Is the CBAP Cert Worth it?

1. The  Certified Business Analyst Professional CBAP

As a certified business analyst professional CBAP, you play a vital role in ensuring the smooth running of businesses and organizations.  The certificate communicates to employers that you are responsible for analyzing and documenting business requirements, working with stakeholders to ensure that these requirements are met and liaison with technical teams to know what needs to be built.

CBAP  holders should be able to effectively communicate with both technical and non-technical staff, and be able to work collaboratively with other members of the business analyst team.

2. The Importance of Certification

Certification is important however it is not to be confused with experience. Firstly, certification does not ensure that you have the necessary skills and knowledge to do your job effectively.

As a certified business analyst professional CBAP, you demonstrate to employers that you are committed to your BA career and that you are willing to invest in your professional development – but it doesn’t necessarily mean you know how to do the job.

Finally, certification can help you to progress in your career and earn a higher salary – if the employer recognizes your certification. In general it helps to solidify your role as a business analyst.

3. Should you get the CBAP cert?

 

4. Benefits of Certification

There are many benefits to becoming certified, including:

• Improved job prospects – certification can make you more attractive to potential employers.

 

• Enhanced career development – certification can help you to progress in your career and earn a higher salary.

 

•  Increased knowledge and skills – certification will give you the opportunity to learn new skills and knowledge.

 

• Improved job satisfaction – certification can help you to feel more confident in your role and make you more satisfied with your job.

 

Disadvantages to the CBAP certification

There are a few disadvantages of the CBAP certification that you should be aware of:

• Provides a false sense of competence. Given that you can use class time  as equivalent to work experience  to  qualify for the CBAP, it gives a false sense of knowing how to do the job in the real world, but this often does not equate to the real world of work. You can combat this by getting actual experience without having a BA job by joining communities like the Back Office Club.

 

• Expensive – after completing your degrees and having huge student loans you still have to pay thousands of dollars for a certification? Seems a little unfair – and you have to pay to renew  often as well.

 

• Recognition – although the CBAP is the most recognized of the Business Analyst certifications, in the wider world of work,  employers at large do not recognize the CBAP and don’t often know what it is.

 

4. The Process of becoming a Certified Business Analyst Professional CBAP

The process of certification usually involves taking an exam, and then being awarded a certificate. Certification exams are designed to test your knowledge and skills, and to ensure that you are able to effectively apply these to real-world situations.

Find out more about the Certified Business Analyst Professional on the iiba website.