Certified ready to do the job

Edward P. Salek, CAE, Executive Director | TLT Headquarters Report February 2022

Professional credentials confirm your skills in a fast-changing field.
 
One of my best career decisions, made two decades ago in 2001, was to prepare for and obtain the Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential.

The American Society of Association Executives, which has issued the credential since 1960, describes it as “the marker of a committed association professional who has demonstrated the wide range of knowledge essential to manage an association in today’s challenging environment.”

CAE holders must participate in a minimum of 40 hours of continuing professional education every three years for the designation to remain valid. I’m happy to say that I met that requirement late last year and remain one of only about 4,600 people in the association business with the credential. My STLE colleague Karl Phipps, director of communications and marketing, also has earned the CAE designation.

A professional designation related to lubrication and tribology is currently held by nearly 1,500 individuals in the STLE audience. Like Karl and me, every one of those individuals is proud to be certified, and they value the importance of this achievement. Reasons naturally vary a bit from person to person, but there are two widely recognized truths about being certified in your chosen field.

First and foremost, research shows that certification is a career booster. The value of STLE certification has been proven in the marketplace and is associated with increased income and immediate respect and credibility with buyers and peers.

STLE maintains the following certification programs:
• Certified Lubrication Specialist™ (CLS) is the only independent certification for the lubrication professional that verifies an individual’s broad lubrication engineering knowledge.
• Certified Metalworking Fluids Specialist™ (CMFS) verifies knowledge, experience and education in this specialized and growing field.
• Certified Oil Monitoring Analyst I and II™ (OMA I and II) is the certification for the predictive maintenance professional that demonstrates competence in the field of machinery oil monitoring.

During 2022, STLE is offering expanded exam options for each program. A remote option allows candidates to take STLE certification exams anywhere with a secure internet connection, at a time and date that works best for them. A network testing center option allows candidates to take STLE certification exams at any of more than 1,100 network testing centers worldwide—also at a time and date that works best for them. Both these delivery methods offer immediate results upon completion of the exam.

Group-sponsored exams, which are in-person, paper exams hosted by third-party companies, also are available. Upcoming dates for this more traditional method of sitting for one of the exams are shown at www.stle.org under the events calendar.

The second truth about achieving certification or being recertified is: don’t keep it to yourself! Certification holders traditionally have advertised their credential by adding the designation to business cards or wearing a lapel pin.

While those methods remain highly effective, STLE has now introduced digital badging. It’s a free and verifiable service that allows a credential holder to graphically display their status more widely in the digital world. Digital badges are used as part of professional profiles on email signatures, LinkedIn pages, social media profiles and online resumes.

These changes come at a time when U.S. government statistics point to the growth in credentialing as one of the most noteworthy workplace trends of the past 50 years. It’s estimated that more than 43 million people in the U.S. now hold a professional certification or license. That trend is expected to continue as the rate of change in professions accelerates and employers look for evidence of proficiency in fast-changing fields.

With the advent of new technologies related to electric vehicles, additive manufacturing and many other developments, tribology and lubrication engineering professionals will need to demonstrate the ability to keep up with this rapid rate of change. This could be the year to make your own good decision and put the power of STLE certification to work in your career.

Note: For information on exam options and digital badging, contact Gina Cairo, STLE certification and local sections manager, at gcairo@stle.org.
 
You can reach Certified Association Executive Ed Salek at esalek@stle.org.