Skip to main content

Do You Put “CSM” After Your Name?

I’ve noticed a new trend—people have been gaining titles. When I was younger, only doctors had initials (like MD) after their names. I always figured that was because society held doctors, and sometime priests (OFM) in such high regard that we wanted to point out their higher learning. I hope it was to encourage others to apply themselves in school and become doctors also. Could it have been boastful?
Achievements for "the Great" post-nominal

The Wikipedia describes these “post-nominal initials”:
Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, educational degree, accreditation, office, or honor. An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters. The order in which these are listed after a name is based on the order of precedence and category of the order.
That’s good enough for me.
So I ask you: is the use of CSM or CSP an appropriate use of post-nominal initials?
If your not an agilista, you may wonder what CSM stands for. It’s okay, my mother had to ask, too. They stand for Certified Scrum Master; CSP means Certified Scrum Practitioner.
So, is a Certified Scrum Master or Practitioner anything like a doctor? Well, they are no time-lords, I can tell you that. Does it take years of study in the art of Scrum to be a Master? Were there boards of certification? Sure sounds like there were. How long did you study for your Scrum boards, and did you throw-up before the orals?
That reminds me of a funny story. I was about eight years old when my uncle finished his medical residency. At a big family gathering, someone asked how many years he had been in school. Well, there were the eight in elementary plus four in high school like most of us, four more of college to get a bachelor’s degree, then four years in medical school. Then came another two years for surgery and two more as a resident. Being only a few years into school myself and knowing it was only twelve years and then four years of college, I said, “Heck, he must be really dumb!”
Now that I’m older, I can understand why, after all those years he invested studying to be a doctor, my uncle uses those initials after his name. But are our societal standards slipping, or are we being a bit boastful putting CSM after our names? Really, a two-day course with no real test and you are going to claim some credential? I’ve personally declined to boast of that particular achievement, but ask me about telemark skiing; after all if it were easy, they would have called it snowboarding!
David Koontz, TELE

Comments