In speaking to many different professionals around the world, I often get the question, “What credentials should I obtain in my career advancement efforts?” This is a very good question and it certainly requires some thought and estimation of how much impact certain credentials will have on your career. I define credentials as licenses, certifications, degrees and any awards you may have won.

As far as licenses go, many professions have a major license in their industry that I strongly recommend they obtain. For example, engineers - professional engineering license, accountants - certified public accountant, financial advisors – certified financial advisor, etc. Beyond those mainstream licenses, we get into a myriad of degrees and certifications that aren't so straightforward including masters degrees in your industry, MBA’s, PhD's, certifications such as LEED AP for architects and engineers, green certifications for realtors and developers and so on and so forth. Which ones should you get?

This past July, I attended the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) annual conference in Orlando, Florida, and participated in a session in which this topic was discussed. There was a lot of time spent discussing the importance of obtaining the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accreditation. This is an accreditation recently started by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to allow professionals to manage a project that is seeking LEED certification. A LEED certified project is a project that is given a special status based on the number of environmentally friendly and energy saving features proposed. Since this process is expensive for building owners, the number of LEED projects is down. The LEED AP's in the discussion claimed that they never use the accreditation, however they said it looks good on their resume. Is that enough of a reason to obtain it?

I would recommend that when deciding on which certifications to obtain, you ask yourself the following questions:

* Will obtaining this degree or certification help me move closer to my career goals? (If you don’t have career goals, set them now!)
* Will this degree or certification significantly help my career advancement efforts? In answering this question, list the advantages or disadvantages of obtaining this certification. List all of the advantages and disadvantages including financial, time, enjoyment, resume enhancement, etc.
* Is this degree or certification industry specific or would the benefits of it transfer into another discipline in my field, or another career?
* Do I know anyone that has already obtained this certification? If yes, ask them how it has impacted their career.

I hope this post is helpful to you in deciding which credentials are best for you in your career advancement efforts!

This is a guest post from Anthony Fasano, PE, author of Engineer Your Own Success. Anthony found success as an engineer at a very early age and now writes and podcasts to help other engineers do the same. Visit Anthony’s website at EngineeringCareerCoach.com and subscribe to the top 3 resources Anthony has used to become a partner in a firm at the age of 27.