Would SME Certification Matter? 1

[JMirisola]

My boss is pressing me to become a Certified Manufacturing Technologist through SME. Given the fact that I only have 10+ years of manufacturing experience, and no degree, I'm wondering if this certification will actually help me out for potential future positions, or would my years of experience be enough? Are SME certifications widely recognized?

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
CAD Administrator
SW '07 SP2.0, Dell M90, Intel 2 Duo Core, 2GB RAM, nVidia 2500M

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog

 

[Beggar]

I think that the SME certifications are essentially meaningless. I don't mean that to demean the skills which are quite important. I just don't think the certifications mean much. I've worked for six different manufacturers ranging in size from many tens of thousands of people to four people. I've never met a CMT at any of them.

This coming from somebody who was a member of SME for several years.

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[Ashereng]

Is he paying for it? If so, can't hurt.

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[IRstuff]

For where you are and what you do, it's probably important. But, if you change jobs, that certification doesn't really add much, without the sheepskin.

TTFN

 

[MikeHalloran]

It happens that I am in the job market now. Okay, again. I don't recall seeing any requirement for SME or equivalent certs for manufacturing engineers or techs.

Whereas IT positions almost always ask for some kind of certification. That is IMHO pretty much a response to a huge PR and sales campaign by Microsoft. SME doesn't have the budget to create that kind of synthetic demand.

Regardless, it's a nice thing to be able to put on your resume ... and the situation may change.

The PR campaign associated with the ISO9000 con and its descendants has had the apparent side effect of convincing managers, or at least HR people, that you can't possibly do a proper job of anything, even cleaning a toilet, without specialized training and certification.

( Actually, toilet cleaning probably should require training, given the number of public toilets that are trashed by, e.g., using strong floor cleaning solutions on chromed brass plumbing. )


Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[JMirisola]

Thanks, everyone, for your input.

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
CAD Administrator
SW '07 SP2.0, Dell M90, Intel 2 Duo Core, 2GB RAM, nVidia 2500M

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog

 

[TheTick]

Some companies put higher values on such certifications for various reasons. Sometimes it's so they can tell customers that their technicians are "certified".

I once worked for a firm where the owner paid for SAE memberships in order to obscure the fact that his "engineering manager" had no degree or PE.

 

[tygerdawg]

The only value is to test your manufacturing knowledge & skills with someone else's test and see if you measure up, for what it's worth. Otherwise useless, IMHO. After 10+ years in SME including officer positions at Regional & National level I think the same of SME in general. The only value of SME is paychecks received by the staff in Dearborn and folks who use SME venues to put stuff on their resumes.

TygerDawg

 

[JMirisola]

Wow, thanks tygerdawg. I'm beginning to think that it wouldn't be money well spent, even if it isn't my own money.

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
CAD Administrator
SW '07 SP2.0, Dell M90, Intel 2 Duo Core, 2GB RAM, nVidia 2500M

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog

 

[IRstuff]

I don't normally deal with these issues, but, all else being equal, having a certification is useful. It's often the complete package that counts.

When we try to hire people, we look at work history, education, references, etc. But, when you get more than one applicant and they're both equally qualified, how will you choose your new hire? At that point, you can fall back on the notion, "well, this guy is certified, so we know what his level of competence is."

TTFN