure that it's as important to me as I once thought it was. Maybe it needs to be harder? Maybe you need to prove that you've worked in RE for a certain number of years before you can take it? And as RENXT becomes more sophisticated, will the exam evolve with it? Do you need to understand the Marketplace, and how to add integrations etc. to be a Professional or are we still just talking about RE itself? Should it be regulated so that you have to renew every year?

(I guess I had a lot to say about it after thinking about it for almost 2 weeks!)

Now that you mention it @Faith Murray, I would really love to see a return to the master level. It was not even available for a whole year before it was discontinued. I don't know why they don't bring it back.

This is great to know about. I will be looking into getting certified. Thanks for the tip!

Thanks for sharing, Mike! What's the best way to get started? I recently joined the Development team and I am still getting familiar with Raiser's Edge NXT.

This is the best system ever. I love working in RE & RENXT

I was certified professionally a few years ago and it was a very proud moment for me. I feel very accomplished and knowledgeable in my role as a database administrator and I take my job seriously.

It is a wonderful accomplishment and looks good if you are looking for other careers in the field and also you can be counted on for advice and input.

I am proud to receive the Professional certification in RE NXT. I have worked for 18 years in RE database view and was happy to see NXT web view. Certification shows co-workers, my supervisor, my peers, and finally, myself that I am knowledgeable. I can create policies and procedures to allow our team to have the best database (yes, even the garbage ). My previous employer left RE to another CRM, and I missed RE so much. Having the training and skillsets enabled me to seek other employment because of these opportunities.

Thanks, Brock, for your message. I appreciate your comment about enjoying the software. I've been through one other conversion and several process/policy changes in my time, so I'm just looking forward to getting into the actual system and getting comfortable with all it can do.

Earning a professional certification to me means that I would be able to do my job at a higher level and would be able to help others progress as well. I would love to accomplish professional certification!