Is the IAM Certificate worth it?

What it is

The IAM Certificate in Asset Management is the Institute of Asset Management's entry-level qualification. It tests your understanding of the principles behind the discipline: the vocabulary, the document hierarchy, life cycle thinking, risk and the financial side. You pass one exam of 60 multiple-choice questions in two hours. To pass, you need 65% overall and at least 50% in each of the five modules.

There are no entry requirements. You don't need to be an IAM member, though you do have to register with the IAM to sit the exam.

Who it's aimed at

The IAM describes it as being for people new to asset management, or with some initial experience of working in an asset management role. In practice, the people who sit it tend to be:

• engineers and technical staff at utilities, rail, water, energy and infrastructure organisations who are moving into planning or asset management roles
• graduates and apprentices whose employers put whole cohorts through it
• people in finance, procurement or data roles who work alongside asset managers and want to speak the same language

What it costs you

Time. The IAM suggests about 150 hours of study, depending on what you already know. Someone who already does asset management for a living may need far less. Someone new to it may need all of it.

Money. There is an exam fee, set by the IAM; check the current figure on their site before you book. A training course is optional. Endorsed courses commonly cost well over £1,000, which is why many people's employers pay, and why others choose to self-study.

A resit. If you fail, you pay the same fee again to resit.

What you get from it

• A shared vocabulary. This is the most useful part day to day. Once you can tell a SAMP from an asset management plan, and risk appetite from risk tolerance, conversations with planners, finance and regulators get much shorter.
• The structure behind the job. Many people do parts of asset management for years without seeing how the pieces connect. The Certificate gives you the whole map.
• A recognised signal. In asset-intensive organisations the Certificate is widely known, and it shows on a CV that you understand the discipline rather than just one corner of it.
• A route onward. It is a natural first step towards the IAM Diploma. Since June 2019 it hasn't been a formal requirement for the Diploma, but most people still take the Certificate first.

When it probably isn't worth it

• If you're already a senior asset manager. You may get more from going straight to the Diploma. See IAM Certificate vs IAM Diploma.
• If your work has little to do with physical assets. The content is about infrastructure, plant and equipment across their whole life. If that isn't your world, the vocabulary will be interesting but seldom used.
• If you'd be sitting it purely to tick a box, with no time to prepare. The per-module 50% floor catches out people who wing it, and a resit costs the full fee again.

The verdict

If you work in or around asset-intensive infrastructure and you're early or mid-way into an asset management role, it's worth it. The vocabulary alone repays the effort, and it's the recognised starting point in the field.

Deciding whether you could pass? The quickest test is to try some questions. There are 30 free practice questions across the five modules, scored the way the exam scores you. If you're leaning towards doing it, the guide to passing covers the format, the scoring rule and a study plan.