Standing Out With CSPO Certification

An extracurricular training opportunity offers MEM students like Jagruti Garia a chance to differentiate themselves from other product manager job applicants. 

The pool of product managers in the workforce is not in danger of running dry anytime soon. More than 41,000 work in the United States alone, according to online recruiting service Zippia. Tech giant Meta has more than 400 itself. 

In that crowded and deep pool, Northwestern's Master of Engineering Management (MEM) program is helping create product managers who stand out when applying for jobs, in part by offering Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) certification training each fall quarter.  

Jagruti GariaThe training is offered through a partnership between the MEM program and the Scrum Alliance. The recent fall quarter saw a new cohort of product managers-in-training earn the CSPO designation. Current MEM student Jagruti Garia was one of the students.  

“The certification is highly sought after by many organizations,” she said. “It shows the ability to deliver high-quality products in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.” 

Fitting under the umbrella of the popular development framework known as “agile,” scrum is designed to help companies meet complex, changing needs while creating products and services.  

It is based on three pillars – transparency, inspection, and adaptation – crafted to ensure a product that reaches the marketplace has remained relevant and focused on consumer needs while going from concept to launch. 

Garia came to the MEM program from India, where she worked as a software developer. The MEM program attracted her because of its curriculum focused on collaboration, the development of leadership skills, and other key skills for burgeoning product managers.  

She said she expects the work she put in to earn the CSPO designation to pay off when she graduates and returns to the workforce full time.  

“Many organizations are looking for product managers with a background in scrum and agile,” she said. “The CSPO certification on my resume can help me stand out among other applicants. It shows that I have the knowledge and experience to lead and manage a product development team within an agile framework, and It could be a great advantage to me when applying for a job.” 

In addition to the practical benefits of new knowledge, the certification also creates an environment where students can build relationships with peers interested in the product management field. Forming those ties is important to long-term career success, Garia said. 

The work to obtain the certification is divided into two parts. There is individual work – reading and watching content related to scrum and agile – and collaborative teamwork when students are able to put their new learning to the test to see how it applies in the real world.  

Thanks to the MEM/Scrum Alliance partnership, students are able to earn the designation for around a fifth of the normal price.  

Garia said that kind of offer was too good to pass up and that it reflects well on the MEM program.  

“The fact MEM offers this type of certification demonstrates its commitment to providing a comprehensive education that prepares students for successful careers in product management,” she said. “It shows the program is interested in my success as a professional.” 

That’s exactly the message the collaboration with the Scrum Alliance is designed to send, MEM director Mark Werwath said. 

"The CSPO training is designed to help students showcase their scrum skills when it comes to product development," Werwath said. "MEM already offers a concentration in product management, but the CSPO certification is a nice supplement to that. This collaboration with the Scrum Alliance helps our students stand out in a crowded marketplace and sets them up to make an immediate pact in their jobs after graduation." 

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