If the saying ‘every day is a school day’ is true. Where is the exam we take every few years to validate what we’ve learnt, to recognise all our hard work, the support we’ve given to our colleagues and how we made IT good for society.
Why professional registration with BCS?
This all started, as is often the case with a causal remark. I was about to start my professional registration journey, applying for Registered IT Technician (RITTech) and I mentioned to a colleague I’d also be interesting doing the next level up as well, the Chartered IT Professional (CITP). They jokingly said, ‘What, and I suppose Fellowship after that?’ Which I honestly hadn’t even considered, but after a few moments thinking this over my reply was ‘Yes, why not, why can’t I be a Fellow?’ Indeed, why can’t we all have RITTech, CITP or Fellows if we want them?
I’d just unwittingly started a rewarding journey that’s taken over 4 years to complete. The only small problems I could see was.
- I had no idea what I needed to do to get it,
- Or how I could do it,
- Who could help me achieve it, or
- When I could achieve it.
So, a normal Thursday afternoon when you work in IT.
Transferable skills
Before we go any further, BCS are the ‘Chartered Institute of IT,’ the international institute. Confusing the initials BCS are a hangover from the very early days, 1950s, when they were known simply as the British Computer Society (BCS). When they expanded across the globe, they changed their name and kept the initials BCS.
What counts as a professional registration?
RITTech, Advanced RITTech and CITP are different types of professional registrations offered by the BCS. All professional registration means is that a professional body has agreed you work to a certain standard and abide by a code of conduct. Fellowship is a membership type that you need to apply and be accepted for, which relates more to BCS’s wider mission of ‘Making IT Good for Society’ – rather than technical skills.
My approach to the problem of successfully applying for professional registrations and Fellowship, was the same as the one I use for work, when I’m asked to help solve business problem. Broadly
- Understand where I am today, the As-Is current state.
- Define what I want, the To-Be future state.
- Compare the As-Is and To-Be to find, the gaps.
- Agree and act on a plan of action.
- Review the outcome of the change and then go back to step 1 and repeat.
Also, as with any change you need to check it’s worth doing. And apply some governance. I didn’t write this down, I just thought it through while I was waiting in a queue. So, here’s a summary of my thoughts:
Risk: My application could be rejected. Great, then I can ask for feedback so I’m successful next time. (Personally, I believe the time we fail at anything is the first time we stop trying to do something.) So, we agree this is low risk.
Cost: There is normally a small fee for each application, except as I’m a member of the BCS through work, these fees have been waived, so they are very low cost.
Effort: I need to research and apply for each one. Ok this is a tough one. However, the family are going to be spending hours watching programmes I’ve no interest in. I’ll use this as an excuse to miss the TV shows I don’t want to watch. So, by doing this I’m not losing any time, low time.
Outcome: I’ll have something I don’t already have, that will help me professionally.
Summary:
- Low Risk
- Very low Cost
- Low Effort
- High Outcome
Ok this is less a journey and more a triple jump, a hop to RITTech, a skip through CITP and a jump to Fellow.
RITTech
Which stands for Registered IT Technician, the first one you can apply for. Ideally you need to have worked in IT for at least 2 years. And you need to complete a form over a few pages. This was the era, pre-Covid. So, BCS agreed to come to Linea, do a presentation and answer any questions. You can now sign up for an online RITTech workshop to help gain an understanding of what’s involved.
The colleague that had joking started me on this journey agreed to be my supporter.
CITP
Which stands for Chartered IT Professional. One of the things they ask is: Do you have any professional registration,’ which I did as I already had RITTech. I also understood the application process a lot better and could meet at least some of the criteria. This was an online coaching event which was good. I applied for the old format but wasn’t successful.
I did get feedback which I used to change my approach. During Covid and my training was completed, I started to think if I should apply for CITP a second time.
Since I last applied, BCS had set up an online CITP event explaining why you should apply, how to apply, and what the assessor are looking for. Yes, they made it as easy and simple as possible to apply.
The colleague that had jokingly started me on this journey agreed to be my supporter again.
Fellowship
There was an event, which was ok, and I contacted someone from it who agreed to coach me in my Fellowship application. But they stopped responding to emails. So, I needed to find someone else. A second person promised to help, but they too fell by the wayside with unanswered emails.
For you
Be part of something bigger, join BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.
Luckily, again BCS started to run regular three-part events to support you, called ‘Fellows of the Future,’ which are much better than the old event. There is a new self-paced version of the programme coming in 2025 – keep an eye on the Fellows page on their website for more information.
I attended three modules, completed all the tasks and had a draft application. Just the small matter of finding a coach to review my draft and then work-based supporter. I’d met a few fellows from volunteering for my local BCS branch, who agreed to be my coach, so I sent them an email, and waited. NB You can also apply for a coach directly through BCS.
Then within a few days I got a response with some suggestions and an updated draft. I updated the document and sent it back. Which they responded to on the same day and suggested I was ready to apply.
My manager agreed to be my work-based supporter, so I sent in the forms and waited. Two months later I had an email confirming I was successful.
Was gaining professional registration worth it?
The hop, skip and jump have taken me longer and were bigger than I thought when I began. I’ve met some great people on the way, I needed to learn some new skills and move out of my comfort zone. Which is all good, how can you learn and grow doing the same thing day in day out?
You can’t. The setbacks, knocks, delays, and roadblocks are what make you grow and improve your resilience.
I’ve achieved the BCS trinity of RITTech, CITP and Fellow.
Time to rest and spend time with the family. Only until the tedious TV programmes are on again. Then I’ll…
Thank you for getting this far on my journey, now it’s time for me to ask you:
How much can you invest in your professional career today: for your future?
If not now, then when? Else nothing will ever change.
Why not take the first step with Professional Registration with the BCS?
