This question is in reference to the IEEE's CSDA and CSDP certifications.
I've already taken the CSDA course, which covered all of the knowledge areas in the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK).
I'm thinking about doing the CSDP certification as well, but I can't find anywhere that tells me how it differs from the CSDA. I know that it's aimed more at professionals rather than recent graduates, and I'd imagine that it covers the same areas as the CSDA, but in greater detail. Unfortunately I can't find much evidence to back that up.
This is making it difficult to justify to my boss that he should spend several hundred pounds of the group's training budget on it.
So the question is: What does the CSDP offer that the CSDA doesn't?
Best Answer
You're correct in your statement that the CSDP is aimed more at professionals. The requirements to sit for the CSDP are one of a Bachelor's degree, completion of the CSDA exam, post-baccalaureate teaching experience, or IEEE membership and one of an advanced degree in software engineering with 2 years of experience or four years of experience.
You can also through the recommended references for the CSDP and compare them to the recommended references for the CSDA), along with some sample test questions from the CSDP and compare them to some sample test questions from the CSDA.
There are also two bulletins from 2011 that provide a breakdown of topics on each exam: the CSDA and CSDP - it includes the amount of the exam devoted to each high level topic and the competency level (introductory "I" or competency "C") for the various subtopics. I don't suspect that much has changed between then and now, other than some refinements. I suspect the next major refresh may come after SWEBOK v3 is published.
All of the weights and competencies are (CSDA / CSDP).