2019 Esri's Certified Individual Survey
Every year, our technical certification team sends out a brief survey to Esri certified individuals requesting feedback on their certification experience. We want to hear from our community about how Esri certification fits into their personal and professional development goals, how their management offers support for certification, and how impactful certification is for personal branding.
This year we surveyed over 140 certified individuals and we found some interesting trends that support our mission to recognize and validate users who are proficient in ArcGIS best practices.
Key Results
One of the key results reported in the 2019 certified individuals survey was that the most popular exam continues to be ArcGIS Desktop Associate, with almost 60% of respondents to the survey stating they currently hold a version of this exam – overall, 30% of program candidates select the ArcGIS Desktop Associate exam.
As expected, the Enterprise exams follow closely behind in popularity, but surprisingly, approximately 10% of respondents have engaged with our newly developed Specialty exams. One respondent who has achieved a Specialty certification said, “I am looking forward to more Specialties on broader topics such as IoT, Data Science, 3D, Remote Sensing, etc. which show proficiency in non-product related topics.”
Additionally, of those surveyed, almost half had engaged with our current 19-001 development series which was released this year. Speaking generally about the new series, one respondent said, “I found the process challenging but rewarding at the same time. It's nice to know that I have the skills to achieve Esri certification.”
As the program drives away from the versioned exams to focus on a time-based development model, certified individuals will likely continue to engage heavily with the newer exams as they look to update certification to align their personal and professional goals.
Lastly, an astounding 85% of respondents said they were likely to pursue another Esri technical certification. Which means the personal and professional value of an Esri certification outweighs the cost of an exam, the time spent preparing, and any other barriers that might stand in front of achievement.
“Esri technical certification demonstrates my commitment to superior professionalism, upholding industry standards, and continued learning. These merits can help boost my professional credibility and prestige within my own network, with my current clients, and when pursuing new business opportunities or bidding on projects.”
Survey Conclusions
A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the annual survey. The value of Esri technical certification is as diverse as the population of candidates that sit for the exams. The certification program is committed to maintaining the value and integrity of your achievement from exams all the way through promoting your accomplishment and we look forward to sharing your Esri certification Success Stories.
“Passing gave me the confidence that my skills were up to speed, as well as, learning the questions that are important to understand for leveraging the full value of the ArcGIS Platform.”
Aaron Zureick Jessi Mielke Jessica Rosales Suzanne Boden