Career Development, Professional Certifications and Advanced Education

Professionals who are interested in making a commitment to their profession, career and future look to earning advanced education or potentially obtaining a credential. MSAE's Young Professionals Group hosted a discussion on four hot topics: Certified Association Executive (CAE), Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), Masters Degree/Post Education and General Career Development. Here are the top takeaways from this discussion...

CAE

• ASAE has revised their exam - MSAE has not had any applicants for this new format, but are interested in hearing how the exam is now formatted.
• CAE requires 100 CEU to be eligible for the exam.
• You need to have 5 years experience with a degree or 3 years experience with a degree if you are an executive director.
  
• Each applicant needs to have a certain number of hour per domain or subject area.
• CAE text is administered twice a year - May and December.
• Cost is relatively high - on average it will run you $500-1,000.

CMP

• The CMP exam is provided through the Convention Industry Council.
• You need 36 months of experience or 24 months if you have a degree in a related field to qualify for the CMP exam.
• 25 hours of continued education are required.
• The CMP is administered twice a year - January and July.
• The closest exam site to Minnesota is Chicago, IL.

Masters/Post Education

• University of St. Thomas offers a great mini MBA program in non-profit management. This is intensive learning with no exam. You receive a certificate at the end of your course. There are many options on format - 3 hours at night/once a week, 5 days of full learning or a 6-8 week course. The cost for this program is around $300-500.
• Institute for Executive Director Leadership offers a 10 month program designed for higher level professionals. This will cost around $2,000-3,000.
• St. Kate's offers a Masters in Organizational Management that focuses on both profit and non-profit management. This is designed for professionals who have been in the field for at least 5-7 years. Cost is based on tuition rates.

Career Development

• MSAE offers many educational sessions to help reach you CEU requirements.
  
• You may also get CEU's from ASAE, webinars and other associations.

Resources

1. More information on obtaining your CAE designation
2. More information on obtaining your CMP designation
3. MSAE educational sessions

If you would like to connect with an MSAE member on the CAE contact:

Cassie Larson, CAE, Associate Director
Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association
651-633-4987
cassie@mnla.biz

Katie Jamieson, CAE, Director of Member Services
MN Society of Professional Engineers
651-457-2347
kjamieson@mnspe.org


If you would like to connect with an MSAE member on the CMP contact:

Denise Woods, CMP, Director of Communications & Events
Associated General Contractors of Minnesota
651-796-2186
dwoods@agcmn.org

Amanda Pasek, National Account Executive
Visit Saint Paul
651-265-4900
apasek@visitsaintpaul.com