Credentialing Basics
Many civilian jobs, and federal occupations, have certain professional and technical standards. Obtaining credentials—certifications and licenses—shows that you meet these standards. For example, a human resource professional can show his or her HR certifications to an employer to document that attainment of specific skills and knowledge in that occupational area. In the civilian world, credentials may be required for a job, can make you much more likely to be hired for a job, or can increase your promotion and salary potential. The same can be said for many federal occupations (e.g. Cyberspace Information Technology/Cybersecurity Workforce (Cyber IT/CSWF)); DoD Financial Management workforce; most medical occupations, etc.
Why Credentials are Important
Credentialing is important for several reasons:
- Civilian credentialing can contribute to career development, and may be accepted for self-development requirements (e.g. Individual Development Plan (IDP)) and in performance evaluations.
- Federal, state, or local law may require specific credentials to legally perform some jobs.
- Employers may choose to hire only employees who have certain credentials, or to pay those employees more.
- Credentials may improve an employee's prospects for promotion.
- Credentialed federal employees demonstrate to civilian employers that their skills are on par with their civilian peers.
How Credential Requirements are Determined
Credentialing boards determine the requirements for licensure and certification. Typically, they require a combination of the following:
Education
Training
Work or Professional Experience
Examinations
Other Unique Job-Related Requirements
Do some states have specific credentialing requirements?
While most certifications are national and have the same requirements in every state, requirements for occupational licenses vary by state.
Not all states license the same occupations and for those that do, requirements can differ substantially. If you hold a license in one state but plan to relocate to another state, you need to find out if that state requires a license for your occupation and if it recognizes your license.
Some states will give consideration to individuals licensed in another state. For example the licensing board may:
Recognize licenses granted by other states as equivalent, called "reciprocity."
Issue a license based on the individual having met similar requirements out-of-state, called "endorsement" or "license by credentials."
Credit equivalent out-of-state training, education, and examinations.
Even if a state recognizes another's license, you may still need to take an exam or pay a fee. Check with the state licensing board to find out more about the specific requirements.
You can obtain state licensing board contact information from the License Finder page of the U.S. Department of Labor's careeronestop website.