The Acknowledged Value of Professional Designations

A February 2020 release from the Canadian Marketing Association reported Key Media research in which 95% of business leaders surveyed viewed applicants with a professional designation as more desirable. The release promoted the Chartered Marketer program; it was not a study of NAASE’s CSE credential.

What Is a Professional Designation?

A professional designation identifies a qualification awarded by a professional or certifying body after its requirements have been met. It is often expressed as initials after the holder’s name.

Professional designations, those miscellaneous letters after peoples’ last names, are everywhere and are quite visible on resumes and on LinkedIn profiles. Some are quite well-known, like CPA, PE, and PMP. Others are a bit more abstract but are still relevant to those within said industry, like CCNA or AIA. NAASE introduced the Certified Sales Engineer (CSE) designation in 2020. NAASE is hoping that its designation focusing on presales/ technical sales will be a boost for the industry as well as the career paths of its current and prospective members.

Why Professional Designations Matter

But whether one is a sales engineer or not, just how important are professional designations? Is it even worth the time, trouble, or expense? The following are a few 3rd party thoughts on the subject.

• The Key Media research, as summarized by the Canadian Marketing Association in 2020, reported that 86% of business leaders would recommend hiring a candidate with a professional designation, and 80% associated a designation with a higher starting salary, promotion, or raise. These are reported views about professional designations, not measured career outcomes for CSE holders.
• Published in a report from a Canadian Human Resources association granting a designation is seen as the first step in the process of professionalization and supports the aspirations of members to be seen as professionals.  Offering a designation is done initially to provide members with a means of signaling their professional status.
• Other input is shown here in the page from “Infosysblogs”: 

“Any highly motivated young person is well advised to pursue the knowledge and credibility that come with obtaining a professional designation. If obtained early in a career, this knowledge and credibility helps offset the disadvantages of less experience. When recruiting people for our organization, I always look for designations as an indication of motivation and persistence in addition to basic knowledge.”

“In my opinion professional designations surely hold value because each one of these reputed designations require one to have the necessary industry experience, expertise and aspiration to move forward. It also gives you multiple opportunities to connect with like- minded professionals.”

“A designation indicates seriousness. It shows that the person has a goal in mind…a sense of purpose.”

Professional sales engineers, regardless of industry, deserve further recognition for their work. For readers considering CSE today, the program page explains the review and eligibility requirements, and NAASE’s public credential verification pages show how a holder’s record can be checked. A credential is one part of a professional profile, not a guarantee of hiring, promotion, or pay.

Should you have any questions, comments, or suggestions regarding this topic- please do reach out to us at the Association. We look forward to hearing from you!