“Congratulations. You have attained a passing score on your certification exam.” There are no sweeter or more anticipated words for anyone seeking certification.
Earning the recognized certification for one’s industry is a worthwhile achievement. For non-profit association professionals that credential is the Certified Association Executive (CAE). There are many similarities to earning NICET certification. I am certain that my time at NICET listening and guiding folks through the application process and working on exam development helped with my success taking the CAE exam. My hope is that sharing what I learned will help you prepare, pass, and achieve NICET certification.
Just like earning CAE certification, earning NICET certification demonstrates possessing knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform on the job. Certified individuals will have demonstrated an understanding of the core principles and best practices of their profession. This can translate into increased job satisfaction, as well as increased opportunities for advancement and higher earnings. However, NICET also may be required by federal, state, and local jurisdictions as a condition of employment. Many projects and facilities may specify NICET certification for specific roles. Plus, many employers provide incentives in the form of raises and bonuses for NICET certification. This is primarily due to the public safety impact engineering technicians have working on life safety systems and public infrastructure projects. While many associations support pursuit of the CAE, I am not aware of any requirements. Though the CAE’s commitment to ethical practice, just like NICET certification, is in the public’s best interest.
NICET offers career track certification in about a dozen engineering technology specialty areas. Exams are administered almost every day. The application fees range from $230 (Level I) and $410 (Level IV).
CAE offers one exam during a short window twice a year (May and December). The fee is $500 for ASAE members and $750 for nonmembers.
The first step to success is knowing and understanding the certification requirements. Then being able to self-assess your readiness. NICET’s career track certifications have three main requirements: passing an exam or exams, experience in specific roles (time varies by industry and level) and performance. Additionally, higher levels require a personal recommendation and write-up of leadership role on a major project. CAE requires education, experience in a specific role, and passing an exam. Both have recertification requirements to maintain certification. Recertification not only keeps you up to date with the latest developments in the industry, but also helps you stay engaged and motivated as a professional. Both certifications are career commitments to professional growth and development.
Next is knowing what content is covered on the exams. Both certifying bodies provide content outlines that list exam topics by section (domain). The content outlines provide an approximate percentage of the exam assigned to each domain. The total number of questions is also provided, so it is easy to determine the number of questions in each section. Additionally, lists of reference material used to develop the exam content are provided. NICET provides a cross reference from the content outline to the reference list to further guide test takers. The CAE content outline (CAE Exam Content Outline (asaecenter.org)) does not. NICET allows some specific (by exam) reference material for most exams to be used on test day. The CAE is closed book.
Along with the total number of questions, the total time allowed to complete the exam is provided. This is both helpful for scheduling your exam day and determining the pacing needed to complete all the questions.
The CAE requires 100 hours of broad-based, association management-related professional development to qualify for certification. Plus, a bachelor’s degree or 8 additional years of experience. NICET certification does not require any specific training or education for certification. Any training and education that teaches industry best practices will help with the NICET exams. This provides individuals seeking NICET certification flexibility to choose the best learning method that works for them. We have seen all forms from college degrees to on the job to self-study and everything in between. Both organizations have a clear separation of training from exam development. This protects the integrity of the exam and avoids any implication of teaching to the test. NICET chooses to completely stay out of training. However, we do provide a list of recognized training providers.
Here are some of the things I did for the CAE exam that might be helpful for pursuing NICET or any professional certification.
While I just earned the CAE in January, I have already experienced that it is worthwhile for my career but more importantly I am better at my job serving the NICET customers and stakeholders. My sincerest hope is that you will find the pursuit of NICET certification worthwhile too.