Earning Criteria

• Master Certified Technical Specialists achieve Certification by successfully completing three interviews by other Level 2 or Level 3 Certified Technical Specialists, based upon a comprehensive package of information describing project and other experiences.  The criteria used to decide on certification include all of the Skills mentioned above, as well as the requirements for repeated leadership of successful project engagements.
• Master Certified Technical Specialists typically have eight (8) years of work experience in IT in the last 12 years, that includes the understanding and appreciation of the solution lifecycle from strategy, design, and implementation through to completion, enabling them to produce solution designs that are successful.
• Master Certified Technical Specialists have sufficient experience in their chosen Stream/Discipline to demonstrate repeated success in meeting the Stream-specific criteria. Typically, this requires three (3) years of work experience in their Stream/Discipline in the last five (5) years and five (5) years of experience in projects involving two or more Streams/Disciplines in the last eight (8) years.
• Master Certified Technical Specialists must have acted in a leadership role in at least three (3) engagements. At least two of the three engagements must have been in connection with projects that met their acceptance criteria.
• Master Certified Technical Specialists must have completed formal training in Project Management either through attendance at a taught course, or through self-study.
• Master Certified Technical Specialists must maintain their knowledge of the technology, trends, and techniques in the IT industry,  and must undergo 40 hours per year of training, at a taught course or through self study, related to their Stream/Discipline.
• Master Certified Technical Specialists must make contributions to the profession through, for example, mentoring, publications, teaching, research collaboration, or participation in professional organizations.
• Candidates must already hold valid Open CTS Level 2 Professional Communication and  Professional Development Milestone Badges plus three Level 2 Experience Profile Milestone Badges, at least two of which must be in this Specialty.